Breeders and minimal feeding

OK thanks X.......I feel better now......I may say it upsets me though if someone thought I was not properly taking care of my snakes..at any rate, I love my lil guys.....:giggle: I think small balls are cute!

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Originally Posted by Uncle Festae

So what do you think is the cause of this? is it poor genetics, poor husbandry, minimal feeding as previously suggested? any insights on this?

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I have no 05's that are that small, so I can only speculate. Poor genetics could be the case for a small number ... I truely believe that in the day and age of high dollar ball morphs more "runts" are saved from what would naturally be certain death ... not every egg/hatchling is meant to survive.

Other than that it could be a later breeding schedule, more lax feeding routine, etc ... it's not like these animals "need" to eat every single week ... if a breeder makes that choice, great, but if not, the snake will still do just as well ... it will just take longer ;) ... as long as they are healthy and eating, I don't see the big deal with it if the price is right ... but two equally priced 05 morphs, hets, whatever of the same type and sex, and one weighs 350 grams more, the choice is a no brainer for me.

-adam

I would have to assume genetics since it would not be in the best interest of a breeder to keep a snake small at all. The larger they are, the more they can charge.

Thanks for your input Adam, greatly appreciated. So, in your opinion, if a breeder is selling 25 snakes all of different lines, morphs and parentage and they all fall into the "low weight range" we are discussing, would that then lead you to believe its related to feeding in some way, and not genetics (i.e...runts, poor bloodlines) and would you think that such animals could be brought up to "par" with a more appropriate feeding regimen? this really piques my interest because I know with the large fish I breed and keep, this type of situation usually leads to "stunting" and is for the most part irreversible, the damage is done....... everyone elses thoughts, input, and exeperiences are welcome here too! dont be shy ,:)

I'll chime in. Adam has oodles more experience than I, but from what I've seen/heard is that reptiles do not get stunted. I've seen some older snakes, especially Boa Constrictors, that are much smaller than they should be because of a conservative feeding approach. However, when they get into an environment where they are fed more frequently they tend to have a growth spurt until they get to their pre-programmed size. Just my :twocents:

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Originally Posted by Uncle Festae

Thanks for your input Adam, greatly appreciated. So, in your opinion, if a breeder is selling 25 snakes all of different lines, morphs and parentage and they all fall into the "low weight range" we are discussing, would that then lead you to believe its related to feeding in some way, and not genetics (i.e...runts, poor bloodlines) and would you think that such animals could be brought up to "par" with a more appropriate feeding regimen? this really piques my interest because I know with the large fish I breed and keep, this type of situation usually leads to "stunting" and is for the most part irreversible, the damage is done....... everyone elses thoughts, input, and exeperiences are welcome here too! dont be shy ,:)

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I agree with Lawrence ... I don't think that "stunting" is an issue ... at least with ball pythons (my experience is way more limited with other herps) .... sooner or later they'll catch up ... that said, "par" when it comes to a bp's weight is a very subjective area ... who's to say that 250 grams at 11 months old isn't in the long actually better for the animal. Even though most of my 05's are 400+ grams I'll be the first one to get up on a soap box and yell that many of the problems with fasting ball pythons in captivity are related to the fact that there is no way that ball pythons evolved to have a metabolism designed to deal with consuming a prey item 52 weeks out of the year.

I'm personally torn on the issue, I love to feed my snakes and the watch my babies grow, but I also acknowledge that it might be too much ... I guess in the end I don't feel that an 05 listed this time of year at 200 or 250 grams is "wrong", just different that how I would do it ... which is totally cool. ;)

When I said ...

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I can't believe it when I see 05's up for sale at 200 grams!!

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I meant it more as ... "cause good or bad, I can't seem to stop wanting to feed mine" ;)

-adam