Ball python weight

Cherry4812 · 07-08-10, 09:37 PM

I've had my ball python, Tulio, for almost eleven months now. He's about a year old, 24 inches (give or take), and weighs 10 ounces. I got a scale specifically to weigh him and I was just wondering if that sounded like an appropriate weight for a ball python of his age. My friend has an older one that looks skinnier (you can see it's backbone protruding a lot) and she says mine looks overweight. I feed him one adult mouse once a week.

infernalis · 07-08-10, 10:53 PM

yours is not overweight, but your friend with the skinny one needs to feed that poor animal.

You should NEVER see the spine of any snake showing.

What you just described about your friends snake is animal cruelty.

Cherry4812 · 07-08-10, 11:22 PM

Thank you for answering my question (kind of) but you need to calm down. She feeds it every week but it doesn't always eat. She bought it from an owner that didn't take care of it properly and has been trying to help it ever since. You really shouldn't jump to animal cruelty before you know anything about the situation.

infernalis · 07-09-10, 12:42 AM

Well then please accept my apologies, However maybe my frustration should be directed at the previous owner.

My BP was rescued from squalor, so I kind of have a soft spot for neglected snakes.

Lankyrob · 07-09-10, 03:18 AM

Also if you had explained why the other snake was so skinny the reaction wouldn't have been the same - reading your first post i also jumped straight to cruelty.

Paradise · 07-09-10, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

... reading your first post i also jumped straight to cruelty.

As did I Rob.

If the snake is not eat as regularly try a little bigger prey a few more days apart or at least suggest to your friend to do that or even when the snake does eat to keep feeding till it stops taking but be careful because this can also cause problems.

If this is an on going situation you should actually recommend to your friend to take the poor animal to be check by the vet. Seen the spine is really not a good sign and if the BP is not eating there is definitely some thing wrong.

Paradise · 07-09-10, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by infernalis

My BP was rescued from squalor,

Huh what? 'a Squalor' Sorry my day for being silly I have no idea what this is

Paradise · 07-09-10, 05:22 AM

ok sorry my bad just had to think about it for a while.
Sorry Wayne

infernalis · 07-09-10, 06:17 AM

No problems mate...

The woman who had this Python before me was running a party house out of her apartment, and the snake was living in a nasty cage with a green (slimy) water bowl, feces all over, shed skin piles all over & no hide.

Nafun · 07-09-10, 06:18 AM

I also jumped right to animal cruelty (well, neglect). When you hear hoof beats, think horses, not zebras.

I weighed my ball a few months ago, when he was about a year old, and about the same length as yours. He weighed 9 ounces. This was before I switched him to rats. Given that a 10 ounce ball can take a 2 ounce crap, I wouldn't worry too much about his weight.

Even if he was a little overweight, which I don't think he is, I wouldn't worry about it at his age, since he's still got a lot of growing to do.

You might also want to consider switching him to rats. Rats are healthier, and he'll need to be switched eventually anyway. Balls are imprint feeders, and the longer they feed on something, the harder it is to get them to switch to something else. (I recommend waiting for a shed cycle, it's worked for me on two different snakes. Wait for a shed cycle where they've been refusing food for a few weeks. Then offer the new prey, they're hungry enough they go right for it.)

infernalis · 07-09-10, 06:22 AM

I have a couple rat colonies going on, and after reading many recommendations from members here, I quit giving my BP mice, now I pull young rats that are 3-4 weeks old and (just about twice the size of a full grown mouse) and he takes them just fine.

Then I sell the extra rats to a local pet shop for $1 each.

Works out well.

Nafun · 07-09-10, 07:59 AM

Extra rats? There's no such thing as extra rats. There's just "insufficient snakes"

infernalis · 07-09-10, 08:40 AM

hey now, that 30-40 extra dollars every few weeks comes in handy.

They also buy loads of mice from me too.

Helps to support my snake habits.

Nafun · 07-09-10, 08:54 AM

Wish I could find a pet store willing to buy extra gerbils from me. I've got 8 breeding pairs pumping out 4-7 pups every 30 days. I've only ever managed to get *one* snake to eat *one* gerbil *once*.

infernalis · 07-09-10, 09:01 AM

So what on earth do you do with this population explosion??

Get a Savannah monitor, they eat anything that moves.