My ball python has been eating regularly, but still appears underweight?

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

Undernourished BP's have a very distinctive look. The spine starts to show, and the body gets a steepled look to it. If you can't see how undernourished the snake is in a photo, then it is probably not undernourished.

Is your snake's dorsum well rounded?
Can you see the spine?
Is it just loose skin that is worrying you?
Is the snake's belly pink at all?
Are the snake's eyes cloudy at all?
Are the snake's colors dull?
Does the snake have a clean fresh water source?
Does your snake have a high humidity hide?

David

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You can see the spine just the slightest bit, but it was much worse when I got her. Definitely not steepled though. The skin is pretty loose, though, I can kind of bunch it up-nothing I've seen in either of my corn snakes or my king snake. Belly is cream colored as usual, eyes are not cloudy, and color is just a little dull. I change the water once a day and I only put moss in the hide when the snakes are going into shed.

I also just tried to feed her-she took the mouse, but didn't eat it. Now she's slithering to the other side of the cage. Could she possibly be in the early stages of shedding...? My other snakes get all clouded first, and then stop eating...

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Originally Posted by theoremofgoats

You can see the spine just the slightest bit, but it was much worse when I got her. Definitely not steepled though. The skin is pretty loose, though, I can kind of bunch it up-nothing I've seen in either of my corn snakes or my king snake. Belly is cream colored as usual, eyes are not cloudy, and color is just a little dull. I change the water once a day and I only put moss in the hide when the snakes are going into shed.

I also just tried to feed her-she took the mouse, but didn't eat it. Now she's slithering to the other side of the cage. Could she possibly be in the early stages of shedding...? My other snakes get all clouded first, and then stop eating...

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Without seeing the snake it is hard to tell if she is going into shed. Not feeding could be a sign of that. So is loose skin. Balls can look downright ghastly before a shed. The fact that she seems to be plumping up is a good sign. With any new snake, a trip to the vet can be a great idea, especially if you are a virgin with a species. Short of that, I would put in a humid hide. If she is in shed she may well start spending time in there. With Balls sheds can happen really fast after a growth spurt, so if your snake just started getting enough food and is putting on weight a shed is to be expected.

David

Look at her girth, picture a mouse or rat that same girth or even a little bigger if it's in between. If she's eating every 5 days, perfect.

For sure the best way to tell if she is seriously undernourished is her body shape. If she is triangular, with a very prominent spine, then she's very underweight. If she's almost totally rounded, with an almost unnoticeable spine, she's a good healthy weight. If she's kind of in between, rounded but you can still see her spine quite clearly, she could probably use a little extra weight gain.

If she looks more rounded to you than she first did, then you are on the right track. I recommend you invest in a digital scale. They can be found quite cheaply and are a very valuable tool for a snake owner. Weigh her weekly, just before feeding day and keep track of her weight. If she is gaining steadily, then she'll be fine. If she is not gaining at all or ends up loosing weight in the course of a couple of weeks, then a vet visit to rule out parasites is a must.

Try not to fuss too much, you risk stressing her out and causing her to go off feed again. Watch her closely, and if anything changes, even if it's something you can't quite put a finger on, take her to a vet.

Gale

Here's a good scale
http://www.reptilebasics.com/my-weigh-7001dx