I think my snake is too skinny....

[Doug]

Re:I think my snake is too skinny....

Hi,
does she bulge a little post feeding or does she look about the same, if she dosen't bulge a little I would move up the feeding size a little or try two of the previous size.
Many boa's grow long and then fill out some, are heavy form the start. And are you 100 % sure its a female or cold it be a male. my males are much thinner than the girls and a bit smaller too.
Doug
give her a few years they will usally catch up hehe
here's a boa bulging a bit post feeding

never handle them for a couple days post feeding it could cause problems

this little guy just ate two med and he's way under three feet,you could proabably move up to large..
I would consider buying on line with a friend if you only have one snake , the rodents from the rat farms are much better than the petstore animals protein and such..
My large from rodent pro are jumbo's at the petstore..

[sclark]

Re:I think my snake is too skinny....

Hey Beth,

I think between what Clay said and what we talked about last night and in email should help alot.. Keep us posted..

Steve

[Barracuda_41]

Re:I think my snake is too skinny....

8)Hey Beth, i agree i would up her food intake also, for awhile till she gets somemore weight to her.. i have had some boas come thru here that was just long and slender and didnt have any health probs and would eat like no tomarrow but was not getting fat, Just like Clay said each one is diffrent.. I got a male boa i got in from someone here and hes been eatting real well every 10 days and hes a real slender boy, even though males tend to be thinner, hes got real good weight on him now and doing well and then theres my argentine cross boy hes a real pig eats every 13 days, he's very girthy and hes just shy 8 inches Of the other male boa at 4ft. So could be just each boa is diffrent as far as girth size goes.

[BMoore]

Re:I think my snake is too skinny....

Okay, thanks Clay. Her Poo is as good as it gets I think. So no probs there. But for the past few days, she has been really non-active which doesn't really concern me. You know how snakes get in their moods. But today when i was checking on her she was laying her neck on her body and her head was just hanging down like she wasn't feeling good. I have never seen her so "limp" before, you know? I'm on my lunch hour now, and she is the same. I reached in to touch her and she didn't jerk or aknowlege me except for a tounge flick. But when i tried to move her a few minute's later she got kinda pissy......... Any suggestions?

**Beth**

[ClayEnglish]

Re:I think my snake is too skinny....

Hey Beth,

I think if worms were a problem, you would be noticing issues with the poop. And most of the time, runny and very smelly poop. (as if poop isn't smelly already ) Also all reptiles have some worms and parasites in them as a natural part of existence, it is when a process called parasite overloading occurs that we see the problems.

And if there are no other health problems, the chances are that your boa is just not a thick bodied boa. I have boas that are extremely thick bodied and others that are more slender.

If you do not notice any problems with the poop, you could always feed the medium rat once each week for several months. This should add to the weight gain, and then you could back off to your normal feeding schedule.

[BMoore]

Hello everyone...........
I was talking to Steve last night about my 4 1/2 footer being kinda thin. Then again I really don't know what is normal, but I would compare her girth to a large banana. I have had her for 6 months, I think she is about 2 years old, and I have not noticed any wieght gain. Actually I am concerned she has lost some but i could be paranoid. I feed her one medium rat every 2 weeks. Steve and I have talked about her possibly having worms. I called one vet today to ask if they could do a smear for me and they said I would have to bring her in and it's $60 just to see the vet. That's not including meds or lab work. :-[ If I treat her for worms and she doesn't have them, will it harm her? (Didn't ask Steve about that one.) Also I was reading about the post someone posted about entomeba, carried by turtles and I have a turtle. What if I wasn't careful enough and it was spread to my redtail? ??? This last week Jezebel just hasn't been acting right but I am sure it could be a # of things. I fed her a week ago, red ants crawled into her cage, (remember that post?) and I moved her into a new cage 4 weeks ago.
I guess all in all.... what symptoms do I need to look for for any kind of illness? Do I need to get her to gain more wieght? Should I treat her for worms even if she may not have them and if so, how? Really would like your guys' help on this one. If I have to pay the money for a vet I will. But why, when I may just be paranoid and nitpicking and could treat her myself you know? Thanks again everyone..............

**Beth**