10 year old Axanthic

I am guessing that this is the same snake as in this thread:

http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...d.php?t=102985

That person has posted several fishy things on craigslist before.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Paradox81

yes I"ve seen the snake in person and he did seem thin but I've also never seen what a 10 year old ball looks like either. I"ve read that their feeding slows quite a bit as they age. but after reading what you guys are saying about weight, thats kinda scary.

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I dont know what to say about being 10 year old and 900 grams but I'll tell you experience.

I bought a VPI Axanthic, he was 1year and 3months old at the time. He looked VERY skinny to me when I weighted him. I was very shocked he was just barely 300g! He had been feed mice his hole life. 1 a week, from small to adult in the last few months according to his feeding record that came with him.

The first time I fed him, It was a very small, small rat. He took a while, but he ended up taking it. Probably very hungry.... I feed him a small rat every week. He has been gaining a lot of weight. He still looks thin, but much better. He is closing 700g now. Ive had him for about 3 almost 4 months now. Thats more than twice his original weight in 3 months.

Im not saying that is the same with your case, but maybe... just maybe he is being realy under fed. Do you know what he feeds the snake?

My male who gets fed mice I've had for 3 years, he is a little older than that and weighs 1700g. 900g seems impossibly small for a 10 year old ball unless it is horribly underfed. Mine's not 4.5 foot either, maybe 4 at most.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danounet

I dont know what to say about being 10 year old and 900 grams but I'll tell you experience.

I bought a VPI Axanthic, he was 1year and 3months old at the time. He looked VERY skinny to me when I weighted him. I was very shocked he was just barely 300g! He had been feed mice his hole life. 1 a week, from small to adult in the last few months according to his feeding record that came with him.

The first time I fed him, It was a very small, small rat. He took a while, but he ended up taking it. Probably very hungry.... I feed him a small rat every week. He has been gaining a lot of weight. He still looks thin, but much better. He is closing 700g now. Ive had him for about 3 almost 4 months now. Thats more than twice his original weight in 3 months.

Im not saying that is the same with your case, but maybe... just maybe he is being realy under fed. Do you know what he feeds the snake?

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This is also a good point.. If a baby isnt big enough to take rat pinks and its started on mouse pinks, it must be upped to rat pinks as soon as possible. Mice have very little nutritional value and will slow down the growth of your snake. One of my may 1st, 09 hatchlings is just about 300 grams now & i dont power feed her. She eats every 7 days now.

Also if you wait too long to convert them to little rats, it may be a hard conversion. The snake may not want it. But if like you say, this snake IS eating rats, then there is something going on. Either its not being fed often enough or it has parasites. Find out more details and try to get a picture of it to post.
Keep us updated!