Unexplained stress??

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=...d=ii_jmze1aj60

Weights help a lot, as we aren't seeing your snake. Weight of the snake, weights of the food offered. ;)

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Will do:D

Ill feed him tonight and then when he dries, I'll put him on the gram scale. Then I'll update you then on his weight:)

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Originally Posted by Traceur

This all honestly really helps! I tried offering 3 hoppers to him, but he didn't take the 3rd one. He was acting fussy again today- tried escaping again, and it's been 5 days since he last ate. So I certainly will start feeding every 5 days.

What size of rats should I be feeding a 5-6 month old ball python? After he's almost done with the hoppers?

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Unfortunately weight/size isn't proportional to age in snakes, so weight is important when you're troubleshooting something like feeding!

If a snake was fed very infrequently or fed too small meals for months of it's life, it'll grow slowly and be small for longer. If a snake is fed frequently and has larger meals, it'll grow faster, even if both snakes are the same age.

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Originally Posted by Traceur

Will do:D

Ill feed him tonight and then when he dries, I'll put him on the gram scale. Then I'll update you then on his weight:)

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It's you that needs to know his weight, so you can see from the chart what size his food should be. ;)

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Originally Posted by redshepherd

Unfortunately weight/size isn't proportional to age in snakes, so weight is important when you're troubleshooting something like feeding!

If a snake was fed very infrequently or fed too small meals for months of it's life, it'll grow slowly and be small for longer. If a snake is fed frequently and has larger meals, it'll grow faster, even if both snakes are the same age.

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That's a great thing to note:D I always thought it didn't depend whether it was age or weight, so I thought I wasted money on buying a semi-pricey gram scale for him. But I'm glad I got this info, I'll be sure to keep that in mind! Thank you:)

Hes gone through phases of not eating a couple of times because of stress, but he's been doing great ever since I improved his security and humidity. Maybe once I get his weight, you guys can tell me if he's at where he should be weight wise?

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Originally Posted by Traceur

Maybe once I get his weight, you guys can tell me if he's at where he should be weight wise?

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If you post his weight we can help with what size prey to offer, but his weight won't help much with anything else because it's so variable. Ball pythons can be the same age and sex and have a huge difference in what they weigh, so the number on the scale is really just a number.

If you're wanting to know about his body condition, pics are generally more helpful. :)

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

It's you that needs to know his weight, so you can see from the chart what size his food should be. ;)

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Sounds great! Is a certain chart more accurate than the other or are they all the same?

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Originally Posted by WhompingWillow

If you post his weight we can help with what size prey to offer, but his weight won't help much with anything else because it's so variable. Ball pythons can be the same age and sex and have a huge difference in what they weigh, so the number on the scale is really just a number.

If you're wanting to know about his body condition, pics are generally more helpful. :)

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Another thing I will keep in mind- thanks:) I honestly still don't know how to post pictures on this forum XD But if you could help with prey size, that really would be wonderful:D

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Originally Posted by Traceur

Another thing I will keep in mind- thanks:) I honestly still don't know how to post pictures on this forum XD But if you could help with prey size, that really would be wonderful:D

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If I'm posting photos from my phone I use the Tapatalk app (a lot of people on here use this). If I'm posting photos taken from a camera I upload them to imgur and post to the site. Instructions can be found here: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

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Originally Posted by Traceur

Sounds great! Is a certain chart more accurate than the other or are they all the same?

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I'd suggest using the chart I posted above...that's why I posted it. :rolleyes: It's been frequently posted on this site in many other threads as well.

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

I'd suggest using the chart I posted above...that's why I posted it. :rolleyes: It's been frequently posted on this site in many other threads as well.

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The image didn't load, so I couldn't see the chart. Do you mind posting the image again please?

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Update: He stands at 119 grams