Baby red tail boa feeding

Boa Constrictor Feeding Chart – Animals at Home

Boa Constrictor Feeding Chart: When, what and how often should I be feeding?

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Some of the most common questions surrounding boa constrictor care have to do with feeding. I would argue it is also the area where most mistakes are made.

Here’s the problem…

If you are like me, when you first started doing research on feeding you found 10 different answers that all contradicted each other. I know how frustrating that feels! In this post, I hope give you the tools you need to be able to solve this problem on your own. Why should you be able to solve it on your own? Because there are no two animals alike and you need to know what is best for your boa.

Also I have provided a FREE Boa Constrictor Feeding Chart to help you keep an accurate log.

Spoiler Alert: There is no simple, straightforward answer. Every animal is different, it is up to you to understand your animal’s behaviors and feed appropriately. First, we must lay down a foundation of information to properly address the question of feeding. But since you have your animals best interest at mind I know you will read through the entire post 🙂 I promise it will be worth your while if you are a newbie to all of this!

Before we start, Let’s watch some Boa’s Eat!

Feeding my snakes never gets old! Anyway, let’s get to the important stuff!

Here are the two main feed related questions:

What size should the prey item be?
How often should I feed?

In this post we are going to look at both those questions as well as some other important information that is often left out of the discussion!

Disclaimer:

First, I should say: I am not an expert! I am just sharing the experience I have had working with my animals. I also closely follow the care protocol Vin Russo, lays out in his book Complete Boa Constrictor. If you own a boa and don’t have this book… you need to get it! It is 100% worth the buy. Vin is a legend in the Boa world, he has more experience than most people in the industry and in my opinion his recommendations are very valuable. For my full review on the book, check out my Resources page.

Do you know what a healthy Boa looks like?

The first tool you should have in your arsenal is the ability to judge (by sight and feel) whether or not you have a healthy snake (by “healthy” I mean “a healthy weight”).

Overweight Boa constrictor:

It is pretty easy to make an animal fat! Boa constrictors are no exception. Over feeding a boa will quickly turn your boa into a stuffed sausage. It may sound funny but it is actually quite dangerous. Snakes are not adapted to be able to easily store large amounts of fat.

Here’s why:

Mammals (including humans) store both subcutaneous (under the skin) and intra-abdominal fat. When discussing human health, you have probably heard people say something along the lines of “internal (sometimes called visceral) fat is more dangerous than the fat under the skin”. This is a true statement for many reasons, none of which we need to get into here. Snakes , like most reptiles store the majority of their fat intra-abdominally. In other words, they are predisposed to only gain what we call “the dangerous fat” in humans.

The bad news is…

Internal fat is only visible once an animal is direly over-weight. Excessive wrinkling and “ring” shaped fat deposits are a sure sign of an over-weight boa. An over-weight boa will develop Fatty Liver Disease and die prematurely, period.

Here are some very fat boa’s so you know what to look for:

Fatty ring deposits in boa constrictor. Picture from http://reptile-talk.

tumblr.com/post/125789581956/can-you-show-pictures-of-what-a-healthyunderOverweight boa. Picture form http://reptile-talk.tumblr.com/post/125789581956/can-you-show-pictures-of-what-a-healthyunder

Underweight Boa constrictor

Having an under-weight boa due to poor feeding practices is a much less likely occurrence as boa’s have an incredibly slow metabolism and can go long period’s of time between meals. I would think an under-weight boa is more likely to be due to a parasite or illness in most cases. But it definitely does happen from poor feeding habits as well!

An under-weight boa will have a slight triangular shaped body, i.e. the spine will begin to show. It will also have a reduced muscle tone.

Underweight boa. Picture form http://reptile-talk.tumblr.com/post/125789581956/can-you-show-pictures-of-what-a-healthyunder

Side Story: Poor Feeding Routine!

Last year I “rescued” a 1- year old female Colombian boa from a lady who was selling her in the local classifieds. This boa was in rough shape. She was over 1 year old, covered in stuck shed and very frail. I have no idea where the lady got this information from but she was feeding the boa 4-5 mouse fuzzies (2-3 g each) per week!! She also did not provide the animal with any heat, I quote: “It’s a snake, they don’t need heat”. I thought she was joking, she wasn’t. This boa should have already been on 10-12 g hoppers at this point. So the snake was simultaneously being overfed and underfed, the meals were too small and too frequent. All that with no supplementary heat to aid digestion… it was terrible, some people don’t do an ounce of research.

When I received this boa she was covered in stuck shed, had never had supplementary heat and was used to being fed everyday!

Healthy Boa constrictor

Boa constrictors are very muscular snakes. A healthy boa should have a square shape to their body (remember I am talking about boa’s specifically here, some species of snake are round in shape naturally), with a slight grove running down the center of the back (often described a loaf of bread). There should be no protruding spine and absolutely no rolls or fat rings (wrinkles in the skin are normal).

Here is the same from above boa 1-year later:

Healthy boa constrictor

Note you can also see a groove running down the middle of the tail indicating lateral muscle development on the tail. Also note there are no wrinkles in the tail even though it is tightly coiled i.e. she is not over-weight.

Healthy Boa constrictor

The picture above should give you a decent idea of what is meant by the “square” body shape. Each side of the snake should be relativity flat. In other words the animal should be more shaped like a square tube than a round one.

It is also a very good idea to track the weight of your snake so you can monitor its growth.

Boa’s are not Human!

As much as some people like to think of their animals as “children,” it is very important to understand the biological differences between us and them!

So now that you have an idea of what to look for when judging the health of a boa constrictor we can review a few more vital pieces of information that will help you understand you boa:

Ectotherms: Boas, like all reptiles are cold blooded (or ectotherms). This means they do not have to produce their own body heat, unlike you and I and all other mammals. Studies have shown that a snake can survive off just 10% of the food a mammal of the same size can (Snake, Chris Mattison). That is really an incredible stat, who know producing our own heat cost so much!

Ecto vs Endotherms

Opportunistic Feeders: If you own a boa you know they are incredible eaters! Boa owners generally don’t have to deal with “fussy” snakes… unlike ball python owners. Boa’s will eat essentially whenever a meal “wanders” by. In the wild not only does this not happen often, they are not always successful when they strike. Your job is to mimic the wild conditions as much as possible. Your boa would likely take a meal everyday if you let it! This is where understand your snake’s behavior comes into play. Watch for when your boa starts to “hunt” i.e. comes out of its hide in search for food (usually at night), this is NOT a cue to feed but will indicate that it would take a meal and you can adjust your feed plan accordingly. For example: maybe you planned on spacing your boa’s meals out by 5 weeks. But on week 2 there was a bit of a heat wave outside and your animal’s enclosure went up a degree or two, speeding up its metabolism… now its week 3 and the boa is out every night looking for food. This is scenario where you might think about feeding it after 4 weeks instead of 5.

Waiting for food to ‘walk’ by

Seasonal Eaters: There are natural temperature shifts present in the habitats boa constrictors are native to. As the climate cools in the winter two things occur. 1) A boa’s metabolism will slow down, meaning it will take longer to digest meals. This automatically stretches the time between meals. And 2) there are less options food items available to eat (some animals migrate to warmer climates, some burrow , periods of dormancy etc.). Both reasons cause boas to consume less food in the winter/cooler months. Seasonal eating (eating in summer, and little to none in winter) is so important to a boa’s biology that it induces the most important behavior of them all: breeding. This is why I seasonally feed my boas (even though I don’t plan on breeding). I want to properly replicate the conditions the snake’s biology is adapted to.*

*You do not HAVE to seasonally feed and ONLY seasonally feed your boa if you provide a temperature drop during the winter months*

Boa Constrictor: What Size to feed & how often?

Now you can see why this is not a simple question to answer! However, with the information above we can tackle those two common questions I listed above:

1)What size should the prey item be?

The prey item should be no thicker than the the thickest part of the animal! At the most, the meal should produce a slight lump. I know that is not a clear-cut answer. Below I have a chart that indicates the size of prey and the weight of my male boa at the time (He is 50% Colombian/ 50% Sonoran, i.e. he will be smaller than a normal common boa).

Prey Type	Prey Weight (g)	Boa Weight (g)
Hopper Mouse	8-12	67- 155
Medium Mouse	17-20	155-222
Jumbo Mouse	27-35	222-332
Weaned Rat	35- 45	333-455
Small Rat	50-85	455- 725
Small Rat (Large ones)	85- 105	725- 1026
Medium Rats	120- 140	1026- 1118*

*This is his current weight at 3 years old. I will update the chart as move up in prey size.

Y-Axis: Blue Line= Boa’s weight (g) and Orange Line= Meal Size (g)

Also please note: this is the way I fed! It is not an exact science, so don’t feel you need to follow this exactly. It is just a general idea. Try your best to pick a meal size that is slightly smaller or equal to the thickest part of the animal.

2) How often should I feed?

Again, I will show you a breakdown chart of the feed schedule I have followed with by boas and what I plan on doing in the future as they mature. This chart indicates the days between meals in the two right hand columns. Note: I always transition from the “summer” to the “winter” feed schedule and visa-versa. I.e. I always gradually increase space between meals until I get to where I am shooting for.

*ONLY seasonally feed your boa if you provide a temperature drop during the winter months*

Boa Age (yrs)	Summer (days)	Winter (Days)
0 (neonate in summer)	7-10	10-14
1	14	21
2	14	30
3	21	42-45
4	30	70-90
5- and up	30-37	90

The chart above is a rough outline of how I feed my boas! This does not mean you should follow this exactly. Reason being is there are many factors that could alter how often you feed, the most important being temperature. The warmer you keep you boas, the faster their metabolism is, the more you’ll have to feed.

You need to watch your animals, learn their body language. If you never see your boa “hunt” (i.e. exploring their cage at night, or perched somewhere waiting for a meal to walk by) you may be feeding to often. If they start hunting one day after you feed, you may not being feeding large enough meals. Watch their weight, look and feel their body tone, these are all good cues to keep your feeding schedule in line.

The take away is this: The chart above is a general idea of what a feeding schedule should look like, but you need to be in-tune enough with your animals to know how to adjust it for their benefit.

Boa Constrictor Feeding Chart

Okay, last but not least! I personally think it is VERY important to keep a log book for you snakes. Especially if you have more than one or two! Boa constrictors are not hard to care for, but it is important that you stick to a proper care plan. A log book can help you do that.

It can be very easy to forgot when you last feed you animal if you didn’t write it down. I always lay out a rough feed plan for 2-3 months in advance (so I know how many rats to buy) and as I feed I make sure to log it so I don’t forget. I HIGHLY recommend you start doing this if you are not already!

Logging your boa’s meals will help pull you in-tune with you animal. It gives you something to refer, especially when trying to figure out the animals behavioral patterns.

Below I have shared a PDF of the boa constrictor feeding chart that I use to keep track of food intake for my boas. I print these sheets out and put them in a binder (I like writing things by hand), but I also made the PDF fill-able so you can keep a digital copy instead. Please help yourself by clicking the photo or link below!

boa constrictor feeding chart

OR Click this link: Boa constrictor feeding chart

Thanks for reading. If I had to sum this up in a few points I would say this:

There is no clear-cut, black and white answer to feeding
You can follow a general guide BUT you must stay in-tune with your animal by:
- Watching body tone, keeping track of weight
- Reading body language- remember the act of hunting itself is not a cue to feed, but hunting can indicate if you need to adjust your estimated feed plan.
KEEP track of your feeding! I can’t stress that enough. The only way to help you learn your animal’s body language and habits is by keeping a proper log so you have something to refer to.

If you have any questions, comment them below or shoot me an email!

How Often Can I Feed a Red-Tailed Boa?

By Debra L Turner

i NA/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images

Healthy Colombian red-tailed boas (Boa constrictor imperator) are typically enthusiastic feeders, even as neonates. They’re rarely fussy or picky eaters and thrive on a diet of appropriately sized, already killed rats throughout most if not all of their lives. Some very large red-tailed adults outgrow even the biggest jumbo rats, when already killed rabbits become the more suitable food choice. Feeding frequency for boa constrictors varies according to the individual’s age and length.

How Often, How Much

Newborn to 3-month-old red-tails 18 to 22 inches long should have a pinkie rat every four to five days. Juvenile snakes 3 to 12 months of age and 2 to 3 feet long may have one fuzzy or pup every seven days. Young adults between 1 and 2 years old and 3 to 4 feet long require a food item once every two weeks. At this age, feed weaned or small rats to keep your pet at a more manageable adult size, or give him medium rats if you don’t mind him growing a little larger. Adults over 2 years old and 4 feet long need one rat every two weeks. Offer females large or jumbo rats and give males small or medium rats. Depending upon the girth of your snake, rabbits may be appropriate.

Size Matters

Prey size is important to your red-tailed boa. If you offer rats that are too small, he’ll ignore them entirely. Give him one that’s too large and he’ll readily take it -- and regurgitate it within a day or two. You haven’t lived until you’ve cleaned up a partially digested rat.

From largest to smallest, mice and rats are designated as XXXL, XXL, extra-large (jumbo), large, medium, small, weaned, pups, fuzzies and pinkies. Pinkies are typically between one and four days old and hairless. Rapidly growing neonate boas usually need a pinkie only once or twice, after which they’re ready for fuzzy rats. Fuzzies are about 10 to 13 days old and have fur. Your snake should be on them for about two months. Thereafter feed him rats with a girth size equal to his own. If he outgrows XXXL rats one day, you can reward your boa with rabbits.

No Thrill in This Kill

Whether you’re a seasoned herp keeper or the greenest newbie in doubt about feeding live prey to your boa, just don’t do it -- it’s not worth the consequences. Feeding the snake living adult or sub-adult rodents is dangerous and eventually ends ugly for the boa.

Rodents aren’t shrinking violets. They’re smart, fast, fearless and extremely aggressive and will fight when threatened, to the death if cornered. If the snake is disinterested in a rodent meant for his dinner, he’ll ignore it. This scenario nearly always concludes with the mammal chewing on the reptile.

All it takes is a single rodent bite or scratch that breaks the skin to dump your prized pet into a world of certain pain and torture, and very possibly death. Because rodents have incredibly filthy mouths, their bites almost always result in infections that require emergency veterinary intervention.

Power Feeding

Captive red-tailed boas can live to the ripe old age of 25 or 30 with good care. During that time, your pet should attain a typical length of 7 to 8 feet. The animal’s eventual size is dictated by heredity and the amount he is fed. Boas that are fed minimally may only reach 5 feet in length. Aggressively “power fed” boas can end up 10 to 12 feet long.

Power feeding is basically overfeeding and consists of regularly offering prey items that are too large for the boa, rapidly feeding several prey animals in a row during a single feeding, or offering food too soon after the last feeding. These practices force the boa’s organs to grow and mature too rapidly to support the rest of him. Power feeding is a bad idea that is likely to sentence your pet to an early death at around age 4 or 5.

References

Red Tail Boas: Ultimate Red Tail Boa Care Guide -- Feeding
King Snake: The Boa Page -- Feeding
Red-Tailed Boa FAQ -- Feeding Your Red-Tailed Boa
Reptile Channel: Caring for the Red-Tailed Boa Constrictor
Anapsid: Reptile Veterinarians and Zoo Reptile Curators on Feeding Live Rodent Prey
Reptile Channel: Snake with Rat Bite
LLL Reptile: Feeding Pre-Killed Prey to Reptiles

Resources

Boa-Constrictors: An Admonishing Example . . .
Rodent Pro: Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Pray (Excluding Fish)

Photo Credits

Writer Bio

A full-time writer since 2007, Axl J. Amistaadt is a DMS 2013 Outstanding Contributor Award recipient. He publishes online articles with major focus on pets, wildlife, gardening and fitness. He also covers parenting, juvenile science experiments, cooking and alternative/home remedies. Amistaadt has written book reviews for Work At Home Truth.

Snake boa constrictor, photo boa constrictor, common boa constrictor, maintenance, food for boa constrictor

Quite a large snake (up to 3 meters in length). The main light brown, reddish or coffee background of the back is covered with wide dark brown bands with bright yellow spots inside, and on the sides there are diamond-shaped dark spots bordered by a light rim and with a yellow spot inside. However, the pattern on the body of a boa constrictor is so diverse that a number of its other variants can be described. In the sun, the scales of the boa constrictor sparkle with a strong metallic sheen, flowing and shimmering when the snake moves. The boa constrictor settles in relatively dry places, but always close to water. The snake is equally active both on the ground and in the lower tier of the forest, where it preys on birds and small mammals. As a rule, boas are very calm and do not need shelters.

Keeping the common boa constrictor

The common boa requires a horizontal type terrarium for tropical animals. The minimum size of a terrarium for one snake is 130-60-90 cm (excluding the height of the lamp).

The temperature is maintained with a thermal cord or thermal mat. In a warm corner during the day - up to 30-32 ° C, at night - 23-25 ° C. In the terrarium, it is necessary to install a pond where the boa constrictor could easily fit and lock during molting, you should also place strong shelves and wide snags, along which the snake willingly crawls.

The soil in the terrarium is not required, but you can use artificial, chemically inert, specialized coatings - mats or cover the bottom of the terrarium with filter paper.

Spray the terrarium once a day with warm water. It is also possible to maintain humidity using a rain installation connected via a time relay and operating 2-3 times a day for 2-3 minutes, or a fog generator, which is placed in a pond for the duration of the humidification session. Better to keep one.

Feeding the boa constrictor

In nature, they feed on various mammals and birds, less often they eat lizards: iguanas and teiids.

In terrarium conditions, boas are fed, depending on their size, laboratory mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, quails.

Diet for adult snakes: 1 time in 8-10 days - 7-9 adult rats, weighing 200-300 g, for young animals: 1-3 adult mice - 1 time in 5 days or 1-2 rats, weighing 40-60 g.

Starter food for newborn boas: adolescent mice or 5-6 day old rat pups. They drink water, for which you should regularly change it in an artificial reservoir of a terrarium.

Various mineral supplements should be given along with the feed, for example: crushed eggshells, preparations containing calcium. Offer concentrated vitamin preparations with food no more than once a month. Give well-balanced reptile food according to the instructions.

Breeding boas

Boas usually become sexually mature at the age of 3-4 years. However, sexually mature boas at the age of 19 months have been recorded. ovoviviparous species.

After the withdrawal from wintering, the snakes are irradiated and fed, adding preparations containing vitamin "E" to the feed for 2-3 weeks. The first sign of the beginning of the mating season is: refusal to feed males that do not feed during the entire period of sexual activity, 3-4 months.

Males and females are placed next to each other. Copulation lasts a long time - from 1 to 10 hours. Boas can mate from September to March, the most productive mating is from November to January, childbirth occurs from March to September, most often in May-July. After mating, after 2-3 months, and sometimes even earlier, females stop feeding and do not feed until birth, but there are exceptions to this rhythm.

Sphagnum should be placed in the terrarium where the pregnant female is kept and moistened regularly. The reservoir must be replaced with a drinker in order to avoid unwanted entry of newborns who have not left the egg film into the water, where they can drown. After 150-215 days, with fertile mating, childbirth occurs.

The female gives birth to 7 to 60 cubs (about 20 on average). Babies begin to eat after the first molt.

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Domestic boa constrictor

Common boa constrictor or red-tailed boa constrictor is very common as a pet snake. Boas can be easily purchased from breeders, pet stores, or reptile shows, and can be identified by the red patterned coloration at the end of their tail.

Boas are native to Brazil and nearby areas where they spend time in the rainforest and lowlands, and although their habitat varies, they are considered moderately arboreal.

Behavior and temperament of boas

The boa grows from 2.5 to 3 meters in length and can weigh about 25 kg when fully grown. With good care, they will live 25 to 30 years in captivity and are big snakes for the average pet owner.

Before buying a boa, you need to seriously think about how strong they are, what size they are, the amount of food they eat, and their ability to constrict prey.

About snakes: What do snakes eat at home

Why pet boas are so popular

The reason pet boas are so popular is partly due to their typical docile nature. They are not usually aggressive snakes, but even if they are not upset, they can harm a person quite easily by squeezing (holding on to someone's hand, neck, or hand) or biting you if they think your hand is their food.

How to make housing for a home boa constrictor?

A three meter snake needs a lot of space to move around, but it usually doesn't like to stretch out to its full length. Snakes feel more secure when they are hiding under something and can curl up.

If they are fully unwound, this is usually a sign that they feel vulnerable and threatened. Providing 2 to 3 meters of floor space, a couple of feet high and a couple of feet wide, the enclosure is large enough for an adult red-tailed boa.

How to make a boa terrarium safe?

Perhaps the most important thing about a pet boa enclosure is how safe it should be for you.

All snakes are able to escape and push through open covers and squeeze through small holes.

Therefore, all snake enclosures must have locks or latches to prevent escape, which can be dangerous for both the snake and the people living in the house.

How to transport or carry a boa constrictor?

Placing the boa constrictor in a pillowcase with ties is good for transporting or temporarily holding them while cleaning the aviary.

What should be considered in a boa constrictor terrarium?

Because boas come from a tropical environment, the ease of maintaining humidity levels should be taken into account when setting up a terrarium.

Sides and covers made of glass or plexiglass help keep the humidity higher in the room, but you need to make sure that enough air is still circulating inside and that nothing will melt from the heating devices.

How to make a swimming pool for a boa constrictor?

Your snake needs a large, sturdy basin of water. The boa constrictor should easily fit in this basin.

How to make a shelter for a home boa constrictor?

Boas should also have a hiding place or place to hide from the heat and curl up in a quiet, secluded place whenever they want.

Many owners use wooden or cardboard boxes and replace or clean them as needed. Tree branches may or may not be used by your snake.

What kind of bedding is needed for a domestic boa constrictor?

The type of bedding you choose for your snake should be easy to clean as a large snake produces quite a lot of waste.

Paper towels are great for young red boas, and a reptile cage or indoor/outdoor rug cut into removable pieces is easy to clean when you have an adult snake.

Other materials commonly used include reptile bark, reptile mud mixes and other natural floor coverings.

Sand not suitable for domestic boas; they can swallow it, causing indigestion.

Lighting and heating for home boas

Since red-tailed boas are native to Brazil, they like a warm environment. The bathing bath should be maintained at 32 to 35 degrees C using heat lamps or other means.

But avoid using hot stones because they can cause thermal burns to the snake. The rest of the tank may be above 26 degrees.

Heat lamps, ceramic heat emitters, tank heaters, and hatchery cages are all acceptable means of heating a snake cage. Just make sure your snake can't reach the heating element and get burned.

UVB lighting is optional for the redtail boa, but if you want to offer extra white light during the day, UVB light is a great option. It can even help stimulate appetite, reduce stress, and make your snake happier and more active.

How to feed a domestic boa constrictor?

Young boas will eat fluffies, then mice, then rats, and when they are adults they will eat rabbits and large rats.

Whether or not to kill the prey before feeding it to the snake is a matter of debate and your choice. It is advisable to feed the snake in an aviary used only for feeding.

Is it possible to feed a boa constrictor in its terrarium?

Do not feed a snake in a regular cage; this will reduce the chance that the snake will think you are food and accidentally bite you or ingest the substrate.

The feeding container should be covered with a towel while feeding to provide a sense of security for your snake, or you can place a skin box in the feeding container while feeding.

What diseases do domestic boas have?

The most serious disease that can affect boas is inclusion bodies or IBD. 2 It is a deadly retrovirus similar to HIV in humans.

This virus can lie dormant for many years before the snake shows any signs of illness. This disease can be transmitted from snake to snake through ticks carrying infected bodily fluids. This is why it is recommended to keep several snakes separately whenever possible.

IBD is characterized by poor appetite and excessive salivation, and in severe or more advanced cases, IBD causes snakes to lose control of their body movements.