BP growing quick?

[kimmeh]

hi im kim, iv got a ball python named noodle's, We got him about 2 weeks ago he was pretty small but now he has gotten quite alot bigger, but still pretty small just seems to be growing quick. we feed him a pinkiee around about every 4/5 days, im just wondering if the babies tend to grow quicker?

[littleindiangirl]

I don't believe your going to visibly see a difference in size after only 2 weeks. He may just have poo he's holding in his tail end. The best and most reliable way to measure growth is by his weight.

We (as in hobbyists) will ask this question as a way to gauge how big the animal is. (Length is variable among different ages and weights, so saying my animal is 2 1/2 feet means nothing to many, unless you have a weight with that. He could be emaciated or really fat. So in general weight in grams is the measurement we use to get an idea of how large the animal is.)

You can use a kitchen or postal scale to keep monthly track of your BP's weight. We weigh all of our snakes the first of the month and keep track on a note card for reference.

[Argentra]

I'm actually surprised he's growing fast on that diet... You're doing the right time span but not really the right prey. New hatchling BPs can take small HOPPER mice. Move yours up to a fuzzy, and if he takes that keep him there for 2-3 feedings and move up to the small hopper. Prey should be about the same size around as the snake at the widest point.

Every snake has it's own growth rate. Some grow fast as babies and seem to stop, others grow very slow to a point and then go into growth spurts.

[littleindiangirl]

I'm actually surprised he's growing fast on that diet... You're doing the right time span but not really the right prey. New hatchling BPs can take small HOPPER mice. Move yours up to a fuzzy, and if he takes that keep him there for 2-3 feedings and move up to the small hopper. Prey should be about the same size around as the snake at the widest point.

Every snake has it's own growth rate. Some grow fast as babies and seem to stop, others grow very slow to a point and then go into growth spurts.

Great catch, lol, I didn't even see that. It's true, many baby bp's start out on hopper mice. Like Adriana said, the prey can be as wide around as the widest part of the BP's body.

Trust that their neck and head can stretch amazingly! He should have a nice just noticeable lump in his belly when finished.

[kimmeh]

oh right, well here is a pic its not great, but he isnt fat he just seems he has grown abit everyone on in my house has noticed it, we dont feed him to much just one pinkie every 4/5days he pracitcly ate 1 day after we got him, we fed him because he didnt feed for a week at the petshop.

[Argentra]

Ah... petshop. That explains it. With few exceptions, no pet store really knows how on earth to care for these (or any other) snakes.
I'm no expert by a long shot... but he looks a bit thin in the upper 3rd. Probably as a result of pinky prey and bad care at the store.

Glad you have him now and are asking the questions to get his care back on track! Nice markings, by the way.

[kimmeh]

yeh where is head is and a bit lower he seems thiner but lower he seems a bit bigger....im not quite sure to make of it, im pressuming im feeding him right... should i feed him 2 pinkies every 4/5days.... just to use them up and get something different to feed him once there finished or should i bin the pinkies and get him something else to feed him on?

[Royal_Rodents]

well as stated before you should move your snake up meals hopper mice. mine is a bit shorter then yours maybe just a foot but can take a adult mouse. that holds her over every week.

As for your pinkie problem i have a solution. You should pick up another snake thats what i would do sumthing taht would be able to eat the pinks. or if that don't work just use them up i suggest 3-4 a feeding. i maybe wrong.

just my 2 cents

[Argentra]

Heh really. Get a young corn.

But seriously, I would try to either find a store that would trade or a snake owner nearby with some young corn snakes. Pinks just don't really do it for BPs...even multiple ones. Best bet here would be to move him up in prey size, but slowly. Don't just thrust a hopper in front of him as it might 'scare' him being so much larger than he's used to seeing.

[kc261]

Your best bet would be to either trade the pinkies or just give them away to someone who can use them, or as suggested, just get another snake such as a young corn that will eat them!

However, if you can't trade them and you are one of those people who just can't stand to waste anything, feeding multiple pinkies for a short while to use them up shouldn't be harmful to your snake, but it will take a lot of pinkies to make a decent sized meal. Medium sized pinkies are about 2 grams. Small hoppers are about 8 grams. Your BP should have been able to take a small hopper as soon as it was out of the egg, so it can probably take a meal of 5 pinkies right now.

Some snakes (so I've heard) don't like taking multiples in one feeding, so if that doesn't seem to be working for your snake, then you'll just have to get a more appropriately sized prey item right away.