# Feeding



## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

Hey guys just a quick question, since red-tailed boa's in the wild eat many things including Mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians would it be better to feed it a variety of things instead of just mice/rats? I work at a petstore and everything is available as feeders all the way from birds to snakes, so i was just wondering if a staple diet of mice rats and if neccesary guinea pigs/ rabbits is best, or a wide variety of food like the prey they eat in the wild.


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

when it gets big enough you can feed larger mammals ex rabbit but rats should be fine


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## JorgeRemigio (Mar 31, 2005)

With Boas, I'd stay with rats only (if necessary when fully grown you can give it several jumbo rats)...rabbits will make them fat... there is no problem if you give rats to your boa all its live

Regards


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

I would keep feeding it rats until it gets larger, then move up to larger mammals as stated before.

I have heard that if you feed your snake guinea pigs thats all they will take as food then.
They will turn everything else down.

Not sure if thats true or not so maybe somebody else can clear it up a bit.


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

Ok thanks alot guys, so a no go on the other things (such as birds, reptiles etc.)


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

naw i wouldnt bother with birds and reptiles ... rats for now and when larger move it a larger mammal if need be


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## psychofish (Jun 5, 2004)

No need for birds and reptiles


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## JorgeRemigio (Mar 31, 2005)

do you have anything against rats??? eheheheheh

they are easy to get...cheap...have all the Boas need...will make them big...if that is your wish...and will not make them as fat as rabbits will


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

No i have nothing against rat's, i have to kill them daily at work, its just i wanted to see if things that it eats naturally in the wild would be better. I am still waiting on the snake but have the tank setup.


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## Bawb2u (May 27, 2004)

TimmyTeam said:


> No i have nothing against rat's, i have to kill them daily at work, its just i wanted to see if things that it eats naturally in the wild would be better. I am still waiting on the snake but have the tank setup.


Like Jorge said, rats are fine for the entire life of a boa. I've taken them from neonates with rat pups to full size breeders eating multiple large rats with no problems.


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

Ok guys thanks alot, i asked this question because i want the best for my snake, so im going to listen to all your advice.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

They key is providing the snake with the proper nutrients. By feeding it a variety you're likely to going to create a pampered and prissy snake that you'll have trouble feeding. It will go off certain foods and only accept others. In the end you'll end up wasting a LOT of different bits of prey, throwing them out when the snake doesn't accept them. (Providing you are feeding frozen/thawed or pre-killed.)

It also beckons the question of supply... What would you do if you boa started eating only a certain type of bird? It can get EXPENSIVE and rather quickly.

It's best to stick to a staple diet of rats, as most here have mentioned. I know someone who had an exceptionally large boa and they fed rabbits. As far as I've seen feeding the rabbits won't cause an issue in terms of obesity in the animal but that's only if you have a proper feeding schedule that's appropriate for the animal you're feeding.

Hope that helps a bit.


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## Rockstarg57 (Jan 15, 2007)

i HAVE A RED TAIL BOA AND I FEED HIM MICE, AND BABY QUAILS(BIRDS), AND SHE DOES JUST FINE.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

Rockstarg57 said:


> i HAVE A RED TAIL BOA AND I FEED HIM MICE, AND BABY QUAILS(BIRDS), AND SHE DOES JUST FINE.


How big is it?

And what's your idea of 'just fine'?


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

another question, my dad recently redid our floor with those snap in wood flooring panels (not actual wood). Would of of these be alright in the tank, it hasn't been anywhere other than in my house. I read that shelves provide more space and a good basking area, so i soaked some bricks in water/bleach and put the board onto of the bricks to provide a shelf. Does this sound fine to you guys?


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

alright so u want to use the flooring for the flooring in your enclouse? i think thats ok, might want to seal it tho. and yes the brick and the board will be ok, make sure the brick is rinsed well cause of the bleach


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

no i just want to use one of the boards as a shelf....i use aspen for substrate


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## dark FrOsT (Sep 23, 2006)

ya thats should be fine, i think. maybe someone else would have a better idea


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

I think i might have made a mistake, i bought an exo terra heat pad and i took off both sides, the plastic side and the white paperish side, im not sure if i was supposed to take off the plastic cleat part, anyone know if i did it right ?


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## jerogreg (Oct 30, 2006)

Whoa the way you said anything in the store can become feeders sounded kinda sadistic.But you have a point but you also have to remember some of those animals have parisites and other things that can be harfully to you snake so watch out.


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

at our store everything that dies we put in a freezer because people will usually buy pretty weird stuff for feeders...


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

i dont like that idea, you are not sure what or how it dies, or from what and you sell it to people as feeders?

This is what makes pet stores so crapy.


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

I'm sure the freezing kills the bacteria, plus the people that buy it know the danger its their own decision.....so stfu.


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

TimmyTeam said:


> I'm sure the freezing kills the bacteria, plus the people that buy it know the danger its their own decision.....so stfu.


Pretty inappropriate response there, bud. Might want to tone it down a little. Bobme was just expressing a view on pet stores that a lot of us share.

There are a lot of shady practices that go on in the pet industry. Having worked in it myself for over a year I am very familiar with these practices and some of the companies that exploit and take advantage of otherwise helpless creatures.

The fact that the place you're working at is selling animals that have died in store to people is rather irresponsible. Especially if the condition of the animal was not known at the time of death. When I worked at the pet store regulations said that we had to keep the animal on hand and frozen for one month before we were allowed to dispose of it due to the potential diseases, etc. that it could have carried and might have died from. That or cremate it - but we didn't have those types of facilities on hand.

Also. Animals who die of bizzarre diseases or unknown reasons hardly make nutritious feeders. They're simply, generally, not going to make good feeders.

And to say every customer is told "we had animal 'x' that died in our store and now you're buying it as a feeder"... well... I just don't believe that. Sorry. Say what you will, but like I said, I worked in the pet industry, and I seriously doubt that every customer is warned.

Out of curiousity which store do you work for?


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## TimmyTeam (Jun 20, 2003)

you wouldnt know it, theres only one store and its in oshawa, and when someone see's a snake or budgie that looks exactly the same as the ones we sell in the store, is it not obvious where it came from, especially when they are individually in plastic bags.....


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

TimmyTeam said:


> you wouldnt know it, theres only one store and its in oshawa, and when someone see's a snake or budgie that looks exactly the same as the ones we sell in the store, is it not obvious where it came from, especially when they are individually in plastic bags.....


It's still a horrid practice.


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