Red Tailed Boas-Size?

Question

I have a female red-tailed boa constrictor who is about 1.5 years old, and just under 3 feet long. I feed her a mouse, usually prekilled, on a weekly basis. She always eats well. I handle her often, and she is tame, friendly, and very calm. I have had since she was about a month old. As far as I can tell, she is completely healthy.

After doing a bit of research on growth rates, I am becoming a bit concerned. I have seen many snakes that are her age, but are up to 4 or more feet long. Is this normal? How rapidly do these snakes normally grow? If you have one, how big is it and how old?

Thanks!

Answer 1

You are doing a good job.  Too many people "power feed" in a effort to get their snakes to grow too quickly.  This is not a safe practice.  She may be ready for rat pups instead.  The size of the prey should be no larger than 1.5 times the thickest part of the snake.  If you can't see the food bulge by the next day, it might be time to move up in size of prey.  She will grow slowly and steadily and this is very healthy for her.  :)  

Phenomenal site:

http://www.redtailboas.com/general_care/...

Answer 2

She should be at least 4 foot by now.

My guess is that you are not feeding her enough.

My red tail is 6 months and she is 2foot 5 inches.

She eats 2 mice a week.

Yours should be on rats by now.

Just increase her food, feed her 2 mice and she will start to put on weight and length.

Hope this helps.

The last boa that I had I sold her at 1 year lod she was eating rats.

Answer 3

For her age a single  mouse is a small meal. Feeding smaller food items is one way of controlling the growth of boas (temperature being the other). It doesn't sound like that was your intention though!

Feeding for controlled growth does not result in a thin, starved snake. They have good body tone and musculature, they are just small for their age. The practice is described   by a number of reputable sites, including the one KimbeeJ linked.

If you would like your female to grow to her full genetic and species potential of 8 - 10 feet then you will need to increase the size of her rodents. Her growth will catch-up with an increased food intake.

Addition: It is better to increase the rodent size rather then the feeding frequency. Snakes should have a break in between feedings and not be constantly digesting.

As long as she has a suitable temperature she should have no trouble digesting a young rat. The body thickness of the rodent can be slightly larger then  her body thickness (at its thickest point)

Answer 4

I breed boas and have 9 adults. I feed 3 foot boas small adult rats, which are two to three times the weight of an adult mouse. Moving it up to bigger prey will help it grow more.