Ball python gaining too much weight?

Hey guys I got my ball python Montee last September he was about 5 months old and every now and then I weigh him, recently I’ve noticed he has more of an appetite and he’s gaining weight a lot faster too, I started feeding him small frozen thawed rats when he hit 500g once a week and he is currently 982 g

I’m going to attach his eating chart, basically he’s gaining 100g every month is that normal for an 11 month old BP?

Thank you sorry if this is a stupid question just a little curious.

RP - rat pup
WR - weaned rat
SR - small rat

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Sounds healthy to me my largest male has gained 100 grams a month for the last couple months. He just hit 623 and has never missed a meal but shows no signs of being overweight. My smallest noodle has definitely beefed up quite a bit since I got him. He is also on his way to 100 a month strong eater never missed a meal since I got him.

It varies from snake to snake focus less on numbers and more on overall proportions.

That's a big boy. Are you 100% sure he's actually a male?

Any which way, like Deb said, numbers aren't as important as body structure. Your boy doesn't look overweight to me.
Be prepared though, the "1,000 gram wall" may be coming, but it's kinda late in the season for a food strike, so maybe he'll hold off til next winter.

That's a great looking snake, by the way!!

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Originally Posted by Stickee8

Sounds healthy to me my largest male has gained 100 grams a month for the last couple months. He just hit 623 and has never missed a meal but shows no signs of being overweight. My smallest noodle has definitely beefed up quite a bit since I got him. He is also on his way to 100 a month strong eater never missed a meal since I got him.

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Ahh okay thank you so much [emoji3526]


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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

That's a big boy. Are you 100% sure he's actually a male?

Any which way, like Deb said, numbers aren't as important as body structure. Your boy doesn't look overweight to me.
Be prepared though, the "1,000 gram wall" may be coming, but it's kinda late in the season for a food strike, so maybe he'll hold off til next winter.

That's a great looking snake, by the way!!

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The breeder had sexed him but he didn’t seem too sure at the time, you’re right I shouldn’t jinx his appetite haha. Thank you so much by the way :)


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Originally Posted by Dorsa

The breeder had sexed him but he didn’t seem too sure at the time, you’re right I shouldn’t jinx his appetite haha. Thank you so much by the way :)


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It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he was sexed incorrectly. But it's also quite possible he's just a big boy.
I tend to grow my snakes a bit slower than many in the hobby. My male BP is about 2 1/2 years old and a bit over 1,100 grams. He's healthy and in great proportion though. He's got the tell tale triangular shape, solid muscle.

But like Deb said, there's a LOT of variables that effect growth rate, so as long as your boy is maintaining a good shape keep doing what you're doing :gj:

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that he was sexed incorrectly. But it's also quite possible he's just a big boy.
I tend to grow my snakes a bit slower than many in the hobby. My male BP is about 2 1/2 years old and a bit over 1,100 grams. He's healthy and in great proportion though. He's got the tell tale triangular shape, solid muscle.

But like Deb said, there's a LOT of variables that effect growth rate, so as long as your boy is maintaining a good shape keep doing what you're doing :gj:

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How often do you feed them once they’re around this weight? I thought maybe I should space it out more to once every 10 days rather than 7 maybe? But he’s always got his head out by the 6th day ready to eat again so I’m so conflicted haha. Sorry I’m a new bp owner just want to make sure I’m not stressing or over feeding him.


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Originally Posted by Dorsa

How often do you feed them once they’re around this weight? I thought maybe I should space it out more to once every 10 days rather than 7 maybe? But he’s always got his head out by the 6th day ready to eat again so I’m so conflicted haha. Sorry I’m a new bp owner just want to make sure I’m not stressing or over feeding him.


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At this point I feed every 7-10 days. I kinda let him dictate when I feed him. When I see him poking his head out I feed that night or the next.

If your boy is looking for food around day 6 I would stick to a 7 day schedule as long as his appetite remains the same.

No need to apologize, we were ALL new keepers once. I wish I had this forum as a resource when I started out!!!
Asking questions shows you care, so ask all you need to. The more we know about our pets the better we can care for them.

Oh....and stick to small rats. No need to upsize to the 10-15% rule of thumb once males are on smalls.
Not sure if that's something you were thinking about or not, just figured I'd throw it out there.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

At this point I feed every 7-10 days. I kinda let him dictate when I feed him. When I see him poking his head out I feed that night or the next.

If your boy is looking for food around day 6 I would stick to a 7 day schedule as long as his appetite remains the same.

No need to apologize, we were ALL new keepers once. I wish I had this forum as a resource when I started out!!!
Asking questions shows you care, so ask all you need to. The more we know about our pets the better we can care for them.

Oh....and stick to small rats. No need to upsize to the 10-15% rule of thumb once males are on smalls.
Not sure if that's something you were thinking about or not, just figured I'd throw it out there.

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Thank you so much everything you’ve said has been incredibly helpful, much appreciated and I was going to stick to small rats I had read medium rats are more for breeding purposes for males, thanks again!!


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