boas and pythons

Question
im going to throw out a bunch of questions out so bear with me. the first is that i should let you know both of my snakes do indeed have resp. infections and that is the only reason i have them and I can normally get them into remission quickly when they wheeze. yet my ball python (loki yes the trickster) wont stop eating. he was given to me by a friend who didn't even want to attempt to save him from the condition he was in. after i got him he had the infection malnourished numerous sheds covering his eyes and dehydrated, and eventually i found he had worms. well i got the hydration the worms and the shed take care of but he wont stop eating. he is about 4.5 feet long and about an inch and a half in diameter. he is constantly hunting and with all my experience with snakes that means hunger but he is going through about 3-4 small rats per week and yes he is gaining weight i don't think it is normal. he doesn't get violent when i don't feed him as much but he does look sad and gives me those big black eyes and i cant help it (i know i am a sucker for my guys) that and it seems that as soon as he gets done with one shed another comes right up behind it i don't know if that from the feeding or if they have a backlog (i don't know if they can get a backlog of shedding.

thats enough on loki now to the boa. he is another rescue a beautiful salmon boa that i took in again with the lung infection(hey they don't deserve to die just because the owners made a mistake) and she is huge well over 8 ft and weighs a decent amount. i used to let her roam my room and she would sleep in my bed with me sometimes or lay on her heat pad in the corner. lately she has been extremely violent to the point that i had to put her in a 60x36x36 cage. now the problem is she is big and she is angry. it takes 2 people to feed her (yes she gets prekilled or frozen) and she has broken the top to her cage. i don't want to put her down but the suit of armor i am using to deal with her is still not helping when im not fast enough to miss the attack. (that and my parents aren't to happy with the occasional doctor visits) is this normal for them to get violent in later years and do they go through menopause or what ever because that would explain it (just as with my mom =}) please let me know what i can do about both of them they are my babies even if one can eat me

Answer
Hey Sean,

Sorry I could not answer your question sooner. I was at work..

About loki, it is great that you have taken him in, even though he had problems. The eating is not that big a deal, he may have been fed by his previous owners every other day to please their need to see him eat. He may have gotten used to this. Not saying this is the case, but it sound like a good possibility. What I would say is that you try to keep his feeding time to every seven days. After a little while he will become adjusted to this new feeding regimen. If his eye get to you try not to think about it and just tell him to look forward to the next meal. I would only feed him a rat equal to his girth. This is plenty of food for him. The shedding problem is due to his feeding so much. Once you have a feeding regimen then his shedding will not happen so often.

Now for you boa, they are truly amazing animals, though very temperamental. Not sure of her age, but I would guess around 10+ years. They can live for as long as 20-25 years. She may very be going through a midlife crisis then, hey. Only one problem snakes don't have that problem. Has anything changed within your home? Like a new pet, and baby, or maybe you are just not allowing her to roam about like she was before. I have a Columbian and she is very aggressive. I will not put my hand in her tank, but once I have her out and in my hands she is great.

Anyway, I hope this helps you some. You should visit my website and join the ball python planet forum. Here you can ask questions and even give advice on what you have learned by owning these amazing pets.

Eric Rovegno