@@BrianBoas What do you feed boas? My plan is for a baby, I’ll feed a male imperator boa large mice, and as an adult feed them a mix of Guinea pigs and small rabbits. Is this a good plan?
This is great info. I adopted my first female BI. She's 3 years old and she is about 3 feet long just by looking at her since I haven't measured her yet. I thought she was a bit small but this gives me a lot of reassurance. Thank you for this.
Wow Brian you sure do a wonderful job maintaining your boa stock of beauty ,,,,, Yes i do appreciate the feeding tips especially with the age differences that was very great n deed to know. Keep up the great works fellow snakemannn '
I couldnt agree with this video more, and this info needs to be more widely accepted as accurate. Far, far too many people have overfed, very round, fat, 10' boas. While some (very few) can heathily achieve thar length, it's basically unheard of. Very healthy wild adult boas almost never exceed 7', and thats quite a large wild caught. They're also never round, but have a nice rectnagular shape to them, or as you described it, kind of like a loaf of bread, which is a perfect descriptor! I'm gonna share this video in the hopes it really gets circulating, and the community as a whole stsrts taking better care of our boas!
Thanks so much for this video Brian! I'm still relatively new to the hobby, but this is already something I'm super passionate about. I see so many obese snakes promoted on social media for the spectacle, And it makes me so sad. I'm making sure to slow grow my year old Dumerils boa so that she's with me for the long haul!
I just brought home my first RTB from a reptile expo yesterday. The guy who I got her from said that Ripley (what I named the RTB) hadn't been fed for about a week and to wait three days before feeding. I was wondering if there was specific behaviors I can look for to tell if it needs to be fed earlier or later. He also couldn't say how old it was, and was also wondering how to age and sex a boa?
When we tuck on our girl he told me to feed an xl every week but then I found out she actually over weight and to feed her every 4-6 weeks, she actually off food at the mo but I'm sure she can go a while before I need to worry right 😊
Thanks for your advice Brain. I am afraid back in the day in the 1970s, I overfed my boas and pythons, I used to feed them every week with out fail, I was wrong, but back then advice, knowledge was very limited. I now feed my my boas as advised.
I love your demenour you are calming to listen to and thank you for this information. I understand and feel you wih frustrations on how people take care of their animals, in general. question: How do you feel about the snake trade or snake captivity given so many people are not correctly taking care of their snakes?
I have mixed feelings, but most people I've dealt with who are drawn to the locality boas are in the hobby for the right reasons and give great care to their animals.
I have several pet rodents (rat and mice). I have no heart to give them to boas. Could you please recommend other healthy menu for boas beside rodents?
Can you help me? I feel like my snake is underweight he’s about 4 years old or more.. he goes a couple of months with out wanting to eat and it worry’s me. He has loose skin around his neck but looks like the snake you were losing when did cutting obese boas. What can I do to entice him to eat once a month?
Hi,im new in the hobby,almost a year.I have seen many disscusion between breeders and keepers regarding feeders.I have 2 girls,both bci, and i would like to offer them something else like baby rabits or small chicks,what do you thing?
People confused about this issue? Yeah thats me! I def think BCC require less food and less often than BCI’s seem too need food. BCI seem to need weekly early on and slow down to BCC level around 2. Do you disagree?
Is this feeding schedule only for boas or also other snakes? In my case, I am looking for informations about carpet pythons, wich aren't as popular and makes finding information much harder...
This is specifically for boas. I had a pair of carpet pythons many years ago, and I fed them about the same or a bit more often than my boas. There are some good books out there on carpet pythons. Maybe someone with carpet experience could chime in as well...
hi Brian; I read in Russo's book that a lot of boas feed seasonal. When food is more available, during summer and late summer, they can take more meals to store fat for winter, when no ore or significantly less food is available. My boas (Bolivian Amarali from the Miller line) are 1 year now. Apart from taking your advice on feeding every 10-14 days I have been feeding every week for the last month and a half to reduce feeding to every 3 weeks to a month in winter (starting now aprox since I've been lowering the temperatures slightly 2 weeks ago). Do you think it is a good idea to change the feeding frequency following the seasons? Do you 'prepare' your young boas this way synchronical to adult breeding boas? Thanks for your thoughts. Tom
Yes in the winter cooling period adult boas are typically not fed for two months and juveniles at least a year old are not fed for about a month and a half. I also feed animals that will go into breeding trials the following year a bit more often in the summer to get them ready.
@@BrianBoas Thanks, that's interesting; so you prefer to not feed them 1 month and a half in a straight line rather than feed them intermittently less for 3 or 4 months? what's the reason for this? Also, after the month and a half of winter stop, do you take the temperatures of the subadults back up to normal during a course of 2 weeks or so, or do you keep the reduced temperatures while starting to give them meals again(I guess the former)? thanks again.
Hi, i have a few reptiles, and i just got a boa constrictor who is around 1 year old but i think he is really small for 2021 hatch Is he too small or am i being paranoid, and if he is, do i switch to rats instead of mice?I feed him once a week with mice He is around 55cm long(21 inch) And only 100g
Hm it would be nice when you explain what a slide bulge in your point of view is!.? Everyone is Talking about a slide bulge but...... what is slide? Greetings from Germany
hi Brian i caught a wild boa and had it for 9 days i gave him a small rat and he ate it and then he regurgitated after how many days should i give him a mouse?
Great video once again! got to add my most hated obese snake guy as Jay's prehistoric pets I believe or something like that. Another brian barcyzk shouting at his animal's but they are like trees 😔
Yes there are a lot of obese snakes out there and people giving really bad advice on how often to feed in YT videos. Hopefully my videos will help people feed a more appropriate and healthy amount to their boas...
Hello again Brain. I have a question that i am in desperate need for an answer! I have a male full grwn boa and about 4 months ago he stopped eating he will not eat at all! Shows 0 interest! He hasn't shed in 5 months! His last feeding was in late August 2022! This animal is my buddy his personality is unlike any snaoe i have ever had and i have had a good many snakes! He's 1 in million! I am super worried about losing him! I got him he was already full grown about 4 years ago! He's been to a vet he got an injection of B12 i believe it was i also gave him antibiotics for 8 days orally! Amd nothing no change! He still wont eat! I have no choice but to force feed him which i have been doing now for 4 weeks he needed something in his system! So i started forcing pinkys for 2 weeks 1 a day to keep him alive! He went from 12 pounds to 4 pounds! He seems to be a bit more lively now but still will not eat on his own! I only take him out of his tank to feed him and once a week ill pull him out for about 15 minutes and let him lay on my lap he trys to climb on my shoulders like he always used to but has a very hard time and i dont want to put any unnecessary stress on him! He normally doesn't move much in his enclosure! The temperature is always perfect 90° humidity 55 to 65% day time lights and night darkness! I need some help id it possibly he's just getting to that point in his life to pass on? As i said i have no clue his age!Desperate for possibly answers or what i can do to help him gain some weight and bring him back to good health!
Sorry to hear. I can't say for sure; this could be caused by a bunch of things. About how old is he? Even if you don't know, you can often make a guess based on his body condition. When boas reach the end of their lifespan, they typically will stop eating. Or he may have some sort of chronic disease and has reached the end stages. A qualified reptile vet should be able to give you a better idea. Best of luck; I hope he recovers soon!
Another good video Brian and very necessary I also get upset (pissed off) when I see overfed unhealthy snakes. Unfortunately as you mentioned before a lot of good books with good information suggest feeding once a week but are outdated I would like to believe that all reptile keepers are well intentioned though some are just misinformed It makes me happy to see someone putting good information out there Hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy
Great video Brian, I learned new things and its sad that people don't take proper feeding care of their pet snakes, I hope to adopt a Boa some time in the feature.
Hey Brian nice vlog again. But i am still confused about the size of the rodant. I bought a Boa about 7 feet length and about 4 years old what size of rodant do you feed to your big adults every 3 or 4 weeks?
Anything bigger then a jumbo no matter how large they snake for what ever reason I don't get it . Cus even smaller snakes like bulls , indigo snakes , black rat snake grow large enough to eat jumbo t no hassle in they are nowhere as near as girthy as majority boas or pythons just my intake . People tend to want to have all these large snakes but like to feed smaller prey cus they want tit to grow to it's real Size like in wild but why not just getter a smaller specie's snake . Instead of a boa constrictor get a red tail or blood python , instead of red tails or bloods you can get carpet python or dumerils boa , in stead of them you can get Brazilian rainbow boas or ball python in so on .
Jumbo's they will eat no problem at 7 ft I've even seen 4-5 ft take Jumbo's down like a champ . Everybody grow they snake different . Some people won't feed a boa constrictor anything larger then a jumbo just so they snake won't grow much . But if that's the case why not downsize to a blood python or red tail boa if boa constrictor get too big for you . Or if you want a large but manageable snake just get a dumerils boa or carpet python .
I have a male hog island that is about 3 years old. He has been growing very slow and I have been feeding him once every 2 weeks or so. He is only just over 2 1/2 feet long. I’m not sure if this is normal as I have heard a lot of different things from different people. Do you have any input? Thanks
Am I right in thinking that the frequency of sheddings in adults is a useful indicator that they are not being over fed? Presumably, if a snake is putting on weight, it will shed more often. I have had an adult b.c. amarali female for four years: she was about four years old when I took her on, and she has always shed four times a year. My adult jungle carpet python also sheds four times a year, whereas my sub adult brazilian rainbow boa, and sub adult darwin carpet python both shed every two months.
There is some correlation with feeding rate and shedding, with most young or subadult boas that are still rapidly growing shedding every 1.5 to 2 months, and most adults who are growing much slower shedding every 2-4 months. But a much better indicator of whether the boa is being over fed is it's body condition.
Is this feeding schedule recommended for dwarf boas as well? This is the schedule ive always used but I just rescued a dwarf that seems extremely skinny but i dont want to over fed her or upset her system to get her back to a healthy weight. I just wanna make sure im feeding her what she needs
Hi Brian, I just got a rescue adult female bci and the previous owners were power feeding her and now she’s clearly obese. How often should I feed her to get her to lose weight? She’s 7ft long
What about while there young I’ve fed my baby boa once I’m thinking while he’s young 1 hopper mice Ah week? Until he’s older is this ok till he’s atleast a year old or should I slow down now
Thanks, thisi s the video I was waiting for :) I have a Boa Imperator (around 1 year), currently feeding her (it's a female) once every 2 weeks (some times one day less), and from time to time I wonder if I shouldnt do it a bit more often.
@@BrianBoas Lets say I would prefer her not gettin too big, so thats why I prefer to feed her a bit less often with a bit bigger meal (nothing too big). Eventually it will take her longer to get to her full size that I totally don't mind (I do not plan to breed her or anything) :)
Brian I see some people feeding more than one prey item. When my red tail gets to the size where large rats don’t make a bulge, how do you recommend feeding or what? How do you feed multiple prey items if that’s the case
I have a redtail (don't know the morph, style etc.. that never really mattered to me, I just like snakes). The problem is I don't know how old she is. Got her from a guy that knew nothing, it was his wife's and she passed. He had been feeding it 2 mice every 10-14 days, but she's about 5.5'. I've always used a rule of thumb to keep their skin not looking saggy or loose, but always make sure they're taller than they are wide. I've had her on an xl rat (which may be a hair too big), every three weeks, have some people on forums say every 4-6 weeks, that seems a little light to me.
They should be very muscular, with no lose skin and no fat. So you can increase the feeding until they develop a nice firm muscle tone. I would say every 3 weeks is fine.
@@BrianBoas I'm part of a group called "boas and only boas" on fb. You should join, the number of people with bcc/bci that look like ball pythons is astounding. And they're handing out advice like they are God because they can tell the difference between a "true redtail, and an imperator". I post your links where I can, but they need info. "I have 200 snakes, they urinate".... No, they don't.
Excellent points. Personally I exercise my boa as well and even built him a little pvc jungle gym to climb around on. LOL It is easy to overfeed boas because they will eat pretty much anytime so it could be really beneficial to keep a schedule and understand how their metabolism works. All great points as always! Don't let those boas become sausages!
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Great video. Your the only RUclipsr that I’ve seen showing this much care over these amazing creatures. I love it
Thanks!
I am so glad you have addressed the feeding and obesity issue. I want my Boas to be healthy and never become obese and unhealthy.
Great; thanks for watching!
Good!
@@BrianBoas What do you feed boas?
My plan is for a baby, I’ll feed a male imperator boa large mice, and as an adult feed them a mix of Guinea pigs and small rabbits. Is this a good plan?
This is great info. I adopted my first female BI. She's 3 years old and she is about 3 feet long just by looking at her since I haven't measured her yet. I thought she was a bit small but this gives me a lot of reassurance. Thank you for this.
Thanks and good luck
Good video! I had been afraid of over feeding my BI, but looks like I'm right on track.
Best of luck!
Wow Brian you sure do a wonderful job maintaining your boa stock of beauty ,,,,, Yes i do appreciate the feeding tips especially with the age differences that was very great n deed to know. Keep up the great works fellow snakemannn '
Thanks, will do!
I couldnt agree with this video more, and this info needs to be more widely accepted as accurate. Far, far too many people have overfed, very round, fat, 10' boas. While some (very few) can heathily achieve thar length, it's basically unheard of. Very healthy wild adult boas almost never exceed 7', and thats quite a large wild caught. They're also never round, but have a nice rectnagular shape to them, or as you described it, kind of like a loaf of bread, which is a perfect descriptor!
I'm gonna share this video in the hopes it really gets circulating, and the community as a whole stsrts taking better care of our boas!
Thanks for your support, hopefully more people will feed their boas a more healthy food regimen in the future!
Thanks, enjoy your boas as well, though considering your often uploads, I would say you do. 👋😁👍
Thanks so much for this video Brian! I'm still relatively new to the hobby, but this is already something I'm super passionate about. I see so many obese snakes promoted on social media for the spectacle, And it makes me so sad. I'm making sure to slow grow my year old Dumerils boa so that she's with me for the long haul!
Yes, it's sad there are so many obese boas out there.
I just brought home my first RTB from a reptile expo yesterday. The guy who I got her from said that Ripley (what I named the RTB) hadn't been fed for about a week and to wait three days before feeding. I was wondering if there was specific behaviors I can look for to tell if it needs to be fed earlier or later. He also couldn't say how old it was, and was also wondering how to age and sex a boa?
You should always give new boas at least 3-5 days to settle in before offering food
When we tuck on our girl he told me to feed an xl every week but then I found out she actually over weight and to feed her every 4-6 weeks, she actually off food at the mo but I'm sure she can go a while before I need to worry right 😊
Yes, an xl every week is WAY too much for an adult boa, I would say for a boa big enough to eat xl feed every 3-4 weeks or less if it's overweight.
Thanks for your advice Brain. I am afraid back in the day in the 1970s, I overfed my boas and pythons, I used to feed them every week with out fail, I was wrong, but back then advice, knowledge was very limited. I now feed my my boas as advised.
Thanks for sharing!
I love your demenour you are calming to listen to and thank you for this information. I understand and feel you wih frustrations on how people take care of their animals, in general.
question: How do you feel about the snake trade or snake captivity given so many people are not correctly taking care of their snakes?
I have mixed feelings, but most people I've dealt with who are drawn to the locality boas are in the hobby for the right reasons and give great care to their animals.
Thank you bro!!! So once every 2 weeks. Mine is 3 months old Bolivian short tail..
No at 3 months you should feed it once a week until about 1 year
I recommend feeding every 10-14 days until a year old.
You still have your bolivian?
Has anyone ever told you that you look like chers child in the old movie "mask"😅 love the chanel
No I’ve never heard that. I am not familiar with that movie.
Over feeding is bad but not as bad as the over breeding problem!!
I have several pet rodents (rat and mice). I have no heart to give them to boas. Could you please recommend other healthy menu for boas beside rodents?
They can eat birds like small chickens and quail.
Have you played around with food type? For example, chickens are much lower in fat than rodents are, quails are higher in protein than either, etc.
I alternate rodents with quail several times a year in my adult/ larger subadult boas.
Can you help me? I feel like my snake is underweight he’s about 4 years old or more.. he goes a couple of months with out wanting to eat and it worry’s me. He has loose skin around his neck but looks like the snake you were losing when did cutting obese boas. What can I do to entice him to eat once a month?
my ex wife was a stuffed sausage...ill stick to my boa,great vid
You’re lucky she’s your ex
My boa is not eating after shedding she took feeding and after that she is not taking feed
Thank you
You're welcome
Do you feel like this schedule is appropriate to dwarf localities like a Longicauda and a Sonoran? Thank you for addressing this very important issue!
Yes, it's worked well for me for most locality boas.
Hi,im new in the hobby,almost a year.I have seen many disscusion between breeders and keepers regarding feeders.I have 2 girls,both bci, and i would like to offer them something else like baby rabits or small chicks,what do you thing?
Go for it!
@@BrianBoas But why are so many pros and cons?What are you feeding?
Could we get a how to care for video for first time bcc owners?
Ok, we'll see.
People confused about this issue? Yeah thats me!
I def think BCC require less food and less often than BCI’s seem too need food. BCI seem to need weekly early on and slow down to BCC level around 2. Do you disagree?
Yes Bcc in general should be fed more sparingly than Bci/Bi.
@@BrianBoas by the way, is Sonoran a morph or a locality? Morph Market has it listed as a locality, but I am not sure. Figured I would ask the expert.
@@JJDEsq. Sonoran is a locality. They are considered dwarf boas and sonoran boas are from the sonoran desert in mexico.
Is this feeding schedule only for boas or also other snakes?
In my case, I am looking for informations about carpet pythons, wich aren't as popular and makes finding information much harder...
This is specifically for boas. I had a pair of carpet pythons many years ago, and I fed them about the same or a bit more often than my boas. There are some good books out there on carpet pythons. Maybe someone with carpet experience could chime in as well...
hi Brian; I read in Russo's book that a lot of boas feed seasonal. When food is more available, during summer and late summer, they can take more meals to store fat for winter, when no ore or significantly less food is available. My boas (Bolivian Amarali from the Miller line) are 1 year now. Apart from taking your advice on feeding every 10-14 days I have been feeding every week for the last month and a half to reduce feeding to every 3 weeks to a month in winter (starting now aprox since I've been lowering the temperatures slightly 2 weeks ago). Do you think it is a good idea to change the feeding frequency following the seasons? Do you 'prepare' your young boas this way synchronical to adult breeding boas? Thanks for your thoughts. Tom
Yes in the winter cooling period adult boas are typically not fed for two months and juveniles at least a year old are not fed for about a month and a half. I also feed animals that will go into breeding trials the following year a bit more often in the summer to get them ready.
@@BrianBoas Thanks, that's interesting; so you prefer to not feed them 1 month and a half in a straight line rather than feed them intermittently less for 3 or 4 months? what's the reason for this? Also, after the month and a half of winter stop, do you take the temperatures of the subadults back up to normal during a course of 2 weeks or so, or do you keep the reduced temperatures while starting to give them meals again(I guess the former)? thanks again.
How much does exercise play a role in boa calorie requirements?
Some, but most boas are pretty sedentary in their enclosures.
Should I use that feeding schedule for my angolan pythons? They get fat easy.
No this video is specifically about boa constrictors.
Hi, i have a few reptiles, and i just got a boa constrictor who is around 1 year old but i think he is really small for 2021 hatch
Is he too small or am i being paranoid, and if he is, do i switch to rats instead of mice?I feed him once a week with mice
He is around 55cm long(21 inch)
And only 100g
He is probably fine but there is no way I can tell for sure based on the information provided
Hm it would be nice when you explain what a slide bulge in your point of view is!.? Everyone is Talking about a slide bulge but...... what is slide? Greetings from Germany
You can see there is a rodent in the belly but the belly is not overly distended.
hi Brian i caught a wild boa and had it for 9 days i gave him a small rat and he ate it and then he regurgitated after how many days should i give him a mouse?
I typically wait 3-4 weeks following any regurgitation to offer food again.
@@BrianBoas thnx the thing is when i caught i dont know when or if he ate
Regardless of that wait 2 to 3 weeks ?
Honestly, assuming you are in the range of wild boas, I would release the animal back to the wild and try to get a captive bred boa
@@BrianBoas here in aruba there is no snakes breeder all the boas here are wild
Great video once again! got to add my most hated obese snake guy as Jay's prehistoric pets I believe or something like that. Another brian barcyzk shouting at his animal's but they are like trees 😔
Yes there are a lot of obese snakes out there and people giving really bad advice on how often to feed in YT videos. Hopefully my videos will help people feed a more appropriate and healthy amount to their boas...
@@BrianBoas not religions but in this case AH MEN!
I feed my three year old a large rat and a ex large mouse every ten days is that to much
Hard to say without seeing your boa's body shape but I feed most of my 3 year olds every 2-3 weeks, typically 1 medium rat
Hello again Brain. I have a question that i am in desperate need for an answer! I have a male full grwn boa and about 4 months ago he stopped eating he will not eat at all! Shows 0 interest! He hasn't shed in 5 months! His last feeding was in late August 2022! This animal is my buddy his personality is unlike any snaoe i have ever had and i have had a good many snakes! He's 1 in million! I am super worried about losing him! I got him he was already full grown about 4 years ago! He's been to a vet he got an injection of B12 i believe it was i also gave him antibiotics for 8 days orally! Amd nothing no change! He still wont eat! I have no choice but to force feed him which i have been doing now for 4 weeks he needed something in his system! So i started forcing pinkys for 2 weeks 1 a day to keep him alive! He went from 12 pounds to 4 pounds! He seems to be a bit more lively now but still will not eat on his own! I only take him out of his tank to feed him and once a week ill pull him out for about 15 minutes and let him lay on my lap he trys to climb on my shoulders like he always used to but has a very hard time and i dont want to put any unnecessary stress on him! He normally doesn't move much in his enclosure! The temperature is always perfect 90° humidity 55 to 65% day time lights and night darkness! I need some help id it possibly he's just getting to that point in his life to pass on? As i said i have no clue his age!Desperate for possibly answers or what i can do to help him gain some weight and bring him back to good health!
Sorry to hear. I can't say for sure; this could be caused by a bunch of things. About how old is he? Even if you don't know, you can often make a guess based on his body condition. When boas reach the end of their lifespan, they typically will stop eating. Or he may have some sort of chronic disease and has reached the end stages. A qualified reptile vet should be able to give you a better idea. Best of luck; I hope he recovers soon!
You know when you're boa is hungry when it becomes very active and is constantly crawling around the cage that's when you feed it
Another good video Brian and very necessary I also get upset (pissed off) when I see overfed unhealthy snakes. Unfortunately as you mentioned before a lot of good books with good information suggest feeding once a week but are outdated I would like to believe that all reptile keepers are well intentioned though some are just misinformed It makes me happy to see someone putting good information out there Hope you and yours are staying safe and healthy
I think the "feed once a week" mentality is unfortunately engrained in a large percentage of boa keepers due to misinformation.
Great video!! Thank you so much. I rescued a 6 foot Sunglow and was wondering how much to feed my girl. Thank you for this.
Thanks and good luck
Great video Brian, I learned new things and its sad that people don't take proper feeding care of their pet snakes, I hope to adopt a Boa some time in the feature.
Thanks for watching!
Hey Brian nice vlog again. But i am still confused about the size of the rodant. I bought a Boa about 7 feet length and about 4 years old what size of rodant do you feed to your big adults every 3 or 4 weeks?
My adults that size get large or extra large rats
Anything bigger then a jumbo no matter how large they snake for what ever reason I don't get it . Cus even smaller snakes like bulls , indigo snakes , black rat snake grow large enough to eat jumbo t no hassle in they are nowhere as near as girthy as majority boas or pythons just my intake . People tend to want to have all these large snakes but like to feed smaller prey cus they want tit to grow to it's real Size like in wild but why not just getter a smaller specie's snake . Instead of a boa constrictor get a red tail or blood python , instead of red tails or bloods you can get carpet python or dumerils boa , in stead of them you can get Brazilian rainbow boas or ball python in so on .
Jumbo's they will eat no problem at 7 ft I've even seen 4-5 ft take Jumbo's down like a champ . Everybody grow they snake different . Some people won't feed a boa constrictor anything larger then a jumbo just so they snake won't grow much . But if that's the case why not downsize to a blood python or red tail boa if boa constrictor get too big for you . Or if you want a large but manageable snake just get a dumerils boa or carpet python .
I have a male hog island that is about 3 years old. He has been growing very slow and I have been feeding him once every 2 weeks or so. He is only just over 2 1/2 feet long. I’m not sure if this is normal as I have heard a lot of different things from different people. Do you have any input? Thanks
Sounds fine- my 2018 holdbacks are about the same size
I had a question how do I tell what size is the right size I'm kinda new so I'm looking around for help
The prey item should leave a slightly visible bulge but not bigger
Am I right in thinking that the frequency of sheddings in adults is a useful indicator that they are not being over fed? Presumably, if a snake is putting on weight, it will shed more often. I have had an adult b.c. amarali female for four years: she was about four years old when I took her on, and she has always shed four times a year. My adult jungle carpet python also sheds four times a year, whereas my sub adult brazilian rainbow boa, and sub adult darwin carpet python both shed every two months.
There is some correlation with feeding rate and shedding, with most young or subadult boas that are still rapidly growing shedding every 1.5 to 2 months, and most adults who are growing much slower shedding every 2-4 months. But a much better indicator of whether the boa is being over fed is it's body condition.
Is this feeding schedule recommended for dwarf boas as well? This is the schedule ive always used but I just rescued a dwarf that seems extremely skinny but i dont want to over fed her or upset her system to get her back to a healthy weight. I just wanna make sure im feeding her what she needs
Yes but if you have an underweight boa by all means feed more often until it’s a healthy weight
Thanks for the input. I have a 5 month old Nicaraguan Boa and just was making sure I wasn’t overfeeding her.
Best of luck
Hi Brian, I just got a rescue adult female bci and the previous owners were power feeding her and now she’s clearly obese. How often should I feed her to get her to lose weight? She’s 7ft long
I would recommend an appropriate size rodent every four week. Make sure the weight loss is gradual.
What about while there young I’ve fed my baby boa once I’m thinking while he’s young 1 hopper mice Ah week? Until he’s older is this ok till he’s atleast a year old or should I slow down now
This should be fine
Very convincing 👌🏼
Hello Brain, do you feed your boa's only on spring and summer time? Greetings from Germany
No they are fed year round except for about 2 months in the winter durung cycling
I just ordered my first red tail boa. I hope he ends up being as beautiful as yours.
Good luck!
Thanks, thisi s the video I was waiting for :)
I have a Boa Imperator (around 1 year), currently feeding her (it's a female) once every 2 weeks (some times one day less), and from time to time I wonder if I shouldnt do it a bit more often.
You can feed a bit more often (like every 10 days) if she is still young and in good shape.
@@BrianBoas Lets say I would prefer her not gettin too big, so thats why I prefer to feed her a bit less often with a bit bigger meal (nothing too big). Eventually it will take her longer to get to her full size that I totally don't mind (I do not plan to breed her or anything) :)
Brian I see some people feeding more than one prey item. When my red tail gets to the size where large rats don’t make a bulge, how do you recommend feeding or what? How do you feed multiple prey items if that’s the case
You can feed rabbits, chickens, or two jumbo rats for really big boas.
@@BrianBoas Thank you sir... I appreciate it
Hey Brian what would you say about feeding 4 to 5 times a year? With a much bigger food item.
I would definitely not recommend this
I have a redtail (don't know the morph, style etc.. that never really mattered to me, I just like snakes). The problem is I don't know how old she is. Got her from a guy that knew nothing, it was his wife's and she passed. He had been feeding it 2 mice every 10-14 days, but she's about 5.5'. I've always used a rule of thumb to keep their skin not looking saggy or loose, but always make sure they're taller than they are wide. I've had her on an xl rat (which may be a hair too big), every three weeks, have some people on forums say every 4-6 weeks, that seems a little light to me.
They should be very muscular, with no lose skin and no fat. So you can increase the feeding until they develop a nice firm muscle tone. I would say every 3 weeks is fine.
@@BrianBoas I'm part of a group called "boas and only boas" on fb. You should join, the number of people with bcc/bci that look like ball pythons is astounding. And they're handing out advice like they are God because they can tell the difference between a "true redtail, and an imperator".
I post your links where I can, but they need info.
"I have 200 snakes, they urinate"....
No, they don't.
Excellent points. Personally I exercise my boa as well and even built him a little pvc jungle gym to climb around on. LOL It is easy to overfeed boas because they will eat pretty much anytime so it could be really beneficial to keep a schedule and understand how their metabolism works. All great points as always! Don't let those boas become sausages!
Great idea!