another redtail question

[joe_57]

I have a young redtail(2-2 1/2 months old,about 32 inches long),it has been eating live rats since birth and I was thinking about switching to prekilled because of all the potential dangers.I am afraid if I switch my snake will not eat it,right now he is only interested in the rat when it moves.He just sits very still until the rat moves and then he gets it.I am afraid he will get bit,but I am not sure of the best way to kill the rat.Lets say a snake does get a very small bite or nick what do you do?What if it is a large bite?When you kill it does it squirm or something to attract the snake?I have also been feeding him 1 large rat every 3 days.I have tried to wait longer but it seems to me that he gets extremely hungry if I wait more than 3 days.He moves around the tank constantly flicking his tongue as if he is looking for something to eat.As soon as he eats he just kinda wonders around,he does not act hungry.When I feed him he never hesitates to eat, as soon as the rat stops moving he eats it.So I am looking for some opinions from those who feed live and those who feed prekilled.Thanks Joe

[Kent K25]

You won't find opinions of those who feed live here, everyone as far as I'm aware feeds f/t or p/k (fresh thawed or pre-killed). I personally feed p/k and use tongs to hold the rat by its tail in front of my snake and wiggle it a bit. He doesnt take long to strike it. Then he constricts it thinkin he is killin it, then swallows. If I'm doin other things I just leave it layin there dead in a closed tote with him and he eventually eats it.
As for how to kill it, I personally took adivce from someone on this site to just put it in a pillow case and give it a good whack against a hard wall. Knocks em out in one hit.
Also if you are feeding your snake once every three days, that is too much. You're snake may be active but not "hungry" that often. His instincts tell him to eat when food is there so he isn't goin to refuse your meal since he never knows when the next may come. It's recommended to feed juvenile RTB's once every 7-10 days and as they reach adulthood once every 10-14 days.
Hopefully that answers your questions. If I said anything wrong someone will be along to let ya know.

	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[joe_57]

Thanks for the advice I will try a pre killed in about 7 days.Only other question I had was, what would you do about bites,large or small?My has not been bitten I am just curious.Thanks again Joe.

[joe_57]

p.s. MY snake has been eating every 3 days since birth .Do you think I should change his schedule gradually say 4 days then 5 days until I get to 7 or just change it all at once?

[LdyDrgn]

you got it right SoPure. Every 7 days for a young boa is the schedule. Every 3 days is a no-no.

Joe, the great thing about boas is they aren't picky! You could go straight to frozen/thawed without problems. Get yourself a pair of tongs or hemostats, wiggle the rat about one to two inches from the snake. WHAM! Good snakey..hehe

I also think you meant to say "large mouse" instead of "large rat" Cuz large rats are really big.... LOL

[joe_57]

Sorry I did mean "large mouse" not rat.What does it mean to power feed?Thanks for the info.

[joe_57]

Will snakes eat as much as you feed them?If they are not hungry will they still eat ?Will they eat enoughto harm them selves?Sorry for all the questions Im new to this and want to make sure my snake is taken care of the right way,Joe

[LdyDrgn]

Powerfeeding is offering a lot of food at once or feeding too often, all to make the snake big, fast. Yes, this type of thing CAN harm the snake. They will eat as much as they can hold since they never know where the next meal is coming from. You could feed several prey items once a month, but this is still harmful since the food could rot in the stomach before it ever gets digested. Feeding every 3 days means the snake never gets the chance to rest after moslty digesting its meal. Digestion for a snake takes many days and it requires a LOT of energy.

If you haven't done so already, please read this caresheet

[snowblsm]

Powerfeeding is also a good way to make your snake obese, which is not a pretty sight.

My red tail sometimes won't take food offered to him. He didn't always eat everything offered to him when he was young either. That could calssify him as a picky eater, but I wouldn't say its a consistent problem. Seems to me he eats until he feels satisfied, but that could be giving him too much credit. He sometimes takes one prey item and then won't go for a second.

Seems to me 2½ months seems a bit young for a snake that has almost reached 3 feet. But for that size I'd feed one large mouse, once a week. That's what I did with my RTB when he was that big.

Good luck.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Fuzzy or weaned rat would be better than a mouse...but a mouse will do if that's all you can find. Every now and then I have a baby or two that just will not eat a rat but will chow down on mice. It is fairly rare but not too uncommon...but If they will eat rats from the start, they will live their entire life never knowing what a mouse even looks like.

Snakes move around and explore for reasons other than hunting for food. They don't just sleep away till they are hungry again...so please don't get stressed because your snake is showing signs of life between feedings

Here is my feeding schedule for boas...This is by no means meant to come across as the end all say all....just what I do LOL...This is a VERY loose schedule that has to be figured and refigured constantly on an individual basis as they all grow at different rates and hit their little spurts at different ages...just keep the prey size (when dead and outstretched) the same approximate size as the snake is around (girth) at it's fattest point. And keep on top of this!

From birth to 4 months old - 1 Pink Rat (not mouse) every 7 days...If they won't take a pink rat-1 hopper mouse
pink rats vary in size...they grow quite a bit before growing hair....so as the snake grows, so should the size of the rat. If the snake grows faster than this schedule might suggest, by all means, step it up. (size-not frequency)

at about 4-5 months they should be ready for a weaned rat...once they get on weaned rats, they seem to hit a little growth spurt. Still...every 7 days

at 8-9 months...small rat every 7-10 days

by 12 months...small -medium or-large rat (what ever is appropriate for the snake) every 10-14 days keep increasing prey size as the snake grows. Chasing down rabbit farmers for feeders is a pain...don't be in such a hurry to deal with that. Enjoy their youth.

After about a year and a half, I never feed any boa any sooner than every 14 days...I also admit to extending the 7 day schedule a bit and then abruptly changing to 14 days skipping the 10 day schedule all together. It's easier to keep up with weekely feedings with a large collection...10 days makes my brain hurt. lol...Once they are well established on any size adult rats, I feed one rat one feeding and 2 the next. I also keep males a little leaner than the females. As a female reaches sexual maturity she will begin to spread out and get quite girthy. If I intend to breed her, I may offer 2 appropriate food items every feeding. If I don't intend to breed them, I don't let them get too fat. Once bred, they usually refuse food till the day or the day after they give birth. I don't breed any female that is less than 4 years old. Right now, I have no plans of breeding anymore boas anyway...so they are all on just healthy maintenance diets.

[Wrasse]

I kill my fuzzies by placing them on a table and putting the thin edge of a ruler behind their head, over their necks. A quick press *crunch* and the job is done.

The bonus of this is that you still get a body shudder and jerk for another couple of minutes so the picky eaters get to think they are jumping on live.