boa constrictor is 2 years old and 24 inch long

my friend asked me to take his boa yesterday because it wasnt eating but today when i offered it 2 med mice it struck fed on both i personally think it is far tooo small. i was there when he bought it 2 years ago a i dont see it growing any. i had a boa and in 2 years it was nearly 6 foot so i dont think he is feeding it right .i keep ball pythons and my 10 month baby spider ball is two or three time fatter. i told this guy how too feed it right and he sayes he is doing it. but i think he is lying what should i do. he is a good friend so i dont wanna take it off him or phone anybody.

look if he aint looking after it right i think you should take it from him,
and try to get it eating properly,
or even take it and give it to someone that will spend the time with it

and also royals are generally fatter than boas

hes not a dwarf boa or anything like that i take it, altho even then it should be bigger!

maybe its super dwarf boa!!!!!

Seems about right for a dwarf boa

have you got a picture of the boa?

thanks for the advice everybody i have decided to keep it for a lock of months. its was sold to him at city reptiles as a normal boa but they have been known to make mistakes lol

Any more news on the Boa, has he fed again since? Any pics to share

thanks for asking he is doing fine he has ate every 3 or 4 days since i got him on med mice. sorry have no pics

Excellent news and keep up the good work

heres some pics
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wow im stuned mate thats a stunner youve got......

cheers

that's a nice wee comman boa you've got there

mickyg3000 wrote:thanks for asking he is doing fine he has ate every 3 or 4 days since i got him on med mice. sorry have no pics

Some snakes grow slower than others. I have some 3 year old het albino Colombians that are just over 3ft in length. They feed every 10 days on medium rats, but grow slowly. Hearing this feeding method however concerns me greatly. You are power-feeding this snake. No matter if the snake was once underfed, powerfeeding it is not the answer. if anything, you are laying down excess fat in the liver of the snake, putting excess strain on the heart, and you are likely to kill this snake with what you may think is kindness. My advice, having kept boas for amny many years, and from having a collectino of nearly 100, is to cut your feeding down to every 10 days. Give it a good size meal. i.e. one that is one and a half times the girth of the snake. This should result in the snake putting on weight at the correct pace, not too fast, and not in an unhealthy fashion.

One other thing. A 6ft boa in 2 years is hidious. I pride myself in having animals that grow at a perfect pace, breed well, and produce healthy offspring. I refuse to power feed, and refuse to buy animals that have been powerfed. You should really reconsider your feeding strategies. Boas are very different that ball pythons that will naturally fast when they have had enough.

Warren

i totally agree with Warren here,only difference is a feed young boas every 7 days,every 10 days may infact be better.I dont slow to 10-14 days untill they are around 3 years of age.
Also that boa does not look underweight at all.it looks to have an exellent build and looks a reasonable size for its age.

Boas and snakes in general should not be big plump animals,they should be lean and muscular.So many people over feed snakes then wounder why their snake will not breed and then dies at 5 years of age.

sorry u have me wrong i dont power fed this snake is not mine i just wanna get some food into it before i have too give it back. the guy who owns it told me it wouldnt feed for him.

and the boa that was 6 foot in 2 years was fed every 7 days.

understand you only have the boas best interests at heart,but for a snake that will not feed that boa looks in exellent shape,it is not underweight in the slightest.as Warren said boas and snakes in general will grow at different rates.That boa is maybe a little smaller than what you would expect but by no means is it that small that you would need to worry.

cheers for advice

Warren_Booth wrote:[
One other thing. A 6ft boa in 2 years is hidious.

Warren

i believe that my female is only 5ft 8 and she 4yrs old
thats her getting fed a large rat every 2weeks

mickyg3000 wrote:cheers for advice

Feeding a snake more often is not the answer. Give it a larger meal every 10 days and this snake will be fine. In fact, it will thrive.

IF its not feeding for the owner, maybe they owners set up or care regime needs to be reevaluated.

Warren

cheers warren for the advice. i think because my 3 boas were a fed every friday and were 4 5 and 6 foot (thats by my eye only) after 2 and a bit years i thought he was a bit small but my mind is at ease now and i have advised him on a couple of hides. thanks to all for the advice

mickyg3000 wrote:cheers warren for the advice. i think because my 3 boas were a fed every friday and were 4 5 and 6 foot (thats by my eye only) after 2 and a bit years i thought he was a bit small but my mind is at ease now and i have advised him on a couple of hides. thanks to all for the advice

Check his temperatures, humidity, if the vivarium is in a high movement areas that could cause stress, etc. Make sure it is not in direct sunlight that could cause temperature spikes or even sudden drops due to open windows.

Warren