correct weight?

[Hwom91]

I have two pastels. I have my female that is not quite a year old and she weights about 182g. My male i got as a rescue and was told he is 2 to 3 years old. I would estimate his length to be around 2 feet. He weighs about 886g. It was hard to tell. He would not sit still.

anyway does this seem okay? i have no idea what they should weigh. Is there a chart somewhere that would help me with this? They both seem very healthy and they are both eating well.

[cmack91]

there isnt any way to determine how much a snake should weigh. the genetics and metabolism of each snake will determine that, although imo, 182g at a year does sound pretty low. all you can do is put them on a proper feeding schedule with the appropriate prey size (10-15% of snakes body weight) and see how fast they pack on weight. and then you might be able to determine how much they should weigh at future points of age (maybe).

whats your feeding schedule for your female, and how long have you had her?

how does she feel, mushy, firm, does she flatten out alot?

[The Serpent Merchant]

The male sounds ok, but 182 grams at a year old tells me that something is up. My youngest ball python who is a pastel male that is just over 2 months weights around 200 grams.

Can you give us some more information like how they are both set up (type of enclosure, heat sources, thermometers,...) and what size rodents you feed her and how often you offer and how often she actually eats.

[UpNorth]

My ~3 month old male pastel just weighed in at exactly 182g, so for a yearling that seems a little low. He is in no way overfed/overweight.

[The Serpent Merchant]

can you post a picture of both of them?

[Hwom91]

ill try and get pictures tonight. She seems firm and happy. she didnt eat last week because she was in shed so she will get fed Saturday. They are both in glass tanks until i get my rack built. iv had her for about 4 weeks now and the guy i got her from said she was on rat pups, but the pet store that is by me doesn't have pups so i have been giving her large mice. should i give her 2?

The tanks humidity is at 50 to 70 depending on how long it goes without me spraying it. She has a basking side at about 90 and the cool side is 80. The ambient temp is around 82.

[The Serpent Merchant]

ill try and get pictures tonight. She seems firm and happy. she didnt eat last week because she was in shed so she will get fed Saturday. They are both in glass tanks until i get my rack built. iv had her for about 4 weeks now and the guy i got her from said she was on rat pups, but the pet store that is by me doesn't have pups so i have been giving her large mice. should i give her 2?

The tanks humidity is at 50 to 70 depending on how long it goes without me spraying it. She has a basking side at about 90 and the cool side is 80. The ambient temp is around 82.

at her weight I would feed her 2 every 8 days and 1 every 4 days (so its a modified 4 day feeding schedule 1, 4 days later 2, 4 days later 1, 4 days later 2....

I would do this because she is in-between needing 1 and 2 so alternating is a good compromise.

[jschwe]

Unless she looks drastically unhealthy or underweight, I would stick to feeding her one every 7 days (or maybe one every 5 days). If she's going to be a picky eater, she might tend to refuse more if you offered her more...in my experience, that is what has happened.

Still, every snake is different, and it comes down to what's best for her, and what she'll decide to eat!