Giant ball python?

Wondering how common they are--I know he probably isn't one but Nergal is getting HUGE, almost 3 feet long and I'm guessing 1000 grams or more now...just off of eating 4 adult mice a week. :O
I'm getting him weighed tomorrow I hope but holy cow, he's HUGE.

I don't know as far as length but there are female BPs that get over 3000 grams. My Hera is still growing and just topped 500 grams. She gets 2-3 adult mice a week and she only takes live now

2000 gms are very normal for older adult females without ever being "pushed" in their feeding. My largest is over 5000 gms and is 10 yrs old. Another is 7 years old and was over 3600 gms before laying. I have another dozen or so over the 2000 gm mark and these are 3 1/2 year olds.

The true "giant" bps are from a know local and do get huge in both weight and length. This local is also know for producing very large clutches in the double digits.

I get the idea large adult males can get up to 1500-2000 grams. But I've also heard you have to watch for obesity in older big males, because they can have heart disease problems. Sort of like older, big male humans?

But I don't worry about that with young males like Nergal. How old is he now?

My biggest male is George, the 2008 black pastel, at 1200 grams. George has been averaging a mouse a week for the last two years. You wouldn't think he'd be so big, but he eats EVERY WEEK, and he doesn't really fast during breeding season.

So we don't have a lot of 4-mouse weeks around here! Even the breeding females only do that a couple times in late summer.

EDIT: Did I say 1200 grams? I mean 1400 grams. Gosh, George! Sometimes I wish you were a female.

I remember looking at Platty Daddy a couple years ago and thinking he was HUGE. But he doesn't look so nutso anymore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygi2Svopaew

But since then I've seen pics like Dan Wolfe with his favorite 2004 het albino female (from the 2009 December newsletter):

http://www.dwherp.com/HAF7.jpg

And vids like Brian Gundy with his 5000 gram female:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7Ps7wW5vI

... so Platty Daddy kinda looks like a midget now.

But these are all females. I still dunno how big mature males can get.

Nergal is about 10 months old. :P

I've got a male ball that is 2130 grams and almost 4ft long while the female is close to 1400 grams and not quite 3ft long. No clue on how old either are but I've had the female for 5 years and the male for about 3.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by loonunit

I still dunno how big mature males can get.

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Pretty big actually, I've heard of 2800 gram males but have yet to see one bigger in person than our clown male who is hovering just over 2100 grams.

http://i968.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/PICT1540.jpg

I sold a male earlier this year that I thought was female.
he was almost 5 feet long and close to 3000 grms.
I have a female who is 5 years old. She gave me 11 eggs last year as a vergin.
She was 2200 grms.
This year she was over 4500 grms before breeding. She is over 5 feet in length.
I can't weigh her, don't have a big enough scale.
She has a head the size of a boa the same length.:rolleye2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shelliebear

Nergal is about 10 months old. :P

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Okay, THAT'S crazy.