Skinny Female Ball Python

[BallPythonMan]

I recently got a female ball python and she is really skinny. She tips the scales at a whopping 1150g. She is two years old and she should weigh more than this. She eats well 1 mouse and 1 rat this week. What she i do to help her further progress. I would kike to get her up to at least 1500g to breed her.

[tigerlily]

Just because you get her to 1500g doesn't not make her a breedable weight. If you say she is skinny at 1150, then it sounds like she may need to add a bit more weight than that. Your best course is to feed her a good sized meal every week. You can't rush these kinds of things.

[djansen]

I recently got a female ball python and she is really skinny. She tips the scales at a whopping 1150g. She is two years old and she should weigh more than this. She eats well 1 mouse and 1 rat this week. What she i do to help her further progress. I would kike to get her up to at least 1500g to breed her.

first off, if she eats rats I would stop giving her mice. all you can do is keep the temps warm and feed her according to the size of your rats. for example if they are small rats I would say every 4-5 days should be fine if she is underweight but still eats. a little longer if the rats are large.
good luck

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Agreed. It's not unheard of to have a two year old female at 1150 grams if she was a slow starter or not a strong feeder. One good sized rat per week, nice and warm enclosure.... and time. I wouldn't rush to breed her.

JonV

[WingedWolfPsion]

1150 sounds like a NORMAL weight for a 2 year old female to me.

They don't usually reach 1500 grams until they are 3 years old, unless they're really power-fed. (A few individuals grow super-fast, but it's fairly rare).
If she LOOKS skinny, then feed her every 5 days for a while, and she'll soon not look skinny--provided she doesn't have any underlying health problems, such as parasites. (Always a good thing to test for in a new acquisition). I don't agree with breeding female balls under 3 years of age, personally, I think they need the extra year to reach true adulthood even if they're large at age 2. (My thought is, if they are 1500 grams at 2 years old, they'll be a LOT bigger at age 3, and probably lay larger clutches).

[Shadera]

First thing I'd do is have a fecal done by a herp vet to look for parasites. They can slow growth.

[tigerlily]

1150 sounds like a NORMAL weight for a 2 year old female to me.

I missed that she was only 2 years old. It does sound like a very normal weight to me too.

Also you do not want your bp to be fat, as that will increase her chance of throwing slugs. The proper body shape for a breedable female is a very hard thing to describe online.