Mmm, forearm!

[Hairless]

Originally Posted by razeraze

I prefer not to see so much of the spine in my reptiles. Again we can not judge health by observation alone, but a coil from that tiny of a snake indicates hunger to try and take the keepers arm.

I simply went off of your statement..."I prefer not to see so much of the spine..." If someone with less experience reads this and tries to feed their bcc to get rid of the "spine look", it could be fatal.

And this one "...a coil from that tiny of a snake indicates hunger.." ...in your next post you said "usually". If you had said "usually" in the first post, I would have let it go because it CAN mean hunger. It can also be a defensive reaction. I wasn't trying to get your underwear in a bunch, I just wanted to clairify because you stated that if it coils it means hunger.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[razeraze]

Originally Posted by Brandon27

That's not a spine at all. That is a muscle that runs along the spine and it does not indicate being underweight or malnurished.
Good looking Peru, John. Keep up the good work.

The muscles would be to the left and right of the spine where the "pits are" not on top of the spine. Here is the muscle mass on a monitor, notice the spine is barely visible:
and on a BCI

Originally Posted by morti

It appears that it is just right.

To claim that the snake pictured is underweight would be an incorrect statement.

I did not say the snake was emaciated just made note of the coiling behavior and the evident spine. How ever for you to state "it appears just right" is exactly my point. We can argue what looks fit all day but until someone provides scientific evidence it really is a matter of opinion not fact.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[razeraze]

Originally Posted by Hairless

I simply went off of your statement..."I prefer not to see so much of the spine..." If someone with less experience reads this and tries to feed their bcc to get rid of the "spine look", it could be fatal.
And this one "...a coil from that tiny of a snake indicates hunger.." ...in your next post you said "usually". If you had said "usually" in the first post, I would have let it go because it CAN mean hunger. It can also be a defensive reaction. I wasn't trying to get your underwear in a bunch, I just wanted to clairify because you stated that if it coils it means hunger.

Your right I should have stated usually. This is a subject that constantly bothers me because the whole discussion is purely opinion and observation. I really wish there was scientific evidence to support what was a healthy appearance, or even a healthy weight with reptiles.

The power feeding, too many prey items, and too large of prey items are seldom seen in the wild. Which means the stress of captivity plus lack of wide temperature range is more likely the culprit.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[Brandon27]

yawn

[TKR Reptiles]

Originally Posted by morti

That's all well and good raze, but the snake in that picture is neither obese nor under weight for a juvenile BCC. It appears that it is just right.

To claim that the snake pictured is underweight would be an incorrect statement.

exactly. that snake looks absolutely fine. good weight and looks to be very healthy.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.