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Originally Posted by razeraze
So feed a snake when it is hungry, just like a monitor, or a turtle or a crocodile. If weight becomes an issue (obvious signs of obesity) then I suggest providing better caging, and more out of cage time.
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Of course you realize that the method of "feed a snake when it's hungry" defies logic and goes against nature. Obesity from this feeding regiment does not signify lack of activity or improper husbandry so much as it indicates over-feeding. Snakes (and lizards and crocodilians) are opportunistic feeders, which means that they will take as much prey as their body will let them as often as they can. Why? Because prey is a vital and often scarce resource. There is not someone throwing rats or birds at every boa in the wild every time it gets a little peckish. Nor am I aware of any small mammal species that habitually follows around snakes in large groups to ensure that the snake's dietary desires (not needs) are met. But then, I have never hunted boas in the wild so their range may be a sea of scampering culinary delights for all I know. But if that is not the case, then your method of powerfeeding can be very detrimental to the snake's overall health and cause obesity, liver problems, and heart disease. It is also important to remember that predators miss a large percentage of the prey that they seek to secure. It may take 2 weeks for that wild boa to actually catch something.
Of course, there is also the external factors that effect prey availability such as disease, pesticides, habitat destruction, breeding seasons, and seasonal variations within the region. This may explain why snakes (and boids in particular) can often fast for a year or more. The simple ability to go without food for so long would logically bring forth the conclusion that they are not animals designed for rapidly concurrent feedings. It is more logical that they are designed for more scattered feedings.
Even genus such as Drymarchon that have extraordinary metabolisms will get obese if fed "when it is hungry". And these are animals that can digest a turtle in 48 hours. Boid metabolism does not fall any where near this.
Since we have elected to keep the animal in captivity, it is our responsibility to keep it healthy. This includes protecting it from itself by regulating food intake. Ever see a dog with unlimited food available? They get very obese and unhealthy very quickly. And dogs are much smarter than snakes.
"feed a snake when it's hungry" is just bad husbandry and bad advise plain and simple.
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especially bats a favorite prey of boas
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I looked through that paper. So 4 individual bats eaten by Boa constrictor in 40 years constitutes a favorite food? That study shows that bats are sometimes taken as prey, but falls very short of proving bats as a primary prey item. The paper also notes there is no distinction (or way to know) which bats were captured and which were already dead. It is not uncommon for snakes to take dead prey (as we all know). I have fed Candoia carinata paulsoni chicks before. So it is possible that avian prey is taken on occasion by Candoia, but the sweeping majority do not. And again I will refer back to Drymarchon, couperi in particular. There is documentation of D couperi taking young snapping turtles and gopher tortoises as prey, but this is by no means the norm.
