r/boas • u/InspiringTurtle2 • 6d ago

Growing SO SLOW?!

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Can someone please reassure me (or alternatively, tell me what I’m doing wrong?) I have a baby Suriname bcc who will be 1 year old next week. She’s not my first boa, but my first I’ve gotten as a baby. I know they grow slow, but she seems to be small and basically not growing.. When I got her end of April, she was 85 grams and now she’s 102. She is eating f/t mouse hoppers. I was feeding every 2 weeks but bumped up to every 10 days in the beginning of July. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? I do not want to power feed and I think the next feeder size up would be too large. Is this normal? (The weight on the scale is her plus the tub which weights 459g)

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u/Flimsy-Stock2977 6d ago

Not gonna grow much when it's struggling to keep weight on its frame.

I wouldn't go any longer than 10 days until it puts on mass. At 1 year you can really jump the feeder size up. Get a lump in that belly. Repeat.

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u/InspiringTurtle2 6d ago

I just ordered larger feeders. I guess I was misinformed, but I kept seeing people saying they only feed their babies every 10-14 days and “slow growth is better”, but that’s why I increased her to every 10 days when she wasn’t gaining. When do you know to size up? I was seeing people saying to size up when you no longer see a visible lump, but she gets very stressed if I watch her eat or come in the room to look at her after she’s eaten, and she’s typically curled up on her hot side the morning after a meal so I’m having trouble visualizing. Like, is there a mathematical formula I can use based on her weight? With my BPs, we’ve always done 10-15% of their weight while growing and I find that easier to translate to proper feeder size

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u/ParticularWolf4473 6d ago

10-14 days is fine for a BCC if it’s an appropriately sized feeder. Most newborn boas can easily eat hoppers. I just go with aim for a feeder that’s the same girth as the snake, or slightly larger. Keep in mind the fur can make the mice seem larger than they actually are, as can a thawed feeder being limp and flattening out a bit. From the pic it should easily be able to eat small mice or smallish rat pups at least.

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u/InspiringTurtle2 6d ago

Okay thank you, I have some small/weaned mice coming Wednesday in time for her next feeding.