It's a female. Also I know they don't always do. Just curious on exactly why she is like this. I want to see if it is something I am doing wrong or if it's how she is. What tank size would you suggest would be best for her to feel more secure in?
what...
- Thread starter Silvertears
- Start date
There is no such thing as having a tank that is to big...but multiple hides are the key. These animals are still wild after all... even being captive bred it has not been nearly long enough for them to be domesticated and they still have wild tendencies..and the wild has no walls.... However the wild does have numerous hiding places of all sizes in a small area..and that is what you need to do..give your boa plenty of options.
If it's only 2ft long it cannot possibly be that old yet. baby boas just born are half and they grow quickly. In general most snakes grow quickly in their first 1 or 2 years then slow down as the approach sexual maturity. When they reach sexual maturity their growth slows down drastically but continues on for the rest of their life,g gradually get slower in some cases.
Honestly though... I am leaning towards it being under fed. You don't want to stretch them to their limit but snakes, boids specifically are built for large prey items. A better- though still not accurate- way to measure their food item is to give them prey that is not bigger than 2x the width of the snakes head.
Personally i don't use either.. i judge by time... if my snakes can take down their meal without complications in under 5 minutes then they move up. This allows them to set their own schedule really.
If it's only 2ft long it cannot possibly be that old yet. baby boas just born are half and they grow quickly. In general most snakes grow quickly in their first 1 or 2 years then slow down as the approach sexual maturity. When they reach sexual maturity their growth slows down drastically but continues on for the rest of their life,g gradually get slower in some cases.
Honestly though... I am leaning towards it being under fed. You don't want to stretch them to their limit but snakes, boids specifically are built for large prey items. A better- though still not accurate- way to measure their food item is to give them prey that is not bigger than 2x the width of the snakes head.
Personally i don't use either.. i judge by time... if my snakes can take down their meal without complications in under 5 minutes then they move up. This allows them to set their own schedule really.
She will be a year in jan, I will try some adult mice again when I get some this weekend. All mine are pregnant or have baby's right now. If she doesn't have an issue with that I will get a small rat though not the ones they sell by me. The small rats they sell by me are at least 5 times the size of her head. Also will add more things for her to hide in. Out of curiosity http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/shop_image/product/1c9ae625a8885b133bd781a96c16aa2b.jpg would that be a good product to throw in there? I will add some different types of hide outs.
As far as growth like any animal they'll have spurts. Though with reptile's temp does play an important role in their growth since your regulating their metabolism with the heat. You have to find the temp that works best for you as far as growth. Too high she'll metabolize it too fast and won't put on too much weight since she's burning it off like you would if you raised your metabolism with excersize. Too low and she'll either become too fat or her body may adapt to a low metabolic rate and stop gaining cause of that much like somone who plateau's on a diet or when trying to gain weight. Experiment and I'm sure in no time you'll be teaching somebody else a valuable tidbit of knowledge. As for the biting it could be the heat of your hand, the smell of prey if you've recently handled feeder's or rare meat, poultry etc. Or she may just not be used to it. Had a friend who barely opened his enclosure except to feed and rarely handled his snakes. He wound up getting bit alot. The snakes started associating the noise of the cage being opened with feedings, so were in s position the minute he started opening the cage. Personally I feed mine in a seperate tupperware container for 2 reason's. 1. this way they don't associate being taken out with food all the time. 2. I have several snakes co-habitating trying to breed them and this way there's no injuries while they're feeding. Snakes will bite snakes too you know. Hope this helps.
She is fed in a 20 long, and was handled regularly. She is growing in the new tank just not as much as before. Which is why I brought that up. Thank you for the info also.
I like the cave hide spot from the link I would definitly get that and a couple other hides like that
you can even make your own , I have done that many times. It's a lot cheaper and you can hide them under the substrate. Just be sure and use the correct wood I"m sure you know about the cedar toxins and such.
