Important note: Beside the undisputed benefits, the drawback of the internet is that due to the networking misinformation that sends an entire community in the wrong direction can be established as well. A good example for this is the feeding schedule of boid snakes. The overfeeding of boas in captive husbandry has spread like and epidemic during the last 10 years. Yearlings weighing more than 1 kg are common. We can also tell the tale of a 3 year old (!!!) female boa constrictor who delivered almost 50 (!!!) infertile eggs and some stillborn boa babies. Until then we thought it impossible to feed a boa in a way that (in theory) enables her to have 50 babies at the age of 3. The same is true with a boa male at the age of 5 who weighs more than 8kg (normal average weight is 3 kg). It seems that the hobby of these boa keepers is boa-feeding rather than boa breeding. Meanwhile this “Turbo – feeding” has become a standard. Moreover, boa keepers who stick to a normal feeding schedule are facing hostility from the boa fatteners. Many a customer, who heeds our suggestions reports reproaches from this circle true to the motto “the boa is way too small”, “give the animal larger prey items”, “the boa should have thrice the weight it has” and so on and so forth… Several times some of our customers have yielded to the pressure and abandoned the tried and tested feeding schedule that we strongly suggest. In most cases this leads to problems like regurgitation or diseases. One time it even had cost the life of a boa. A rueful and distraught customer reported that a too big prey mouse slit the stomach of the boa open with its chisel teeth during the process of being swallowed. This isn’t an assumption, but the result of the autopsy performed on the dead boa by a vet. Bottom line: The application of the common feeding schedule that is practiced by most of the boa keepers in these parts results in infertile, sick and obese boas with a short life expectancy. Quotation of a vet: 90% of the boas that end up on my autopsy table have fatty livers to a degree that would suffice for the transplantation listing if they were human beings. Do the fools who apply such a feeding schedule to boas actually believe that the table in the wild is set just approximately? Mind you, our opinion regarding the correct feeding schedule for boas is shared by any expert for boid snakes, such as reptile vets, zoologists, field herpetologists and seasoned breeders. Here you find more information as to the feeding of boas: boa-constrictors/en/Interesting_facts_about_Boa_constrictor/Boa_constrictor_Care/Feeding_Boa_constrictor
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 00:12:18 +0000
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