Is this a healthy ball python??
I don't know a lot about snake diseases(i know some but i'm sure theres a lot of things i don't know about snakes); I think my snake is pretty healthy but is there something I'm missing? does she seem underfed or overfed??
also is one large mouse a week too much or too little for her?
http://imgur.com/a/x3n3r
i couldn't get a good photo of her belly, only when she was curled around my hand could I get a half-decent pic
some of the photos are a bit blurry/dark but i think some of them are clear enough
(also pls excuse the mess, my 4 year old nephew has spent the entire day here making a mess haha)
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dthe2000
I don't know a lot about snake diseases(i know some but i'm sure theres a lot of things i don't know about snakes); I think my snake is pretty healthy but is there something I'm missing? does she seem underfed or overfed??
also is one large mouse a week too much or too little for her?
http://imgur.com/a/x3n3r
i couldn't get a good photo of her belly, only when she was curled around my hand could I get a half-decent pic
some of the photos are a bit blurry/dark but i think some of them are clear enough
(also pls excuse the mess, my 4 year old nephew has spent the entire day here making a mess haha)
Is there anything visible on her or something in her behavior that makes you worried? I'm pretty much a newbie on this, (had my ball for almost 2 years) but she looks healthy to me. Judging from her size tho I would definitely feed her a bit more than an adult mouse. She should be on a decent sized rat by now or multiple adult mice. Other than that she looks great :gj:
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
nope, she acts perfectly fine. im just worried that theres something wrong with her that im not seeing xD]
edit: also i never knew that :0 when i got her a few years ago(dec 2014), the guy i bought her from told me that she would eat one small mouse a week. I've upped the size, of course; she's grown. but i always thought that rats would be too large for her to eat?
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dthe2000
nope, she acts perfectly fine. im just worried that theres something wrong with her that im not seeing xD]
edit: also i never knew that :0 when i got her a few years ago(dec 2014), the guy i bought her from told me that she would eat one small mouse a week. I've upped the size, of course; she's grown. but i always thought that rats would be too large for her to eat?
I waited a little too long to switch mine over to rats. Do you feed live or f/t? Its better to switch them over to rats because as she gets older you'll have to feed her several adult mice. (I've read on here some people having to feed their adult females ten adult mice) Sometimes its difficult to get them to switch over to rats because they don't recognize the smell so its better to try to do it as early as possible.
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
She does not appear to be underweight from what can be seen, but she definitely should be switched to rats they offer better nutritional values for a ball pythons ... I feel comfortable saying she should be on at least small rats at her age and by how her size looks compared to your hand .... The best way to know would be to get her weight in grams, if you can provide that information we can advise you a lot more accurately. This can be achieved by using a simple set of digital kitchen scales, make sure they are set to grams them set a container on the scale and then zero it out (push the "tare" button) then place her in the container :gj:
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SmoothScales
Not to step on toes here however I feel there should be more clarity provided .... This is a chart of estimated mouse and rat growth/weight margins for the age of the feeder you are offering. It provides the estimated weights and length of the mice and rats at that age, it converts what size feeder you will need to use "IF" you are substituting a smaller prey item for what should be being used. In order to properly use this chart you will still need to know how much your snake weighs.
dthe2000, your best bet is to make a nice cup of hot chocolate, pot of coffee, or whatever tickles your fancy and to explore this site .... use the search feature at the top right ... if there is anything that you cannot find via searching then don't be afraid to make a thread such as you did this one and ask.
Re: Is this a healthy ball python??
Quote:
Originally Posted by
T_Sauer
In order to properly use this chart you will still need to know how much your snake weighs.
I was actually posting it so the OP could tell what size rat would be equivalent to the prey item that is currently being offered. However, you did make good points and I should've provided more information when providing the chart.