|
| Feeding
Pre-Killed vs. Live Prey
BOA
CONSTRICTOR |
| The
following boa care information is intended to be
a general,
down to earth
approach
to some things we can do to properly maintain our
boa constrictors. There are many, many other publications
that detail this topic to the point of confusion.
Yet I believe it is the most critical choice we
make as boa constrictor owners. |
| |
| Feeding
Pre-Killed VS. Live Prey |
|
The
first thing we must understand is that almost
every pet store, self help care book, and even
most people in the herpetology trade, will tell
you that snakes will only eat live prey. This
is simply not true. Especially for our boas.
Colombian Red Tail Boa Constrictors are quite
possibly the easiest snake to convert to eating
pre-killed prey. Even young neonates can
be started on pre-killed prey.
Do not buy into the argument of "My boa needs
live prey, because in his natural environment
he must hunt, stalk, and attack his prey to
survive. No one kills their prey for them in
the wild" or "I could never kill a little mouse,
they are too cute"
Sounds like a science fiction book. Captivity,
and captive bred, captive born, are light-years
away from their "natural" environment.
They are part of an environment that we create,
provide, and maintain. We ARE their food
source. We should do what is BEST for
them! We should provide their exercise and stimulation
by handling them, and letting them climb around.
Not searching and destroying prey that will
eventually turn on them and damage or kill them.
|
Here
are the advantages of feeding Pre-Killed Prey.
Pre-killed
prey will not be able to scratch or bite our boas.
The
greatest danger feeding live prey to our boas, is
the damage that can be done by the rodent!
Serious bites and scratches from rodents could even
lead to blindness, deep gashes and even death.
Some have left live prey in the enclosures overnight
to find later that the rodent has chewed deep gashes
into the boa in several places. Rats will not cower
in the corner waiting to be eaten. Below are pictures
of damage done by rats when "Dinner becomes
the Diner" |
| Pre-killed
prey makes offering and removing the food item easier.
The pre-killed rodent can be placed in the
enclosure and left for a while, even overnight,
without danger to the boa. If the item is
not eaten by morning,
then it can be removed safely. |
| Pre-killed
prey makes our boas more docile and less aggressive.
Over time a strict diet of pre-killed rodents will
make our boas less aggressive because they will
learn the prey will be placed with them and all
they have to do is eat. I have 7 foot females
that simply approach the item, slowly grab it with
their mouth and start to swallow. No striking,
no constricting, just eating. I also have
yearlings that will still grab and constrict the
prey anyway, but they will eventually become the
same way as the adults. This becomes a feeding
conditioning tool. |
| Feeding
Pre-killed ensures that our boas are actually hungry
when they eat.
Most snakes will not eat if they are not hungry.
BUT you dance around a live prey item and they will
most likely feed anyway. I see boas all the
time refuse food items because they are not hungry. |
|
It
also minimizes the suffering of the rodent.
Some people really struggle watching the rodents
being constricted. Pre-killed prey becomes
easier to feed for these people. |
Humanely
Killing Live Prey
Humanely
Killing Live Prey can be simple or well designed.
If you continue to buy live prey and want to kill
the prey before you feed, then here are a couple
of ways to accomplish this.
Grab the rodent by the tail and with a quick motion,
swing the rodent and strike its head on a hard surface.
Then the rodent can be fed immediately while it
is still very warm.
Another way is to create a CO2 gas tank and place
the rodents inside. They are immediately rendered
unconscious and killed within a few minutes.
There are many publications on the web that cover
all kinds of ways to make your own CO2 chamber.
You can simply use dry ice in a Styrofoam box to
do the same thing. |
| How
to convert to a pre-killed feeder.
**** Very important
topic ****
Converting a live feeder to a pre-killed feeder.
The hardest part is convincing yourself.
The boa WILL come along. If not immediately,
it will very soon. Here are some ways to convert
your boa.
If
your boa is in good health, you should offer only
pre-killed for several weeks, at different times
of the day/night. Remember it is important to
realize that it will not hurt a boa to miss a
meal every once in a while. It is too easy
to "give-in" and feed the boa a live rodent to
quickly. This only sets you back in your
ultimate goal to convert the boa.
1)
Try rodents of different sizes/colors etc. Sometimes
it is as simple as a different size or color.
Make sure the rodent is warm. Soak the rodent
in very warm water just prior to feeding. This
is the biggest mistake that I find. Soak the rodent
in very warm water just prior to feeding. Generally
this strong smell developed by "heating"
the rodent is all they need to eat.
2) Using long tongs or hemostats and shake the
pre-killed rodent in front of the boa, this is
often all that is needed to get the boa to feed.
3) Use the hide box method. Let your boa
get inside some hideaway and remain there for
a while. Then using the tongs, wiggle the
warm, thawed rodent in the entrance to the hideaway.
Sometimes this is just too tempting to the boa,
and they will often eat this way.
4) Leave the thawed rodent in overnight. A picky
eater may wait a long time to eat even though
it is "aware" of the rodent. Leaving
this at night, with lights out, is often the time
boas are active and this may be the time the boa
will eat.
5) One of the last methods to try is to feed a
small live prey item and follow it immediately
with a pre-killed item. This has been know
to work for many people. Next time start
over with pre-killed only.
Return to Top |
| Frozen
Thawed |
| Why
frozen/thawed rodents?
The next biggest step you can take is to convert
from Pre-killed to frozen/thawed rodents. These
rodents are frozen solid for storage, usually
in vacuum packed, sealed containers, then fully
thawed at the time of feeding. Frozen/Thawed rodents
are the best solution for boa owners. They come
in all Sizes.
1) Freezing the rodents
kills any parasites, internal and external.
"DEADER IS BETTER"
2) Frozen rodents are readily available to you
at any time you wish to feed.
3) Vacuum packed containers allow long storage
times in your freezer. 6 months to 1 year or longer.
4) Prices are MUCH less expensive than purchasing
live rodents at pet stores. Many shippers
are available that ship overnight. Even with this
shipping cost, they are much cheaper. Especially
when you are talking about rats. |
How
do I feed frozen/thawed?
These rodents must be completely Defrosted.
You should NEVER attempt to feed the prey while
it is frozen! You must thaw it thoroughly and
warm it to at least room temperature before feeding
it.
I use a Rubbermaid type container large enough
to hold the number of rodents I will be feeding.
Here is how I feed frozen / thawed rodents.
Fill
the rubbermaid container with regular cold tap
water. Place
the rodents in the container. Let stand
for an hour. This hour is based on many
rodents. One to just a few, may not require
as much time. I do not thaw the rodents
fast. If you are feeding "pinkies" or "fuzzies",
thawing fast will cause them to burst open during
feeding. But, if you thaw slowly, as describe
here, you should not have a problem.
After
an hour, I will run warm water until the entire
container is filled with warm water.
Let stand for 15 minutes.
Finally,
I run almost hot water into the container, just
prior to feeding. This
hot water added to the warm water will heat the
rodents to a feeding temperature. They MUST be
above room temperature. This also makes the rodents
"smell" stronger to the boas.
The
rodents should be drip dried, not towel dried.
This extra moisture will aid the boas.
Feed
the rodents using tongs or hemostats. Never use
your hand to feed. Remember
your hand may be "warmer" that the rodent.
The boa will smell the prey, but possibly sense
your hand with more heat.
Note: Some people will place the frozen prey in
the refrigerator to slowly thaw. Other people
leave out on newspaper overnight. Other
will use defrost settings on the microwave. There
are many methods, I have just shared what works
very well for me.
Return
to Top
|
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|
Why
feed rats only?
From talking to several
different people and breeders,
I strongly believe that
rats are the best food
source for our boas. Mice
are far more likely to
be regurgitated, especially
in younger boas. Some
think it is because of
the amount of hair on
mice. As well as mice
really don't have very
much meat on their bodies and a low bone density.
Rats have a higher bone density and that seems to be the primary reason for the additional nutritional value. This document from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
National Agricultural Library details the nutritional value of all feeders, and links to almost every feeder supplier out there. This link will download the PDF version of the article from their website.
Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Prey - USDA official website
Nutrient Composition of Whole Vertebrate Prey - Alternate download website
As boa constrictor owners,
we will eventually have
to feed rats anyway, just
because of the size of
adult boas. It is
tougher to convert a snake
from mice to rats as they
get older. We should
start as young as possible
to switch our boas to
rats. Start out feeding
your boas "pinkie" rats,
or "Fuzzy" rats. Your
boa will never miss anything
if you do!
I feed frozen/thawed rats
exclusively, as does my
friend Jeff Ronne of www.theboaphile.com fame, and many, many others.
The picture comparison
photos are also compliments
of Jeff Ronne.
|
| Here is a comparison chart that helps
you determine what size rat you should feed you
boa constrictor |
| MICE: |
|
RATS: |
| Pinkie/Fuzzy
Mice |
 |
Pinkie
Rat (Newborn) |
| Hopper
Mice |
|
Pinkie
Rat (2 Week old) |
| Small
Mice |
|
Fuzzy
Rat |
| Medium
Mice |
|
Rat
Pup |
| Adult
Mice |
|
Weanling
Rat |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Pinkie Size |
Fuzzy Size |
Weanling Size |
Small Size |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Medium Size |
Large Size |
Jumbo Size |
|
Return to Top
| This concludes the
Boa Constrictor Care Guide. I would appreciate
any comments, suggestions, corrections, etc etc.
Please let me know how I can make this care guide
STAY the ULTIMATE Solution Guide..
Copyright 1998-2007-
Clay English - www.redtailboas.com - cenglish@redtailboas.com
Other Resources
I also recommend the following books for extended
reading.
|
| The
Boa Constrictor Manual |
 |
Philippe
de Vosjoli / Jeff Ronne |
Herpetocultural
library |
| Boas,
A Complete Pet Owners Manual |
|
Doug
Wagner |
Barron's |
| The
Guide to Owning a Red-Tailed Boa |
|
Glen
Drewnowski |
TFH
Publications |
Copyright 1998-2007
Clay English RedTailBoas.com All rights reserved. |
