Gaining weight to fast?

I adopted my male albino BP in July and he was very malnourished at 3 years old and just 239 grams. He was being kept at a room temperature of 73 degrees with a heating pad stuck to the SIDE of his tank and no thermostat.

I got him a undertank heater and a ceramic heat emitter and his appetite went through the roof. I started out at 1 large mouse every 12 days, then gradually went to every 7 days. After a while he was cruising for food 3-4 days after eating so I went to 2 large mice every 12 days and he is currently eating 2 large mice every 7-9 days depending on his food response. Here is his progress over the last few months:

July 1 / 239 grams
August 1/ 276 grams
Sept 1/ 312 grams
Oct 1/ 396 grams
Nov 1/ 456 grams
Dec 1/ Haven’t weighed him yet but probably close to 500 grams..

Is he gaining weight to fast or is this an acceptable growth rate? He is bulking up but he isn’t fat by any means. He still has a slight ridge at his spine so I assume he is still underweight. I’m going to switch him over to rats but if I need to chill with the food for a while, I can adjust his diet accordingly if needed.

. Given that he was so underweight I would think that him gaining weight at this rate would be fairly normal. However I would also recommend taking him to his vet to verify that it is. If you already have, and they recommended the schedule that you are feeding him at, then your good. :D

I had him checked for parasites and he’s all clear but that was in July. I started him out slow because I didn’t want to stress his organs and as long as that isn’t a concern, I’ll continue with the rodent feast. lol

He sounds like he's doing well. Personally I would convert him over to rats about now, while he's still very hungry. At his size he could take a large wean rat or a small-ish small rat.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Personally I would convert him over to rats about now, while he's still very hungry.

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Absolutely. This is a great opportunity to change over to rats. I've heard that the older they get, the more used to mice they become. His hunger will make it all the easier to convert. Plus, rats will help bulk him up faster as well.

I’m down to my last mouse and I have a pack of 10 rat pups for him to sample. I’ll keep the mouse for scenting during this conversion process that I’ve been dreading for so long. lol If he takes the pups, I’ll ordered some weaned rats.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16R...NgDykZCl15hSPM

Here is a quick pic I shot the other night. His progress have been fantastic.

I had a BP about 20 years ago and I was young, ignorant, and did everything wrong. He stopped eating and I gave him away to someone with more experience. Thanks to this forum, I have access to a wealth of experience and knowledge and he is doing really well thanks to this community.

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Originally Posted by SVT Wylde

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16R...NgDykZCl15hSPM

Here is a quick pic I shot the other night. His progress have been fantastic.

I had a BP about 20 years ago and I was young, ignorant, and did everything wrong. He stopped eating and I gave him away to someone with more experience. Thanks to this forum, I have access to a wealth of experience and knowledge and he is doing really well thanks to this community.

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Fine looking friend you have there. Good on you!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SVT Wylde

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16R...NgDykZCl15hSPM

Here is a quick pic I shot the other night. His progress have been fantastic.

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Yikes! He is gorgeous! Congrats!

Well...... I warmed up a rat pup and he nailed it without hestitaiton but he ate it backwards...lol I guess I can order some weaned rats in a few weeks after the pups are gone. He is a crazy feeder and that was just stupid easy.