Fat ball python

Had my boy out today and noticed that despite backing off his feeding to once a month for the past 5 months, hes' still gaining weight...he's 6 years old 1526g and is eating small rats. He definitely has squishy rolls when he coils up :) I'd at least like to maintain him at this if I can't get the weight down.

His spine is not yet dented below his fat / muscles, but I don't want to risk fatty liver syndrome or other health issues.

I definitely don't want to withhold food unduly, but how long between feeding would some of you more experienced keepers back an adult off to? His vet recommended feeding every other month, but I don't know if that would help.

I've upped his exercise and take him out more regularly to slither around the garden and such but I don't know if exercise works in mammals as it does in reptiles :/

It seems that we're still trying to learn why human bodies hold onto fat with such determination, never mind figuring out the secret to weight loss in snakes. Fat is a survival technique, not so much making us "healthier" but mostly making us more likely to succeed with reproduction so that our species survives as a whole. I strongly suspect it's pretty much the thing same for snakes- they'll resist losing weight & it sure won't happen fast. Prevention is the "easiest", later (after the fact) it's a battle. Metabolism is influenced by activity, but if a body thinks it's starving, it tries to conserve, making it so that diets usually fail- good luck! :snake:

Are you weighing the feeders? I've purchased "small" rats that weighed 40 grams, and others were 90 grams, depending on the vendor, the vendor's definition of "small" rat, and even who was working that day when pulling live feeders at a local exotic pet store.

I would feed a small rat on the lower end of small - 60 grams at most. Monthly should be fine if you're taking the snake out daily for exercise unless it's in shed.

Also it's counter-intuitive for a ball python because they do like their snug, secure little racks, but if it's in a rack try housing it in a 4x2 enclosure for a while so it will stretch out and move around more on it's own.

Did he fast over the winter?

One breeding season would clear that right up!

In all seriousness, we are taking away their natural system of burning up all that fat, so we need to find a way to replicate the effects of it if we are going "pet only". Spreading out meal time will not be nearly as effective as a nice long fast. If he were breeding, which burns a TON of calories, he would likely be fasting through it. Give him a 3-4 month fast and then go back to monthly for a few months and monitor his weight, see if monthly is appropriate. He should be gaining weight at 6y, just very, very slowly, and when he is already overweight, it's going to take an eternity to level out without a fast. May need to repeat the fast a few times, but I would do several 3-4 month ones over one long one, because this is more natural.

Double check his temps. If a thermostat/thermometer is miscalibrated and he is staying cooler than should be, his metabolism is going to be lower.

Can I see this pudgy 6 y/o, 1500g BP? Small rats monthly seems like a pretty strict maintenance diet. I think some snakes have different body types just like some people. As long as he’s healthy and not morbidly obese I wouldn’t feed him any less than once a month. If you want to slim him down I guess you could force a fast on him but I wouldn’t do that until winter. I have 3 carpets that are all roughly the same age and on similar feeding schedules (every 3-4 weeks) but one is quite a bit thicker than the other two even though I’ve been feeding him medium or large rats while the others eat large and jumbo rats. The only difference between them is the one snake eats all year while the other two fast for 4-5 months during the winter/breeding season.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Are you weighing the feeders? I've purchased "small" rats that weighed 40 grams, and others were 90 grams, depending on the vendor, the vendor's definition of "small" rat, and even who was working that day when pulling live feeders at a local exotic pet store.

I would feed a small rat on the lower end of small - 60 grams at most. Monthly should be fine if you're taking the snake out daily for exercise unless it's in shed.

Also it's counter-intuitive for a ball python because they do like their snug, secure little racks, but if it's in a rack try housing it in a 4x2 enclosure for a while so it will stretch out and move around more on it's own.

Did he fast over the winter?

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His rats are between 45-60 g all the time. His cage is 5ft long, 3 ft wide, and 24 inches tall. I wish he was more active in it lol. He only fasted for about two and a half months, but didn't loose any weight. I don't mind if hes in the 1500 range for some cushion against fasts / illness, i just don't want him getting too fat.

Ill upload some shortly. He's no where near morbidly obese, just starting on the chunky side - I mostly notice it when hes' curled up - he has some new extra folds in the crease of his body. But he's also the largest snake I've had and it may be a normal amount of pudge for such a heavy bodied animal too.

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/450442571596955653/863976148030455828/IMG_2741.JPG

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...472&height=629


You can really only see it when hes tightly bent, just some little extra padding lol - of course he doesn't want to hold still either

and just since he's cute:https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...6/IMG_2513.JPG

He isn't horribly fat, but imho it's enough to be taxing on his organs. If he fasted on his own and didn't lose any at all during that, I would put more weight into checking causes for his metabolism being unusually slow.

Thanks, he has his yearly vet check in Mid-September. I will run some bloodwork to see where his organ functions are at provided I can get a sample :/
His vet usually tries to get bloodwork without sedation if we can get away with it and if we can hit a vein.
Until then I'll back him down to rats between 30-50g, space out his feedings a bit more, and get him out and moving on a more regular schedule.