Rav or Tort - help!

[Dena]

I have a rosy boa. He is about 2 years old. When I moved in May he was lost in the house for about 5 weeks. Lucky for him we have a mouse problem and a day after we found him we found his left overs. He ate a huge mouse. Not much of it was digested and I still can't get over the fact that he was able to pass it. Right afterwards he shed and he hadn't shed for quite a while before that.

I went to go pick up some feeders and I usually feed him 3 big pinkies or small fuzzies. They usually don't have their eyes open yet or just opened. From numerous people I was told that if I was not sure what size to feed it was better to stay smaller and feed more than feed something too big. An employee (one of those know it all types) at the store said that this was considered power feeding and it would cause him to shed more often. I have been feeding him this way for 2 years and thought he didn't shed enough!

So I turn to you guys, who I know really does know it all, or close enough to it to find out the proper way I should be feeding my little snake. He will not eat prekilled food either. He is so docile I didn't see a need to ever even try to offer it that way.

I'm not an expert but I think that feeding more of the smaller variety would be better than feeding your snake something that is too big.

I have two snakes, one of which being a 6.5 ft. Red Tail Boa. I have a problem finding rats big enough for her! I usually end up buying 3 or 4 rats for her.

My brother has a baby ball python and I think that he opts for mice that are a little too small as well.

[Dena]

Thanks, you made me feel a little better it sounds logical. They are eating the same amount whether in little bits or one big lump. I thought power feeding was feeding a lot and often If we are wrong I am sure Rav or Tort will give us the correct feeding method!

You should also take note that it is better to underfeed than overfeed. An overweight snake is not a good thing!

As far as powerfeeding is concerned (if we're on the same page here) I think it is probably a bad idea. My Boa was neglected by her previous owner so she's pretty underweight right now. I asked someone at the pet store where I get my mice if I should feed her a lot to *catch up* but he said no. It seems like just getting them on a regular eating schedule is the healthiest thing to do. Sort of like humans! No binging or crash diets lol

[Dena]

Thanks Tort. The meal I gave him last night was 3 small fuzzies. They were bigger than what I usually feed him so I wont feed him for a while. I will try a small mouse next time. He is a nice size and he did eat that huge mouse. But I am definitely not powerfeeding. I usually wait longer to feed him to make sure that he eats everything that I give him. I can stand the thought of having to throw a baby mouse in the garbage just because my snake wasn't hungry!

[Dena]

I will try to get a picture of him so you can see him.