Hog Island BCI, out and about!
- Thread starter lovespunaround
- Start date
lovespunaround;1294165; said:
Starving does not just mean extremely underweight.
means getting significantly less than would be ideal.
given the same food the in the wild they get that big, but underweight/underfed animals can and will produce.im not saying overfeed at ALL.
dont feed them just once a month on something small, this IS stunting a snake. whether they get that much prey or not in thee wild.
the fact they CAN get that big at all proves something...
A yellow anaconda was fed a small mouse once a month for three years.. it stayed at 3 foot.
in captivity, given the space (& right husbandry) and the RIGHT (not under or over) amount of food, anaconda will get full size.
If you are replicating the diet of an animal, as it would have in it's natural environment there is nothing necessarily wrong with that. Captive environments mean we can spread out the amount of food they get, so it's not necessarily bust or boom feeding schedules however. Many reptiles and fish (if not all) can attain larger lengths in captivity than they necessarily would in the wild. There are usually one or two wild specimens that will be considered "monsters" but in captive conditions, could be the norm. However, it may be important to point out that feeding more than they would eat in the wild, can be very detrimental to their health. Of course it would effect different species differently, depending on how fine a ecological niche they fit in.
Saying that Hogg Island are phenotypically different than the mainland is WRONG. Even with the mainland boas, you still get tons of boas with different phenotypes. If you want a small boa without worrying about overfeeding, go get a Caulker Cay, a Honduran or a Baiha Island boa. Hell, even a Nicaraguan male seldom go over 4' and females seldom go over 5'-6', even in captivity; mine is an exception, but there are always exceptions.
Anyway, if a stunted animal manage to survive, it WILL breed. If overfeeding a Hogg Island is an issue, then how come people still successfully breed them? An overfed or an overgrown boa is not likely to breed successfully. Period. The only thing that is unique to the Hogg Island is the wildtype morph.
It is your snake, not mine. An underfed snake can sexually mature properly, after all what if something in the environment went chaotic? It would not be a benefit if it can't mature while underfed. However being underfed can delay the sexual maturity or even prolong it indefinitely.
So stunting their growth in the wild is an adaptation method that snakes use, and the Hogg Island successfully done that. Snakes are extremely adaptable to their environment, especially boas. You're forgetting why boas are considered by many to be THE starter snake until captive-bred Ball Python came along.
Anyway, if a stunted animal manage to survive, it WILL breed. If overfeeding a Hogg Island is an issue, then how come people still successfully breed them? An overfed or an overgrown boa is not likely to breed successfully. Period. The only thing that is unique to the Hogg Island is the wildtype morph.
It is your snake, not mine. An underfed snake can sexually mature properly, after all what if something in the environment went chaotic? It would not be a benefit if it can't mature while underfed. However being underfed can delay the sexual maturity or even prolong it indefinitely.
So stunting their growth in the wild is an adaptation method that snakes use, and the Hogg Island successfully done that. Snakes are extremely adaptable to their environment, especially boas. You're forgetting why boas are considered by many to be THE starter snake until captive-bred Ball Python came along.
I don't understand how being in captivity changes the dietary needs of a snake. I'm told that a wild Hog's diet is mainly birds, which are lower in calories than rodents. Add in that snakes in captivity don't get nearly as much exercise as wild snakes, and that wild snakes experience periods of dormancy/low activity which may last as long as several months, and you can come to the conclusion that either God is very cruel to the wild population of Hogs or that people might be overfeeding captive specimens.
Or even that they're intergrades with other locales, as is the case with many varieties of BCI.
Still, how does feeding it in captivity the same amount it would receive in the wild amount to starving it? That makes absolutely no sense. Especially if in captivity, the diet is higher in calories and the snake is less active.
Kioka, Hogs are phenotypically different than mainland boas. I wasn't referring to anything like scale counts or skeletal differences, but outward appearance and color variations are part of the phenotype.
Or even that they're intergrades with other locales, as is the case with many varieties of BCI.
Still, how does feeding it in captivity the same amount it would receive in the wild amount to starving it? That makes absolutely no sense. Especially if in captivity, the diet is higher in calories and the snake is less active.
Kioka, Hogs are phenotypically different than mainland boas. I wasn't referring to anything like scale counts or skeletal differences, but outward appearance and color variations are part of the phenotype.
your not changing the dietry needs. your just upping the amount of food to what is better, and healthier.
you are assuming that as soon as you give one extra feed, a snake is overweight or your overfeeding when that is not true.
Add to the fact this snake is NOT in the wild, and sometimes diets of animals in captivity are altered to the snakes need and sometimes the person keeping them too.
Like you said, theyre not in the wild and not getting excersise etc in vivs..
Since when do snakes 'excersise' in nature other then when hunting or mating anyway...
Every animal in the wild does not get food offered on a plate, they go hungry near enough all the time.
Just because an animal can go on nine meals a year doesn't mean it wont benefit from more.
If you can find proper proof on why these partivular snakes should go without more than other snakes, and why they shouldnt be offered more food than they are getting in the wild (like every other snake in captivity) I will admit my ignorance.
you are assuming that as soon as you give one extra feed, a snake is overweight or your overfeeding when that is not true.
Add to the fact this snake is NOT in the wild, and sometimes diets of animals in captivity are altered to the snakes need and sometimes the person keeping them too.
Like you said, theyre not in the wild and not getting excersise etc in vivs..
Since when do snakes 'excersise' in nature other then when hunting or mating anyway...
Every animal in the wild does not get food offered on a plate, they go hungry near enough all the time.
Just because an animal can go on nine meals a year doesn't mean it wont benefit from more.
If you can find proper proof on why these partivular snakes should go without more than other snakes, and why they shouldnt be offered more food than they are getting in the wild (like every other snake in captivity) I will admit my ignorance.
Just because it's getting larger doesn't mean it's benefiting. I said nothing about a snake being overfed or overweight just because it eats a little more in captivity. What I did say is that a snake isn't necessarily starving simply because it's not getting eight or nine feet long like some other captive Hogs.
As for proof that they shouldn't be fed as much as other captive snakes....hell, I think most captive snakes are probably somewhat overfed, considering they have less of a need for caloric intake due to their sedentary captive lifestyles. I can't give you proof that it's bad for them, and I'm not trying to. Why don't you give me proof that feeding them sparingly, so they don't grow several feet longer than in the wild, is bad for them?
Thermoregulation, fleeing enemies or just looking for a new place to hide in general, and sometimes just cruising around for the hell of it.
It's obviously not hurting them not to eat an appropriately-sized frozen/thawed rodent every seven to ten days.
As for proof that they shouldn't be fed as much as other captive snakes....hell, I think most captive snakes are probably somewhat overfed, considering they have less of a need for caloric intake due to their sedentary captive lifestyles. I can't give you proof that it's bad for them, and I'm not trying to. Why don't you give me proof that feeding them sparingly, so they don't grow several feet longer than in the wild, is bad for them?
