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Drax · #1 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 07:53 AM

hey all,
I just gave my big girl her first rat last Sunday. I guess I am now a student at the Wack-a-Rat college cause it took me a couple wacks to kill the little bugger. now the last food she had eaten before the rat was 1 mouse and the week before that was 2 mice. Should I wait another week to feed her or get one tomorrow (which would be 11 days after the rat)? this was a small rat by the way. she han't begun crusing her tank looking for a meal yet.

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#2 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 07:56 AM

hmmm..sorry don't remember how old/big your snake is [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_confused.gif[/img] BUT in a generic sense.. go with 14 days and then offer again...long as she's not hunting.
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Drax · #3 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 08:04 AM

oh yea i guess that would kinda help. shes a little over a year, wow i've had her for year...cool ...any way she's about 2 and a half feet long. i dunno how much she weights but she's about and inch and a half in diameter.
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Dr.Oviparous · #4 (**permalink**) 03-14-2002, 08:31 AM

yeah 14 days i agree is good, however if she's only 2 feet, one year, she might get hungry again before that, she'll be fine at 10 days if she's huntin' -Juggalo
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Duchess · #5 (**permalink**) 06-30-2002, 01:03 AM

First off, let me say Hi to anyone who posts after me. I'm new, obviously, and don't yet know how things go here so if I make a mistake please tell me? I've used an existing thread, rather than making a new one. In doing that, I hope I didn't choose the wrong one for my questions.

I have a Ball Python myself and have found lots of info on the care and feeding of my sweetie pie. (His name is Angel, with good reason.) Now my niece and her boyfriend have adopted a Red Tail Boa and need info on the feeding schedule.

1. From what I can gather here, a Red Tail Boa is considered a sub-adult at around 4 ft in length. Is this correct? Because that is the size of their snake.

2. Somebody told them that the little darling didn't need to be fed more often than once a month. Is this true? If not, how often should he/she be fed, other than as often as it prowls the tank?

3. What size/kind of rodent? Mouse or Rat.

They were told they could feed it a mouse and that would be enough. Somehow I doubt the validity of that statement *note the sarcasm* but I'd like someone from here to back me up. Said niece's boyfriend thinks he knows enough about these things not to need advice. I've never met the dude, so I shouldn't say anything about him, but when my sister calls me and sounds worried about a snake (she's deathly afraid of them!) I sit up and take notice. I want to help these two take good care of their pet, can anyone here help me do that?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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najaboy · #6 (**permalink**) 06-30-2002, 01:37 AM

A mouse a month is grossly underfeeding it. At four feet, I'd personally recommend feeding it one medium rat once per week.

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Swerve · #7 (**permalink**) 06-30-2002, 01:52 AM

@ 4 feet i would say 1 medium rat every 10 days.
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Duchess · #8 (**permalink**) 07-01-2002, 03:25 AM

Thank you, that is what I thought as well.

I have, as of today, found out my sister misunderstood the situation. My niece and her boyfriend are feeding mice to their boa, but three at one time. The young man doesn't want to feed it anything too big, but I still suggested he feed it a medium rat, telling him what someone on here said about feeding it a "morsel" no bigger than the widest part of it's body.

I'll still pass on your suggestions too, though, about the time frame of the feeds.

The young man does indeed seem more knowledgable about the whole thing than my eldest sister gave him credit for. I'm much more at peace about this situation than I was yesterday when I first posted. *sighing with relief*
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phaedrus · #9 (**permalink**) 07-01-2002, 04:08 AM

Duchess, I'd still switch to a rat. First and foremost, they're more nutritious. Secondly, if my understanding is correct, snakes kinda digest food in the order of ingestion. More or less. So, chances are that by the time the third one begins to be digested (broken down) it could be rancid. This could happen if temps are less than ideal. This could lead to a regurg and that's a whole 'nother story. Check out the care sheets on feeding and also look at the feeding forum. Just read. There is a TON of information there. How to feed, what to feed and when, dealing with problem feeders, etc.

Good Luck. Any questions, try to post in the appropriate forum - once. Every post is read by the moderators so there's no need to post in several forums. We all try to help.

Welcome to RTB! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] I'm sure you'll enjoy your stay.
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Drax · #10 (**permalink**) 07-11-2002, 04:47 AM

hey Duchess.
Welcome to RTB.net!

what everyone else has said before is great. but also make sure that you tell your niece and her boyfriend that for the snake's wellbeing to kill the rat first. a live rat introduced to a snake can strike out like lightning and before you know it your snake's neck is broken or at the very least he'll have a very nasty bite. if they feel squeemish about killing the rat they can order frozen rats from either pet stores or online companies (which are better quality than a pet store's ratsicles) and then thaw the rat out prior to feeding. or just let the rat bite them then they'll have a reason for whacking it [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] .
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#11 (**permalink**) 07-11-2002, 07:56 AM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE> or just let the rat bite them then they'll have a reason for whacking it </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

LOL.. I can back that one up np ! The ones that bite ya are much easier to "wak" and also have a shorter life span than the other ones too ..LOL

Moving this to the feeding forum now also.......
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#12 (**permalink**) 07-11-2002, 05:23 PM

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font class="pn-sub">Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT class="pn-sub"><BLOCKQUOTE>Secondly, if my understanding is correct, snakes kinda digest food in the order of ingestion. More or less. So, chances are that by the time the third one begins to be digested (broken down) it could be rancid. </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>

For prey items of the size in question, I don't think that would be a problem, by virtue of the fact a digestive system of the size and capacity in question could process a mouse much more quickly that say a large rat, much smaller volume and surface area.
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