Relative age to size?

[vinnimac]

I am relatively new to having a snake, and now a little worried about the one I have had. Bought a female in a local small pet shop. Been there for years, good rep. Read a bunch of stuff, thought I was doing right. ANYWAY, supposedly she was a year old in July and is now a little over 30" long and looking healthy (don't have a scale yet). I just got two males form an online classified, who were also born July '03 (talked to the actual breeder) and they are both about 38" long and a LOT :shock: heftier than my female. I have been feeding her mice. One a week till about a month ago (my sheets are at home, and I'm at work right now), and two a week since then. Would it make a big difference in her growth if I switched her to rats. I am worried I am not doing the right thing for her since she is so much smaller than these other guys Any ideas :?:
(like I really have to ask :? )

[Cody]

Well, her being shorter in length than the males probably just means she's younger than the males. But for the girth difference, it could have something to do with the prey you're feeding. Generally, when you switch to rats, you'll notice a nice change in girth. Your snakey will become a fatty in no time. I can't say if switching from adult mice to rats is healthier or not, but I have heard that rats help bp's put on a lot of girth.

And weird, my ball python is only 3 months old this coming wednesday, and she's already eating 2 adult mice a week. I'm looking to switch her over to rat pups when I can get a hold of some.

[kraniumz]

According to the herpers here on this forum, yes rats will make em grow bigger faster!

The reason behind this is that rats are more nutritious than mice. But it all depend on the size of the rats. Some here argued that feeding 2 adult mice is better (in nutritient sense) than a single young rat.

Ideally, your snake should be fed a meal that is the same or slightly bigger than the thinkest part of its girth(body).

[hhw]

It's not that rats are more nutritious; rather, it's because ball pythons outgrow mice very quickly. At 2 feet, a ball python can easily take weaned rats which is probably a good time to make the switch. Some people prefer to start their ball pythons on rats from the get go; I have mine under 2' on mice, over 2' on rats since mice have way more calcium.

Length and girth can both be attributed to feeding. I have some July '03 females that are still under 2 feet and around 200grams, whereas Ippo, a September '03 male is now about 2.5 feet and around 500g.

At 30" long, your female is long overdue for a switch to rats. Females get larger and are heavier bodied so can really use the additional food. Not to mention, if you ever decide to breed your female, the bigger the better. Start her off on smaller rats (juveniles or so) when getting her to switch, as she may be intimidated by anything larger being only used to mice. However, once on rats you should be able to up the prey item size quite quickly. A 30" female should probably be on small to medium adult rats.

[SatanicIntention]

IMO rats are more nutritious since they have more bulk/fat and fat is an energy source. The reason why most feed mice when the snake is young is because adult mice have fully developed bones and can offer more calcium, not necessarily more bulk. The bump up to rats when they get a little older is beneficial because of the added bulk/muscle and fat in the rat, meaning they can go for a longer time on one meal. And since the bump up to rats is done when the snake is bigger, the rats will be more fully developed then too, meaning more calcium for the snake.

Also, I would say going to rats would be healthier since there is alot more for the snake to digest, and will give the snake more energy. Sorry, I've had the whole Animal Nutrition class. Baby snakes are just like puppies. They need to eat more often to keep their glucose levels up and to have enough energy. If they don't get enough out of that one meal, they don't have enough glucose, and then they start getting lethargic and not responding to stimuli. Maybe UberAlice can explain it a little better since she's in actual vet school

[wendy]

i wish thre were some kinda growth chart for balls. i am working on one with my spiderball, but it will take time to complete cuz he is a baby. wish i could of done it w/ my others but have aquired them when they were older. but still docuument thier wieghts,sheds,feeds. i guess it woul vary cuz some are better eaters than others. there are just so many variences.