Warning - If graphic images bother you, close this thread. This is a graphic feeding thread which contains images that may bother some. You have been warned!

The boa I adopted on December 24th has been growing steadily since I have placed him in his temporary, but large enclosure. As a result of his growth, I had decided it was time to try and feed him a larger prey item than I am use to feeding my snakes. On an average feeding, every 7 days, she was taking 2 jumbo rats and they were no longer leaving any visible signs that a feeding had just transpired. As a result, I purchased a 2.5 lb rabbit from Rodentpro.com when I ordered my other feeders.

I was a little taken back by the size of the rabbit when it arrived, but my big girl proved to me today that the rabbit had nothing on her ability to eat it.

Initially I was having issue with her taking it as the scent was not something she was familiar with. After a few tries, I decided to scent it with a jumbo rat. She took a keen interest, but just wouldn't latch on. At that point i was ready to give up and just gave her the jumbo. She took that without hesitation. As she was nearing the end of the rat, I tossed the head of the rabbit at the base of the tail. Her next swallow lightly nicked the rabbit and the next one grabbed it.

The pictures below show how that went. lol

This first shot is of her eating the jumbo (Double XXL from rodentpro).




Here she is taking the head of the rabbit:



The heads gone, and now she is "stuck" at the feet.



Without skipping a beat, she decided to reconstrict the rabbit. I don't know if she did this to adjust the feet, but she broke both legs when she constricted. I actually heard them snap!



Her leg breaking did the trick as the legs are now no longer an issue.



It didn't take long for her to get this far.



Its amazing how one minutes there is a whole lot of rabbit hanging out, and the next there isn't.



She is just about done.



To easily complete the meal, she decided to lift herself up off the ground.



This was all that was left after she lifted herself up.



Here she is after having eaten the rat and the rabbit. This meal should hold her for the next 3-4 weeks.



Well there you have it! lol I do want to note that this feeding DID take place in her current enclosure. After the several failed attempts with the rabbit, she was in feeding mode and I didn't want to risk handling her in this state, so I just left her in her enclosure. (The first few attempts were in her feeding tub.)

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.:: Rich ::.

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Without a doubt you can see the bulge now !!!! glad she went to bigger prey and I bet she takes a rabbit next time with no problem.

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

yep...my boas always stand up at the end...even with the rats....nice pics Rich....

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

Never ceases to amaze me what they can swallow. Nice pics.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you."

wow nice pics, how big is she?

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"Reality is wrong, Dreams are for real"

-Tupac Shakur

Believe it or not, but she is only 5' 11". She isn't even 6 feet yet. She weighs in at 11.5 lbs before this meal.

I was thrilled that she could take the rabbit. It makes my purchasing much easier, and saves me a bundle! Since I order in bulk, the cost per rat wasn't as high but feeding 2 every 7 or 8 days adds up. The rabbit was like $3.80 and should easily hold her for 4 weeks or so. That saves me 8 rats a month!

I know I am not a huge picture taker, but I had to document her eating the rabbit. I have never fed a prey item this large, and I have another use for the images later on. (The revamped caresheet.)

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.:: Rich ::.

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Thats is awesome,,,congrats on the successful feeding.

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MARSHA
A man without a woman is a bachelor, A woman without a man is a genius!.

We have enough youth, how about a fountain of smart!

That is pretty wild. Makes we wonder if i should bump up the prey items for my boa soon, she's eating large rats, and is about 5'6"-5'9", last i measured her.

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"Nobody can do Everything, but Everybody can do Something."

It's not the length that depicts if the prey size needs upgrading, but rather the girth and the size of the prey itself.

If you are feeding a large rat and can see where the rat is within the snakes body after feeding your boa, there is no reason to upgrade.

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.:: Rich ::.

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rabbit? I was watching "In Cold Blood" the other night and this snake ate a baby deer!

Glad you were able to upgrade.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.