Please Help - Ball Python "Morbidly Obese"

[butterturtle]

Hello,

Sorry I am new to this. I really need opinions. I recently took my 6 year old female BP to a new vet for a general checkup. The vet gasped, and told me that on a scale from 0-9 for obesity, my Zoey is an 8 (that Zoey is morbidly obese). I was shocked because I thought she was perfectly healthy. She is 47 inches long, weights 1.73kg. She was eating one 70g rat every 2 weeks. The vet recommended to a large mouse (20g) every 2 weeks. I feel like I am starving her. Is she really obese??

Any help you can offer would be appreciated thank you

[Lizardlicks]

A 20g mouse for an adult ball python??? That don't sound right. As for judging the body condition, pics would help. There are several ways to tell if a beep is a little too far on the chunky side. Look for a flat back, no visible spine ridge at all, rolls or lumps where the snake curves, gaps between scales where skins is stretched over fat, or a tail the tapers abruptly, instead of smoothly, like someone stuck a tiny tail onto a fat sausage.

[Craiga 01453]

A 20 gram mouse is tiny for an adult BP. My juvenile boy Tyson is on 17-18g mice now and he is about 188 grams. I suppose if you're trying to thin your animal out 20 grams might do that while still providing some sustenance??? Hoping to hear from some more experienced members on this one...

[redshepherd]

Was this a snake vet, or a general vet...? Most of the time, normal vets don't know left from right about snakes.

Posting pics is the only way to judge body condition!

[PitOnTheProwl]

Sounds like it may be time for a new vet??

[Kaorte]

OP posted this photo on Reddit.

I think the snake actually looks a bit on the thin side. Continue with the larger rats. Ignore your vet. They must have an obesity scale for a different species of snake.





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[ladywhipple02]

Balls are thick, heavy bodied snakes. Compared to a boa, which are more square and lean, I can see how someone might think a BP is fat... but a vet??

[bcr229]

If the vet is used to seeing colubrids or boas then yes a heavy-bodied ground-dwelling snake such as a ball python, blood python, or dumerils boa will seem "fat".

The ball python in the picture is not fat.

[Calider]

That snake is a tad thinner than mine and I have actually been trying to put weight on mine... You need a new vet who is experienced in treating ball pythons... Your current vet could have killed your snake. I am very glad you posted here for a second opinion.

[silverbill]

You can't always listen to vets. Most of them don't specialize in snakes, let alone ball pythons. I've had one person come to me saying their vet told them that their 8 month old ball python at 93g was too fat for his age and should be fed 1 mouse pink every 2 weeks.