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Rays Mom Barker Rays Mom Addicted Rays Mom Barker Bazzer Ibanezy2 "james" Addicted Ibanezy2 "james" Bazzer Ibanezy2 "james" Rays Mom Bazzer Bazzer Ibanezy2 "james" Bazzer |
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Rays Mom View Profile |
ok, first ? is... can you train them to eat the mice if you just lay it in their cage. Ray is a little spoiled and he takes forever to feed sometimes... he has even laid there and just opened his mouth for me to drop the mouse in, LOL. 2nd... there have been a few other sites I have seen mention of occasional substitutes for the mice. is this ok, and if it is, what is ok to substitute? i live WAY out in a rural town.... the closest petshop is about 2 hrs away... and i have only seen 2 websites that look experienced (rodentpro is one) to trust, but you need to order in large quanties.... i don’t have freezer space. I also read somewhere that you can only keep mice froze for a few months b4 they go bad, it has taken Ray 6 months to eat the last batch I purchased, well he still has a few to go actually. anyway, any advice is appreciated. I am kinda new at this, but he is such a sweet little guy!! I want him to have a good home and life!! |
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| 07/02/08 12:37pm |
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Barker View Profile |
Message To: Rays Mom In reference to Message Id: 1780540 Beginner... feeding ??
Now remember until we know more about your snake these are just generalizations. I assume you are feeding FT mice. You can also feed rats, hamsters(wouldn’t recommend it as some will only eat hamsters after that and that can get expensive), and if you have a large snake gerbils(again same as the hamsters), rabbits, or chickens. We have a 3 year old RTB and we just place the rat in her cage near the entrance to her hide and she eats it when she is left alone. That is fine as long as the rat/mouse doesn’t sit in there for a very long time. Second, I know with rats, as long as they are in an air tight container(a.k.a. a freezer Ziploc bag but not the kind with the slider thing) they can be frozen for up to 6 months in the fridge freezer and up to 12 months in a deep freeze. Again more information about your snake will help to give more specifics. Hope that helped some. Randi |
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| 07/02/08 01:22pm |
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Rays Mom View Profile |
Message To: Barker In reference to Message Id: 1780590 Beginner... feeding ??
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| 07/02/08 03:32pm |
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Addicted View Profile |
Message To: Rays Mom In reference to Message Id: 1780731 Beginner... feeding ??
You need to get some food that has about the same girth as the snake at It’s thickest point.Poor snake! |
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| 07/03/08 12:10am |
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Rays Mom View Profile |
Message To: Addicted In reference to Message Id: 1781287 Beginner... feeding ??
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| 07/03/08 11:34am |
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Barker View Profile |
Message To: Rays Mom In reference to Message Id: 1781599 Beginner... feeding ??
If there is anything else just let me know here or you can PM me anytime. Best Wishes, Randi |
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| 07/03/08 11:54am |
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Bazzer View Profile |
Message To: Barker In reference to Message Id: 1781609 Beginner... feeding ??
I’d get him on rats as mice at his age seems to be quite strange, but at least you have been feeding him, which is a great start as you have only just taken him on. As others have said, get him some rats, which are about the same size as him at his widest point. Feed one of those every 7 days and as he grows, increase the food size. Obviously defrost it thoroughly as you have been doing with the mice and warm it right through with hot (but NOT boiling) water. Offer him it with long tweezers/ tongs, but not dangling it over his head as this is not natural. Rats walk and don’t fly (lol). If he doesn’t take it from the tongs, just leave it in his enclosure for a few hours. Offer his food at night (around dusk). What husbandry conditions have you got him in? |
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| 07/04/08 04:15pm |
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Ibanezy2 "james" View Profile |
Message To: Bazzer In reference to Message Id: 1782906 Beginner... feeding ??
Feeding Boa Constrictor Imperator .... I have kept Boa’s for twenty years so this might just help you out Ma’am... Sounds like he has a little bit of age on him,without a picture its going to be a bit tuff... A Boa should be fed a meal that is slightly bigger than its largest girth in diameter...I think that one mouse is under feeding IME...I would say a 4ft MALE Boa can eat a medium size rat pretty easy...Here is the trick on proper feeding...Boa’s do not know a calendar schedule as in feeding every 7 days or 10 days or what ever...Step 1 =Let the meal digest and pass through him...Step 2 =Let the Boa hunt his cage for food for a day or two and offer another prey item...Do Step 1 again...See its not so hard..you will notice in a few meals about how many days will pass between feedings on his schedule "not a calendar schedule"..What I have noticed is my animals tend to live longer and are not over weight or under weight,they look solid and healthy... best of luck to you... |
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| 07/11/08 06:23pm |
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Addicted View Profile |
Message To: Ibanezy2 In reference to Message Id: 1791635 Beginner... feeding ??
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| 07/11/08 10:00pm |
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Ibanezy2 "james" View Profile |
Message To: Addicted In reference to Message Id: 1791855 Beginner... feeding ??
Feeding is always a touchy subject and you have made that very clear with your first outburst "I do agree but would have probably worded it more politely"...Im not here to bash people or get freaked out,Im here to learn and share my knowledge with others... P.S. Sorry you got nailed... |
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| 07/12/08 02:34pm |
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Bazzer View Profile |
Message To: Ibanezy2 In reference to Message Id: 1792537 Beginner... feeding ??
Feed once every 7 days for a female up to the breeding season and once a fortnight for a male, then start reducing the prey size as you lower the temperatures for the breeding season. When in the breeding seaon, they probably won’t want to eat and then all that food they have eaten leading up to the breeding season will turn to muscle as the metabolism sorts itself out. Obviously if you end up feeding a rabbit to a large boa, then feed less often, like once every 3 weeks. In the wild, out of breeding season, food is much more available to them, so they will eat as the opportunity arises. In the breeding season, food is less available and temperatures are lower, so they won’t feed...just want to breed. Good books for you to check out for help are one’s by Vincent Russo. Good luck. |
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| 07/12/08 05:14pm |
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Ibanezy2 "james" View Profile |
Message To: Bazzer In reference to Message Id: 1792780 Beginner... feeding ??
So something to think about ... Summer = smaller prey items / Cool "rainy" season will = Larger prey items/ Breeding season = back to warmer temps and more than likely the size of prey is going back to smaller sizes again... Its not always true about a Boa going totally off of food either...I have had 3 or 4 different gravid females eat until the last 5 weeks of their term...Some Boa will eat all the way through but its best not to feed them as they get closer to their due date,the reason is it could cause her to drop her babies early....Most breeders take them off food for that reason... Its good to read books dont get me wrong...Its better when you start breeding trials of your own,you can simply see it in action from start to finish...You see more and learn more "in person"... |
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| 07/12/08 05:39pm |
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Rays Mom View Profile |
Message To: Ibanezy2 In reference to Message Id: 1792827
as far as the feeding thing... a large rat (what I would consider a ’lab rat’ kinda size) could eat my snake!! he is not that big!! i actually got out the measuring tape, he is 2.5 ft long. i can hold him with one hand (with him coiled around it). he only lives in a 30 gal tank, and if he stretches all the way out has just started touching end to end. I don’t really have problems GETTING him to eat, i was looking for different ideas and suggestions. i don’t have him on a ’strict’ schedule. most of the time he eats about every 10-14 days, but sometimes i feed him in between if he has been really active. he ’poops’ about once a month and sheds about once a month. and i do know rats don’t ’fly by’ lol!!! most of the time he doesn’t strike unless they are above his head though. i think it has to do with the fact he only has one eye, on his right side. thanks for all the input. i really am hoping to find a home for him. i love him to death, and he is great with my kids. he likes to wrap around my little girls ponytail and borrow in her hair. he will sit there while she watches tv... it’s kinda cute. anyway, he is a good natured little thing, but i don’t have time to really spend with him like he should have. . . . thanks again everyone!! |
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| 07/13/08 12:38am |
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Bazzer View Profile |
Message To: Ibanezy2 In reference to Message Id: 1792827 Beginner... feeding ??
Just stick to a girth size rat and it’ll be just fine. Quote: In the wild so to speak,the rainy season is usually the cool season correct?
There are two wet seasons and two dry seasons, therefore you are part correct. Quote: that means prey items will be well nurished and plenty of food to go around
Not in the cool wet season, where food is less. Think of it logically too, the snake needs heat to digest food too and if it’s cooler, the digestive system won’t be as efficient. Therefore: Quote: So something to think about ... Summer = smaller prey items / Cool "rainy" season will = Larger prey items/ Breeding season = back to warmer temps and more than likely the size of prey is going back to smaller sizes again...
Wrong i’m afraid... Quote: Its not always true about a Boa going totally off of food either
Less interested in food, more interested in breeding... |
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| 07/13/08 05:48pm |
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Bazzer View Profile |
Message To: Bazzer In reference to Message Id: 1793895 Beginner... feeding ??
Baz |
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| 07/13/08 05:53pm |
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Ibanezy2 "james" View Profile |
Message To: Bazzer In reference to Message Id: 1793899 Beginner... feeding ??
good luck... |
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| 07/21/08 05:01pm |
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Bazzer View Profile |
Message To: Ibanezy2 In reference to Message Id: 1804223 Beginner... feeding ??
Quote: I love hearing from the Pro’s of this site,I learn so much so fast....You are the Man...But,,,,you have alot to learn...
good luck... I wouldn’t go as far as saying Pro’s  but i’m glad you are learning something.
Quote: you have alot to learn
We are always learning new things about our animals and we can do this from forums, other websites, books, videos etc etc etc. I am very grateful to the guys on the BP forum as I learnt so much from them. But with regards to Boas, I feel particularly lucky because a very close friend of mine has been keeping and breeding them successfully for over 20 years and what with his network of close boa breeder colleagues too, I feel very much confident when I say that I am on the road to learning about them. And of course, i am happy to accept this as part of the enjoyment of keeping Boas. This will be my first breeding season and I am very proud to say that I will be starting out with a wonderful combination of a kahl albino male and a hypo anery (ghost) kahl female. Of course, you’ll know doubt have already realised the outcome from that. Exciting eh. I think it is so very sad when you get individuals who automatically think they know it all and start offering advice on little that they know......... Good luck to you too. |
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| 07/27/08 06:16am |
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Beginner... feeding ??
Beginner... feeding ??