Underfed or sick?

Just handled my 3 1/2 year old 3.5' male BP and noticed he's looking rather triangular when he lays flat on my arm - his spine is quite pronounced.

Haven't weighed him, but I've never noticed this before now. I had been thinking his prey wasn't big enough recently and was thinking about moving to rats. Surely though, even if his prey were a little on the small side, he shouldn't lose that much weight that quickly?

I plan on taking him to a herp for peace of mind but wondered if there's anything in particular that's likely to cause that kind of weight loss that quickly?


Thanks in advance

Edit: Sorry - Should have added no problems or refusals to eat whatsoever.

What are you feeding him and how often?

Large mice, F/T, once a week.

That should be plenty for a male. I'd see what the vet has to say.

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Originally Posted by xdeus

That should be plenty for a male. I'd see what the vet has to say.

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You think so? I am guessing a 3 1/2 year old snake is anywhere from 800g-1500g normally. You think one f/t adult mouse is enough?

OP: I would for sure bump him up to two adult mice a week and see how that does him.

You could also get a kitchen gram scale to track his weight.

I'd say it depends on how large "large" is.

Regardless of whether or not he has been getting enough to eat, if he suddenly went from appearing to have a good body weight to having that triangular shape, taking him to a vet is a good idea. If you increase the food to see if that helps, then take him to a vet if it doesn't, well, you may never get the chance to take him to the vet or he may have gone too far downhill to be saved.

Mine, if they are nervous, will flatten out which will pronounce the spine whether it be they feel like they are going to fall or w/e the situation is.

I wouldnt waste your money taking it to the vet over this....

Save your money and use it for a digital scale, and weigh your snake. Feed your snake 15% of its own body weight.

I got a very nice digital scale for $20

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

You think so? I am guessing a 3 1/2 year old snake is anywhere from 800g-1500g normally. You think one f/t adult mouse is enough?

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Most of my males get 1 large mouse a week, and they are all filled out nicely. They don't expend that much energy to burn off a lot of calories in a week, certainly not as much as a breeding female. One adult mouse should be plenty and shouldn't cause the male to lose weight.

Thanks for the responses, people. I think the first thing to do is weigh him and see what he comes in at and go from there.

I will also bump up the meals. I'll take him to the vet next week if he's still looking dodgy.

Incidently, I questioned (on this forum) a few weeks ago whether or not 1 large mouse per week was sufficient. Had a number of responses, several of whihc were "He should be eating rats at that age", so I guess it's possible I haven't been feeding enough. The main concern however (as noted by Casey) is the sudden weightloss as I hadn't noticed this until recently.

Off to buy some scales - will keep you all posted and thanks again!