One and a half year old snake, 50 grams?

Wow guys! After one quick google search, those are exactly what they are..spurs. My vet said "Oh those are his hemipenes" as if it was casual. I knew something was wrong, maybe he had the wrong word lol. Well I am definitely relieved.

http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...116_150115.jpg

Glad he ate for you. :)

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Originally Posted by Pippers

Wow guys! After one quick google search, those are exactly what they are..spurs. My vet said "Oh those are his hemipenes" as if it was casual. I knew something was wrong, maybe he had the wrong word lol. Well I am definitely relieved.

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If those are just his spurs, and there is no parasite problem or other internal health issue, the problems are most likely environment and feeding. There's a chance of a genetic or other issue, but I would guess it's most likely to the undersized food he gets.

Both are relatively easy to fix. Get your temps dialed in. This is pretty easy. Once you have your tank setup properly with temps measured and controlled correctly, you're well on your way.

Based on your shed descriptions, your humidity is off regardless of what your gauge is telling you. I would put a humid hide in there for him. They're easy to make and give him a place with boosted humidity for when he needs it.

As for feeding, once you start feeding him properly sized food on a regular basis, he'll grow. Mouse fuzzies are way too small for any BP. I see you moved him up to hoppers which is great. He will probably only be on hoppers for three or four weeks at most before you have to move him up again.

You might want to consider tracking his weight and his food weight for a while so you can monitor the growth. It's not really necessary in most cases to track weight and food weekly, but in your case it'll provide two benefits:

First, you'll have something concrete to refer to when you're trying to determine if he's making progress or not.

Second, since you're having trouble gauging proper food size by eyeballing it (no offense, but mouse fuzzies are not correct), adjusting food by weight will make sure you get it right until he gets bigger. If your snake weighs X you feed him something between Y and Z. You may think the food looks too big or too small, but if it's the in correct weight range while he's a hatchling, he can eat it. Over time, with weights backing you up, you'll start to get a better feel for eyeballing food.

Good luck with him. It sounds like he got off to a slow start unintentionally, but you're doing what you can to fix the problems and get him back on track, so that's always good.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Could you also try to get a picture of his "prolapsed hemipenes"? Because I am wondering if what you(and the vet) are seeing are the "spurs" which are supposed to be out

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This is why there are so many great members here.
Someone always catches something that got overlooked.

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Originally Posted by Pippers

My vet said "Oh those are his hemipenes" as if it was casual.

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Right here.... Find a new vet. Preferably one that knows reptiles or at anatomy and wont blow smoke up your butt.
I would bet most of us overlooked that because we took your word that you took your vets word.
That is not your fault as it was his/her job to inform you about your animal and evidently is not qualified.

There are many people in this community that are here to help.

These can help you if you haven't seen them already:

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...pskrswg3hm.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h1...ps6c837bf2.jpg

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Originally Posted by 200xth

Second, since you're having trouble gauging proper food size by eyeballing it (no offense, but mouse fuzzies are not correct), adjusting food by weight will make sure you get it right until he gets bigger. If your snake weighs X you feed him something between Y and Z. You may think the food looks too big or too small, but if it's the in correct weight range while he's a hatchling, he can eat it. Over time, with weights backing you up, you'll start to get a better feel for eyeballing food.

Good luck with him. It sounds like he got off to a slow start unintentionally, but you're doing what you can to fix the problems and get him back on track, so that's always good.

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Is there a rule of thumb for food size? Like just bigger than his body width or what? Also thank you so much for your help, pip is on his way to a full recovery :)

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Right here.... Find a new vet. Preferably one that knows reptiles or at anatomy and wont blow smoke up your butt.
I would bet most of us overlooked that because we took your word that you took your vets word.
That is not your fault as it was his/her job to inform you about your animal and evidently is not qualified.

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Yeah, the closest specialty reptile vet is 2 and a half hours away so I went with my local animal hospital. They told me he was good with snakes! Oh well I learned my lesson. I'm sure he will be back on track very shortly and maybe he can forgive me for my ignorance haha.

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Originally Posted by Pippers

Is there a rule of thumb for food size? Like just bigger than his body width or what? Also thank you so much for your help, pip is on his way to a full recovery :)

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I believe it was "slightly wider than the widest point of your snake's body."

0.1 Super pastel

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Originally Posted by Kimchi~

I believe it was "slightly wider than the widest point of your snake's body."

0.1 Super pastel

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Oh that'd make sense then. Thanks!

Just a little tidbit I learned from another snake keeper... apparently its best to switch to rats if there is a weight gain issue, since they have a better fat content. So like the chart that PitontheProwl posted says, the mouse hopper you fed your little guy is about the same size as a rat fuzzy. My first bp didn't really start gaining weight until I switched him from mice to rats. Good luck!!

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