is there a proper age: length: weight ratio in bp's?

[Ryu]

if so my bp is a bit skinny. hes about 26- 28 inches, idk exactly how old but judging by length i'd say about a year to 1.5 years (which is another reason im asking this aside from curiosity) and he weighs 332 grams minus however much an adult mouse thats been digesting for 3 days weighs. i wanna know where my snake stands in comparison to other snakes, healthy or not.

[stevepoppers]

I've seen a few q&a about this sort of thing, and it seems like there's a lot of variance. I think it's mostly due to food intake, so let's assume ideal conditions, shall we? If a bp is fed appropriate sized food items weekly throughout it's life, at what age will it be how long and weight what?

Even if ppl just post their experiences, we could figure out some sort of average.

[alittleFREE]

Well, at around a year old my first BP weighed something near 800 grams. He/She was unsexed, but I believed her to be a female....

[Crazy4Herps]

While feeding and feeding responses contribute to size, genetics plays a larger part. There is always a bellcurve in science. Take as many averages as you like, that does not prove that average sized ball pythons are the "right size" to be at. Specimens at the far reaches of a given bellcurve may not be as common but are not necessarily wrong or defected.

Malnutrition and stunted growth are another matter entirely. But as long as a snake is being fed somewhat regularly, this should not be a problem. To the OP, if you are curious about your snake being a bit thin, feel free to post pics and you may get a few opinions.

let's assume ideal conditions, shall we? If a bp is fed appropriate sized food items weekly throughout it's life, at what age will it be how long and weight what?

I would like to point out that, while weekly feedings may be your preferred schedule, they are not necessarily "ideal". I don't want to start up a debate on a separate topic, so I will simply state that every snake keeper has a different preference when it comes to feeding. I feed all of my snakes on a relatively slow schedule. Yes, they are on the smaller side, but they are in excellent health. I'm not saying anyone's right or wrong here, I'm simply saying that it's a matter of opinion and we shouldn't assume that weekly feedings are necessarily "ideal".




Cu: 04/05 female, fed 1 to 3x monthly, depending on what she will eat and prey size.


Prospekt: 07 female, previously fed every 10 days, but is being slowed down to 2x monthly.

[stevepoppers]

Well, more like generic, rather than ideal. If I may ask, why do you feed the way you do, rather than the weekly that is touted around as ideal more often than not?

I started this with the idea of making the identification of malnutrition and stunted growth easier for beginners to recognize.

[Crazy4Herps]

Well, more like generic, rather than ideal. If I may ask, why do you feed the way you do, rather than the weekly that is touted around as ideal more often than not?

I started this with the idea of making the identification of malnutrition and stunted growth easier for beginners to recognize.

I do not belive that weekly feedings are unhealthy, in fact I have no problem whatsoever with weekly feedings, it is simply my personal opinion that a bimonthly schedule is a bit closer to what they might eat in Africa. We all do what we believe is healthiest for our little guys.

Fair enough. I'm with you.

[BabysMomma]

You're not really going to get a good idea by weight. The best thing to do is just handle your animal. Regardless of girth, does the snake look nicely rounded, or is the spine pronounced? Do the snake's scales lie evenly, or can you see skin between them? Does the snake grip you firmly, or does it feel lethargic?

Some bps are long and slender, others are short and thick, some females become BBWs Much like humans, there is a lot of variation, and the best indicator of a healthy size is a healthy, active animal.

[Kaorte]

Simple answer? No there is no set ratio or anything like that.

They all grow at different rates based on genetics and how often and how much they are fed.

My best advice is to feed the snake 10-15% of its body weight once per week. If it is underweight then it will quickly catch up to a healthy weight.

[Ryu]

ok well i know humans and snakes are completely different animals but we have a healthy range for certain heights, for example, im 5'5" (yea im short shut up lol) and men my height should weigh between 125 and 155 and the range is so large because some ppl are naturally skinnier or have thinner bones which would place them on the lower end or they're more like me and are big boned (not fat i hate when fat ppl use big boned as an excuse. i used to be fat, and when i was, i was just fat lol) and/ or have a stockier build and are more toward the heavier side. if u weigh less than 120, youre not necessarily anorexic or anything but u are considered underweight and vice versa for heavier ppl even if u just work out alot and have muscle. now if you're more than 15-20 lbs over or under this weight range theres generally some kind of problem.
is there anything similar to this with snakes if u leave out the age part?

[Kaorte]

There are ranges of weight that are common for ball pythons of a certain age, but that is about it. The ranges are pretty large as well.