quick question

[Joeysham]

if a snake was underfed, and is small because of which, does that stunt their growth, or limit their adult size, or will once feeding increases will they just grow faster to the "same" "ending" point. and by underfed i don't really mean malnourished, just underfed. just curious

[satomi325]

I'm pretty sure that it doesn't stunt their growth. If the snake is put on an appropriate diet and schedule, they will definitely bulk up and start growing quickly.

[The Serpent Merchant]

It depends on how long and how underfed it was, if it is only slightly underfed for a month or so then there won't be any long term effects, but if the snake was fed next to nothing for a long period of time the snake likely will not grow as big as it could have.

[Joeysham]

was just wondering, they had "her" on fuzzy mice every 2 weeks, which were quite small given her size, i don't have a scale, but as far as girth it was substantially smaller. they had no thermometers at all for her, just a heating pad slapped to the side of "her" tank (so "she" could find it) but otherwise she seems healthy, and she was fed regularly, and has quite an appetite (made me smile) sorry for the ramble

[The Serpent Merchant]

well, as long as you provide the proper temperatures/humidity, and enough food she will grow as much as she will. there isn't anything that you can do about that. she likely will put weight on quickly at first but after that none can say anything for sure.

[Joeysham]

was just curious, how big she gets is of little concern outside her being healthy

[Slim]

If she's eating well now, her short underfed past at the pet place shouldn't effect her eventual adult size.

Something to keep in mind is that ball pythons never really quit growing during their lifetime. The growth rate just slows to a crawl when they reach adulthood.