guessing the age of my female.

[Chewy]

I have a female Spider ball python I got off of craigslist, I was told it was born sept 2011. The guy before me had her for about a month a was pretty sure about the hatch date.. I feel like she is older, she is 1058 grams and is about 3 1/2 feet i'd say. I want to breed her, but I'm worried about doing it too soon since I'm unsure of her age..

Any idea what a 3.5' and 1058gg snakes age may be? i feel like a 2010..

[rlditmars]

It is unlikely an 8 to 9 month old snake is 1058 gm. Be that as it may, 1058 gm is too small for breeding. I am not saying it can't be done, but it is IMO. irresponsible. The majority of those on this site will tell you that 1500 gm is a minimum to begin. Give her a year and see where she is at. The larger she gets the safer it should be for her.

At this size you may not even get a viable clutch or she could get egg bound. As she gets larger the probability of being viable is better, and you may get a larger clutch, so you would have more of a reward for doing things properly.

Patience grasshopper.

[sho220]

I have a couple females that hatched last July and they're well over 1000 grams, so it's entirely possible. Especially if she's a good eater...any pics of her?

[decensored]

agreed. It's really hard to guess hatch dates based on size alone. At that weight it's possible especially if it was an early hatch. My buddies have been hatching out since April. so at 14 months it's completely possible that it's 1100 grams. I wouldn't breed her this year though.. it's always better to wait. You COULD breed her this year at 1300 or 1400 grams and potentially run into problems all for a 4-6egg clutch and potentially miss the following season if her weight drops too far.. or you wait off until 2013 and she's 2000 grams and gives you 6-10 eggs and probably be fine for the following year.

[Chewy]

I'm gonna wait regardless, I just wanted to get some feedback. I feel like she's an early 2011.

I'll get some photos up later, and specific requests as to what sort of photos?

[AK907]

I have a couple females that hatched last July and they're well over 1000 grams, so it's entirely possible. Especially if she's a good eater...any pics of her?

Yup. We also have a couple mid 2011 girls that are close to (or over) 1,000g and we have a December 2011 female pastel that is just under 700g.

It drives me absolutely nuts when I see folks (and its VERY common) with balls that barely hit 300g by their first birthday and 1,000-1,200g by their third birthdays. They usually look sickly too from malnourishment. Loose, hanging skin, spines showing, etc. I understand the odd poor feeder being undersized (we have two that are very picky eaters, actually), but 9 out of 10 times, improper feeding is to blame.

I will also second waiting another year to breed her. Keep feeding her properly and she'll be 2,000g by next year and a much better age to breed.

[Chewy]

She's 1058 grams as of 5/28.

I have her in a 16qt tub, she prefers it over 32qt's for now, but she has gotten ~200grams bigger, I plan to change her to the 32qt at 1200grams. She just wouldn't eat in the 32qt, same day I put her back in the 16qt she took a F/T.

[AK907]

She's 1058 grams as of 5/28.

I have her in a 16qt tub, she prefers it over 32qt's for now, but she has gotten ~200grams bigger, I plan to change her to the 32qt at 1200grams. She just wouldn't eat in the 32qt, same day I put her back in the 16qt she took a F/T.

Lookin' good!

FWIW, her in that 16qt tub reminds me of our first apartment...

[Slim]

She just wouldn't eat in the 32qt

Did you have any hides in there? How long did you give her to adjust to the 32 Qt before you tried to feed her?

[prodigyak]

Like other's have said it can be pretty tough to guess age by weight alone. 2 of mine are both from May of last year, one is closing in on 1600 grams while the other is just under 700.