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Thread: how old?

  1. #1
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    how old?

    How can you tell how old a snake is?

    And how much shoudl i be feeding him/her?

    Shes about a foot and change from tail to head. I gave her one small mouse like 2inches with fur about teh size of my thumb per week. Is this enough? Or do I need two per feeding?

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran DutchHerp's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    I have a very sophisticated method of finding out how old a snake is.

    First off, I buy the snake from a reputable breeder.

    Then, when I feel like it, I shoot this person an e-mail asking how old the snake is.

    Then, when you're lucky, they'll send you an e-mail with the hatch date of the snake.

    This method has worked for me more than once and I definitely recommend it!





    As for the feeding, I want to be able to see a slight lump in the snake's body.
    MH

    Who the hell is Pat?

    "Pattimuss doesn't run, he prances most delicately, like a beautiful but sad fairy, winged and capped, curly toed shoes on each foot, dancing on dewdrops while lazy crickets play soft music for him to keep time by...." - Wes

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    Re: how old?

    but,

    assuming you bought it from petco, and you have a bunch of retard teenagers working there...who wont know the age...then, how do you know?

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    BPnet Veteran joshn6805's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    theres really no surefire way to know how old they are unless they have a record of the hatch date. as for the feeding i always feed a mouse about the girth of the snake and i always offer a second one. sometimes they take the second one sometimes they dont.


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    BPnet Veteran DutchHerp's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    Quote Originally Posted by bdc873 View Post
    but,

    assuming you bought it from petco, and you have a bunch of retard teenagers working there...who wont know the age...then, how do you know?
    If it's only a foot in length it's definitely an '08.
    MH

    Who the hell is Pat?

    "Pattimuss doesn't run, he prances most delicately, like a beautiful but sad fairy, winged and capped, curly toed shoes on each foot, dancing on dewdrops while lazy crickets play soft music for him to keep time by...." - Wes

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    Registered User M&J in NC's Avatar
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    I also have an '08 and he's 25 inches. Hope that helps some.
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    BPnet Senior Member Slim's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    If you got it recently from PetCo, it' most likely an 08'.
    Thomas "Slim" Whitman
    Never Met A Ball Python I Didn't Like

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    BPnet Lifer Kaorte's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    The best way to measure a snake is to weigh it. Length is really not that useful :/

    Go out and get a scale, it will be your new best friend. I weigh my snakes every week, the day before feeding. To find out how much they should be eating, I weigh the mice (f/t). I feed 10-15% of the snakes body weight.

    When my snakes were under 300grams, I fed once every 5 days, but now that they are a bit chunkier, I feed once a week.

    As for determining age, if you got it from a petstore, all you can do is guess. I would assume you have an 08 (maybe an early 09 if you just recently got the snake). Knowing its weight can give you a little bit better of an estimate. But you will never really know for sure.
    ~Steffe

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    BPnet Senior Member FatBoy's Avatar
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    Re: how old?

    Feed one rat slightly larger than the largest part of the snakes belly. Do not offer a 2nd one. One rat every 5-7 days. The reason to buy from a breeder is to make sure you get a well established healthy snake.

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