My new red tail boa eating..

[Keithj34]

may be disturbing to some, this is nature..
My newest addition a 4.5 ft Red tail boa. I picked her up this morning and just got her fed here are some shots I got.. I havent noticed many snake pet photos Here she is..

Getting ready to strike

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Quick head grab and constriction begins

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Dinner time

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[FlipDiver79]

My friend feeds her python dead food. Is there a difference nutritional? anyway cool shots..

 

[TOLady]

I think I'd rather buy my dinner shrink-wrapped on a styrofoam board! LOL

Cool images, Keith.

PS: what's her name?

 

[Keithj34]

Well marco Ive just recently heard of feeding pythons dead food, Ive never done it with any of my snakes nor will I start.. I do know some of the ones who feed their snake pre killed food is to prevent injury to snake or think its more humane or something silly like that, but as large as mine is Im not worried and I supervise my snakes feeding time to be sure nothing goes wrong.. There is no nutritional difference that I know of, people I know who are snake owners feed the same way I do as well it is natural..
I havent figured out a name yet sandi still working on it, I am waiting until she sheds and I can see her new skin before I name her she is in first stages of shedding so a couple weeks

Thanks for the comments guys and girls

 

[ShaunK]

Cool shots, Keith. It is fun to see the snakes strike and eat. I used to feed mine live until it struck the rat's rear instead of the head. The rat turned around and sunk its teeth into the snake's side. Eventually, the snake prevailed, but I had to reach in and extract the teeth from the snake so it could feed. Ever since then, I've bought live, put it in a paper bag, and smacked it hard (like on a door) right before dropping into the tank. This will either stun or kill the rodent. Much safer for the snake. :smile: I've also heard that if the snake doesn't eat the rat right away, the rat might be likely to bite the snake. They will sink their teeth into anything!

 

[230grains]

Well marco Ive just recently heard of feeding pythons dead food, Ive never done it with any of my snakes nor will I start.. I do know some of the ones who feed their snake pre killed food is to prevent injury to snake or think its more humane or something silly like that, but as large as mine is Im not worried and I supervise my snakes feeding time to be sure nothing goes wrong..

I used to have a lot of snakes, mainly larger pythons. Retics and Burms mainly. I always fed pre killed rodents mainly for safety reasons and my larger snakes would eat LARGE rabbits which can hurt a snake. I'm not saying you're bad by feeding live, but I will tell you i've seen a burmese python larger than your redtail killed by an XL rat with a bite to the head, it happens quite fast. Not to mention infection from rodent bites etc.. Just a thought. Great looking red tail!

 

[Thor Hakonsen]

Pre-killed is always safer - and should be encouraged.

Herp-owners also have anought problems around the world with PETA (and it's likes), they use feeding with live animals as propaganda againts them.

 

[Keithj34]

I hear ya guys when she gets to eatin larger mammals will probaly do the pre kill, always have fed live so it will take some gettin used to for me.. Thanks for comments her coloring is a little dull due to in early stages of shedding will be sure to post pics after she sheds.. Glad to see more reptile lovers People have alot of major misconceptions of large snakes. Now my question is will she accept a dead animal if she was brought up on live feedings?

 

[Thor Hakonsen]

A Boa constrictor (captive bred) will most probably accept pre-killed first time. Perhaps she needs to go without food for one or two periods (2-4 weeks). But I'm pretty sure she will take pre-killed - aspecially if it's fresh and still warm. Probably she will also take pre-killed frozen rats (not still frozen off course, but you understand what I mean)

On the other hand, a Boa constrictor will never need anything larger than an adult rat..

 

[Keithj34]

I hear ya Thor appreciate it.. Like I said Ive had a Burmese before and always fed her live animals including rabbits under supervision. But it sounds right that the rat or rabbit could make short work of a snake.. Now Im lookin to build her a cage shes in a 75 gallon now but would rather have something much larger for her to grow in.. One thing I have never seen before was the first day she spit up water wasnt sure I was thinking she got car sick due to friend at local pet store wanted to see her, ever hear of that?

 

[230grains]

If you're feeding pre killed, usually the snake will just take it, especially if its still warm. I had a couple picky eaters that went several weeks rejecting pre killed but eventually took it. I've had to split the skull a little bit on some rodents. With frozen, which is actually the cheapest IMO, it's good to defrost then warm under a heat lamp a little bit.

 

[Keithj34]

Heres a shot of her investigating our dresser she almost wrapped around the whole base of dresser..lol

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[sqphotography]

first: good shots cool series!

Good conversation here! I have watched snakes that were fed live mice, rats and rabbits and it is cool to see them do what they are born to do. i also know that for many predators hunting is one of the most dangerous activities they do, a wold can have it's skull crushed by an elk, a lion catch a cape buffalo horn etc... often any injury can result in death. My thought would be the more time and $$$ you have invested the more careful you would want to be with your snake.

As for humane... fast suffocation is pretty humane compared to lions feeding on a Zebra that is still kicking!

just my thoughts

 

[azbill]

I buy my rodents frozen, a thousand at a time.
One thousand frozen rodents are MUCH easier to care for than live ones.
Good looking boa!

 

[HappyFish]

I use some very small hav-a-heart traps that I keep set in the feed shed and some of the other out buildings. My ball python gets some and the rest go to the hawks and owls on the farm. Monty Python gets his live and the ones for the birds I kill first and just put on a big stump and soon they are gone. monty is the only snake that I have full time. Today there is a fat northern water snake on the front counter that I cought in one of the lakes this week. I will let him go in a few days where he won`t scare the crap out of any of my customers or eat any of my pet frogs.

 

[dossy]

Keith, I'm one of those people who can't kill anything, so having this pet would be difficult for me! That being said, I can compartmentalize! These are cool shots, and she's got beautiful markings!

 

[Keithj34]

Reason I wont catch my own robert is pet store rodents are healthy and you run risk of infection and sickness capturing wild ones.. Considering shes only eating 1-2 rats a week I dont have a need to stock up just yet Thanks Dossy shes still got a blue tint meaning she is getting ready to shed in near future and her colors will really show then.. LOL I agree with you 100% Sean but you know how todays society is

 

[Keithj34]

I had my amusement last night while feeding.. she hit and missed her mark and caught rat in side, rat ran off and never seen a snake with a dumbfounded look before she was digging up shavings looking for rat until rat moved..lets just say she didnt make same mistake twice