Helping to reverse the effects of Powerfeeding

[Katie M]

So, I recently got three new boas in... an '07 Het albino female, an '07 salmon male, 66% het albino, and an '08 Bolivian Silverback BCA... so... I noticed something was up when I saw the tracking info, and it said 2 boxes at 45 pounds total weight... wait... what?!? So, after getting them, and discovering that they are HUGE, I asked what they were fed... Turns out the Het female is already on Triple XL rats, the male on Double XL rats, and the barely yearling BCA is on LARGE rats... urg.... so, yeah... I've been chatting with Allysen, and I know whatever I do, it'll have to be slow, cause I don't want to cause any liver issues... I tend to keep my boas on the longer, leaner side, preferring great muscle mass to "chunky" - I certainly don't underfeed my snakes, but I'm also SUPER careful not to powerfeed them...

[Sakara]

dang... that's crazy O.O good luck with slimming them down... and we still need pics >.>

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[Katie M]

Originally Posted by Sakara

dang... that's crazy O.O good luck with slimming them down... and we still need pics >.>

I'm working on uploading the pictures now

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[Allysen]

I still can't believe the Bolivian. (The others too for that matter) But wow I'm a BCA nut, and she's bigger, MUUUUUUCH bigger than my '06s! Eeek!

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[Katie M]

Okay, here they are;
This is LeRoux - the '07 Salmon male, 66% Het Albino
(Picture I was sent)

New Pictures:





This is Paige, the '07 Het Albino female
(pictures I was sent)


New Pictures:






This is Queen B., the Bolivian Silverback, '08 model
(Picture I was sent)

New Pictures:

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	Heterozygous Heterozygous - the animal carries the gene for a genetic trait but does not outwardly demonstrate the trait. Example: A boa that is het for albino looks normal but carries the albino gene. When it is bred to another het for albino boa or an albino boa, a percentage of the offspring will be albino.

[Sakara]

they are all very nice looking!! hope they slim down for you

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[jberry03]

From the looks of the snakes in the pictures they look older rather than power fed to me....none of them have "pinheads".

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[EricIvins]

Here's the deal - There is no such thing as "Powerfeeding" unless the animal is under-metabolized. Which unfortunately snake keepers are still in the dark age about. If the animals have access to high basking temperatures, they could eat every day and never become obese, over-weight, etc. I've kept Boas outside who routinely basked at 110 degrees and over. I've done the same with an inside enclosure setup for Monitors with the same result. You under-metabolize a Reptile, you'll end up with a lumpy ball of fat. You give the animals the options they need, and you'll end up with a toned, strong animal. Doesn't matter whether it's a snake, lizard, turtle, etc..........It's just how a ectothermic metabolism works.......

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[BlackLava]

yea to me they dont look overweight, you dont see any fat rolls anywhere, especially down near their tails, thats where you can always tell how fat a snake is. they look large for their ages, and they might have been fed heavier than some people feed, but they still have the squarish shape to their bodies. that being said, they look way diff from the pics, idk if i would be happy with that personally, especially with how red the hypo looks in the pics you were sent, that one looks like a completely diff animal might be just the lighting though

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	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[trendkill]

They don't look overweight to me. The Bolivian may be a little on the thicker side, but not too bad. Personally I wouldn't put them on any sort of "diet".. I would just continue to feed them as I would feed any other boa their size.

I have '07s that big too. When I purchased them they were already very large for their age.. but perfectly healthy otherwise and not overweight.

Heavily fed snakes are not always obese. Like a poster above mentioned.. hotter temps allow for more rapid digestion, and plenty of people use this method to grow their reptiles a little faster. Exercise can help a lot too. Of course a boa that is handled a lot (and in a sense, forced to exercise) is going to be more lean than one that isn't handled much at all.

Anyway, I think more damage is done when the animal is over-fed later in life.. when it's mature and the growth rate slows dramatically. Same goes for just about any animal.. humans included. Overweight people tend to have more weight related issues once they're well into adulthood as compared to when they are adolescences. So at this point, I would not be too concerned.

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[SnakeRescueNY]

Make sure when your downgrading their prey size that you do it gradiual. Long term overfeeding can resault in numerous health risks. I'm glad you took them in, i know they will now recieve the vital care and love that they all deserve. Good luck

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[Jolie]

I agree - the snakes seem larger but not fat or overweight. They still have good tone and all of their coloring is beautiful. If you scale back I would do it only slightly and at a slow pace to not shock their system. One of my balls eats more frequently than the other but seems to have a fast metabolism as they are the same size and have the same temps/humidity - so could be they just are digesting the food quickly. Good luck with them - they are beauties

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[gottabsleeved]

man i got a late 08 still on pinky rats.Why do dumb people have so many kids and pets?

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[kellymack515]

That Bolivian is GORGEOUS! Abso-freakin-lutely stunning! *grabby hands*

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