Is this snake healthy?

He looks tiny! One of my hatchlings from 5/18/09 looks almost the same size as this guy.

I have a sept. 08 male that is a bit over 500 grams, never misses a meal. I also have a female that is a late oct. 08 she is pushing a bit over 650 grams.

I don't have a yearling under 500 grams and most are well into 700's

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Your snake comes from the future :O ;)

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LOL I know! HAHA yeah sorry I have been un packing and doing tons of paperwork so I feel as though my brain is fried. She is an 08' not an 09'

Some snakes grow slower than others. I have a 2-year old who is a finicky feeder who only eats adult live mice and sometimes ASF's (one at a time too) who is less than 400g when empty.

It could just be a slow growing animal, as it does not look skinny or unhealthy in the picture.

I have one exceptionally picky eater from '08 who weighed about that much last I weighed her, which was in March. The rest of my '08s are bigger.

My guess is either the breeder was feeding tiny mice, or was not feeding every week, or the snake is a picky eater that did not eat regularly. Or, as you pointed out, there may be parasites or some other health issue.

I don't see any way a BP nearly a year old that ate a regular adult sized mouse each week is still that small. They do all grow at different rates, but that seems outside the range of normal to me.

I purchased a slow started spider in 06 and she is up to 1800 grams.

I have a slower grower pastel female I picked up as a 1-2 month old hatchling from Daytona last year. She's just now hit around 250-300 grams. She's an excellent feeder, has never turned down a meal (even while blue) - she just won't grow! Figures too, as she's absolutely beautiful. The snake you pictured looks healthy, so perhaps he too is just a slow grower. I hope my girl will soon catch up. She's just now on weaned rats, so hopefully that will cause a bit of a growth spurt.

For what it's worth, my girl is a late '07 that was on a 'maintenance diet' when I got her in July 2008. She was 150 g, but I fell in love with her (the gf did too) and bought her. She's an excellent feeder and is now about 900g. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another small healthy yearling, but it'll be interesting to see if she'll end up being a small female as well. That first year of growth is just so important...

my BP splat was almost a year old and hatcling size when she was sent to me. Boy was I mad at how small she was. But she has caught up with ease and eats me out of house and home weekly :)