Size/Age Chart?

Hello, I've been a snake owner for all of 3 days. :)

In reading info on the Web, I haven't been able to find anything that indicates what weight/length a BP should be at different ages. If such a thing exists, I'd appreciate being pointed in the right direction.

My snake's prior owner had it for only 2 months. She, in turn, bought it from Petco in early May and said "it was about 3 or 4 months old" at the time. A month is a big variance for a baby, so I'm hoping to find some sort of age/growth chart to narrow it down a bit more. Haven't weighed it yet, but it's about 22" long.

So, how old is a 22" long BP?

Using length is very hard to accurately age snakes as it depends on growth. Mass is usually better. But still, it can depend on feeding.

I believe there was another thread asking the same thing floating around recently. It was most likely either in here or in the husbandry forum. I think someone posted a generalized chart in the thread.

I did a search on "chart," "size," and "age" but couldn't find what I'm looking for. It's been eating hopper mice.

I swear I saw one. But 20 minutes of searching, and alas, no luck for me.
It's hard from what I've read to guess the age of a snake really. Just keep track of the weight monthly I guess.

No snake birthdays... :(
I even found a good recipe for mouse cupcakes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patricia

I did a search on "chart," "size," and "age" but couldn't find what I'm looking for. It's been eating hopper mice.

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There is no age/ size chart simply because they all grow at a different rate, it depends on the size out of the egg, how soon it was started, prey size, feeding schedule, fasts, metabolism etc, etc.

What you want is an animal that appear healthy and well proportionate.

A little advice on feeding, hoppers are usually used to start hatchlings, from then the snake moves quickly to small and/or adult mice, so at this point you might want to use bigger preys.

i have a 08 ball python thats over 1000g and a 06 female thats about 900g.. it really depends on how they feed, and alot of other factors. males are generally smaller... things like that:)

I just weighed our little guy: 120g. Have no idea if that is normal for this length. :confused:

Like the others have said there is so much variable in how big/small you ball is. Also a factor is how big the egg was, how much yoke the egg had, how soon it started eating, how big it was when it hatched. If your ball looks like a triangle (if cut in half) then he/she is thin. If she is nicely rounded she is fine. If she is little then feed her little things (ie hopper mice) if she is bigger you can feed her rat pups (or fuzzys). Good luck and give us photos!!! We love photos

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Patricia

I just weighed our little guy: 120g. Have no idea if that is normal for this length. :confused:

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Sounds fine to me. Don't worry about the length measurement anymore. It is inaccurate and tells you nothing about how the snake is growing. They don't really grow in inches long they just get bigger. Its hard to explain but try to forget about the length bit.

Also, feed your snake some small mice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by akaangela

If your ball looks like a triangle (if cut in half) then he/she is thin. If she is nicely rounded she is fine. If she is little then feed her little things (ie hopper mice) if she is bigger you can feed her rat pups (or fuzzys). Good luck and give us photos!!! We love photos

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Oh, ick about the notion of cutting it in half, but that's actually a good visual help. Yes, our little BP is on the thin side. When I first saw it, I noticed the spine, which I'd never noticed before on other snakes. However, its prior owner didn't have a UTH, and it came to us with quite a bit of shedding still attached to the rear third, so I'm chalking its thinness up to not eating/digesting well without proper warmth and humidity. Now that its warm, I'm hoping it will thrive well. This picture was taken the morning after we brought it home:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...MG_0459-Cr.jpg

Nighttime of that same day, after it had eaten a hopper mouse. (I like how this picture shows the row of E.T. faces and then what look like molars!)
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...00_2967-Cr.jpg

After missing a few "yawns," I had my camera ready and caught this one:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z...MG_0466-Cr.jpg