Fat or Lazy?

[ekenny314]

My 1 year old BP is getting slower and was wondering if anyone else sees this too or if he’s overweight? I weighed him 2 weeks ago and he’s 305 grams and he’s actually “under” the “average” weight when you Google it. But he eats every week or every 10 days. But unlike my girl, he stays in his hide ALLL the time. So we’re trying to hold him and get him out more but he’s very inactive in general. How do you know the difference between being overweight and lazy? And is being lazy OK?

[Bogertophis]

Hey, we're not seeing your snake so we can't tell you whether or not he's overweight just by his weight alone: it depends on how LONG he is also.

Think of a human being instead: is an adult human overweight if they weigh 160 lbs? They probably are if they're only 5'2", but not if they're 6' tall. Ever hear of BMI measurements? Well, there's no such thing for snakes, but there's this chart:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...f42b352b68.jpg



There's NO such thing as an average weight for snakes of a certain "age"- snakes grow according to what & how much they're fed & also depends on how well they can digest (ie. if they've been warm enough to digest all 12 months of the year, & other factors including health & stress). It's also normal for BPs to hide & rest MOST of the time- they tend to move around more at night, when the lights are out & you're likely asleep, not watching them.

[Homebody]

And is being lazy OK?

Lazy is relative. Lazy compared to a hamster? Yes. That's o.k. Lazy compared to a dog or cat? That's o.k. too. Lazy compared to you? Again. That's o.k. Your snake is going to be lazy compared to any mammal, and it should be. Conserving energy is key to their survival.

Now, lazy compared to itself, how it used to be? That's a tougher question. Most likely your bp's behavior is perfectly fine. BPs are sedentary even compared to other snakes, but a description of your set up would help us determine if there is something there that's contributing to its inactivity. Pics are helpful too. Here's a link that will show you how to post them: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures.

[Bogertophis]

My 1 year old BP is getting slower and was wondering if anyone else sees this too or if he’s overweight? I weighed him 2 weeks ago and he’s 305 grams and he’s actually “under” the “average” weight when you Google it. But he eats every week or every 10 days. But unlike my girl, he stays in his hide ALLL the time. So we’re trying to hold him and get him out more but he’s very inactive in general. How do you know the difference between being overweight and lazy? And is being lazy OK?

When he was "new" at your place, like all such re-homed snakes, he was nervous & trying to figure out where his 'world' went to (as he knew it formerly). That's often why new snakes are "active"- it's also called "restless" or even "stressed". For a young BP, "getting slower" may just actually be that he's settling in.


Remember that anything in nature that picks up a snake is only a predator about to EAT him. You say you're trying to "hold him more" so that may actually be causing him to hide more. But maybe not- snakes just have their own personalities too- it's up to us to figure them out. Some accept handling more than others- keep that in mind. One way we try to gauge if a snake is "stressed" is whether or not they have a good appetite, so if he starts refusing meals (& assuming he's not going into shed), he may be stressed. The longer you keep snakes, & the more snakes you know, the easier it gets to figure them out. Just don't expect them all to be the same.

[plateOfFlan]

Ball pythons are always going to come off as lazy because their instincts tell them to conserve as much energy as they can. That said both of mine are much more active and confident than they were when I first got them, and honestly I don't think the change is anything I did - it seemed to come about kind of suddenly for each of them when they hit 2 years old and really put on more size. BPs live for decades so a 1 year old snake is really still a baby in many ways. It's going to prefer to hide and be more nervous imo. My 2 and 3 year old are much more active and curious when they're out these days and enjoy climbing around on me or the furniture. It may just be a case of being patient.