How old is my ball python?

Not completely sure, but pretty sure he is male by comparing to other BPs. He just shed today and his shed was 19 inches long, but I'm going to just say 20 because it was a bit wrinkled. He weighs 110 grams. I tried to upload pictures but this is my first post, and I'm not really sure how!

Even with a photo, no one can give you an exact age of a snake*...they don't start off exactly equal, nor do they grow at the same rate due to temperature & feeding
differences. Furthermore, their sheds stretch some...the actual snake is never as long as their shed. Since most hatchling BPs are 10-12" long, I'd guess yours might
be a year old or under, but again, some ppl deliberately underfeed snakes they plan to sell so they stay small & don't outgrow their cage, so who knows? Best idea is
to buy from a reliable breeder & they'll tell you the hatch date & give you a feeding record, & so on.

*Unless they see it born or hatched out (depending on the species).

Depends on various factor size out of the egg, feeding frequency etc

An hatchling can hatch at 35 grams and take several weeks to reach 110 grams because it is smaller and get smaller size prey, while another can hatched at 90 grams and be that size in 2 weeks which would put his age at a month.

An animal that was not well cared for could be several months old.

Asking the age / hatch date is the best way to know.

There are far too many variables involved for anybody to be able to give you an accurate age.

Also, the shed skin is not an accurate form of measuring snakes. The sheds are actually longer than the snake. I've heard anywhere from 10-15% longer. But I'm not really sure.

Also, you definitely can't tell male or female by size, especially as juveniles.

Lastly, many of us use the free app Tapatalk to upload pics directly to the forum.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Craiga 01453

There are far too many variables involved for anybody to be able to give you an accurate age.

Also, the shed skin is not an accurate form of measuring snakes. The sheds are actually longer than the snake. I've heard anywhere from 10-15% longer. But I'm not really sure.

Also, you definitely can't tell male or female by size, especially as juveniles.

Lastly, many of us use the free app Tapatalk to upload pics directly to the forum.

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I did not base my estimate of sex off his size. I work at a pet store and compared him to 3 other snakes based on tail length, head shape, etc. I know it’s not accurate but it’s the best I can do until his vet appointment.

I didnt know that that about the shed, so thank you. I would say he is at least 15 inches. Thanks for the info about Tapatalk!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Stewart_Reptiles

Depends on various factor size out of the egg, feeding frequency etc

An hatchling can hatch at 35 grams and take several weeks to reach 110 grams because it is smaller and get smaller size prey, while another can hatched at 90 grams and be that size in 2 weeks which would put his age at a month.

An animal that was not well cared for could be several months old.

Asking the age / hatch date is the best way to know.

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I know he is over 2 months, as I’ve had him for a month & he was in the store for a month. I saw somebody make a similar post and they asked them to upload length and weight.

I cant ask hatch date because I got him from a big name pet store I work at. I know, not good to buy from them and I no longer work there, but the little guy wasn’t eating and had stuck shed and I couldn’t leave i’m there, but yeah that’s why I was curious.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Even with a photo, no one can give you an exact age of a snake*...they don't start off exactly equal, nor do they grow at the same rate due to temperature & feeding
differences. Furthermore, their sheds stretch some...the actual snake is never as long as their shed. Since most hatchling BPs are 10-12" long, I'd guess yours might
be a year old or under, but again, some ppl deliberately underfeed snakes they plan to sell so they stay small & don't outgrow their cage, so who knows? Best idea is
to buy from a reliable breeder & they'll tell you the hatch date & give you a feeding record, & so on.

*Unless they see it born or hatched out (depending on the species).

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The only reason I didn’t get him from a breeder is because he hadn’t eaten for over a month, and he had stuck shed. I couldn’t help but buy him (at like 50% off)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by darwinthebp

The only reason I didn’t get him from a breeder is because he hadn’t eaten for over a month, and he had stuck shed. I couldn’t help but buy him (at like 50% off)

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That's OK, we had no way of knowing you work in a pet store...that WOULD be hard not to take something home, especially one that's needing some help. ;)

We'll be happy to help you try to sort out your questions here though, & btw, :welcome:

On pet store snakes figure they are one month old when they ship. Then you have returns, just get them healthy an happy. Owning pets is about enjoying your time with them. Owning horses is about throwing $50 a day up in the air :O