underfed..... ?

i was just wondering if she looks underfed? ive had her for a month and she eats two mice a week like a champ and could probably eat one more and not even feel it lol looking at other ball pythons they all seem much thicker around then she does so i was just wondering if she looks skinny or if its just me. thanks everyone https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...56_n_88265.jpg

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Originally Posted by akaprincesssophia

i was just wondering if she looks underfed? ive had her for a month and she eats two mice a week like a champ and could probably eat one more and not even feel it lol looking at other ball pythons they all seem much thicker around then she does so i was just wondering if she looks skinny or if its just me. thanks everyone https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=30520

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Move her up to weanling rats once a week.

She is a bit skinnier than I would like.. she might have parasites.
Her pale color also leads me to believe that she could have a nutrient deficiency, which is another indication of parasites. Where did you get her from?

She looks good, Is really hard to make a baby ball fat, specially a female. They grow pretty fast. I wouldn't feed her any more than every 4-5 days.

She looks ok to me. Two mice is a decent meal if they are on the bigger side and not like hoppers or something. Its hard to tell from the picture since she is holding on to you and probably flexing. I think that she looks pale cause the pic is washed out. If she's got a strong feeding response definitely try to get her on rats, you'll be happy in the long run.

one is telling me she looks good and the other one no lol i donno what to think. i got her at petsmart and the picture doesnt do the colors justice becase she doesnt look that pale in real life. she has very rich colors on her and i think she might be beginning to shed so maybe thats why the color came out like that..... ? i handle her everyday and i alwaysinspect to see if there is anything weird looking on her and to me she looks perfectly fine. last week i went to petco and got her vitamins and stuff ( sorry but i cnt remember off the top of my head what kind) the lady at the store has ball pythons and she recommended them and told me i should sprinkle one of the vitamins on the mice every time i feed her and the other one once a month so i just started doin that this last saturday.

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Originally Posted by Danounet

She looks good, Is really hard to make a baby ball fat, specially a female. They grow pretty fast. I wouldn't feed her any more than every 4-5 days.

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Yep, I don't feed any of mine more than every 4 days.

Babies are babies, they are going to look skinny for a while unless you are feeding them a ridiculous amount of food. You've only had her month, give her a couple more and she'll look nice and chubby.

BPs dont need any vitamins or sun light. All they need is some hides, water and a healthy feeding schedule.

To me she looks good.

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Originally Posted by akaprincesssophia

one is telling me she looks good and the other one no lol i donno what to think. i got her at petsmart and the picture doesnt do the colors justice becase she doesnt look that pale in real life. she has very rich colors on her and i think she might be beginning to shed so maybe thats why the color came out like that..... ? i handle her everyday and i alwaysinspect to see if there is anything weird looking on her and to me she looks perfectly fine. last week i went to petco and got her vitamins and stuff ( sorry but i cnt remember off the top of my head what kind) the lady at the store has ball pythons and she recommended them and told me i should sprinkle one of the vitamins on the mice every time i feed her and the other one once a month so i just started doin that this last saturday.

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Well there you go. You got her from petsmart, it's going to take awhile to get her nice and chubby. I would keep an eye on her for parasites. If she doesn't start gaining weight in a couple months I'd take her to the vet.

Also, ball pythons don't need vitamins. That stuff is junk and that lady works at a pet store. If the pet store can trick people into buying things they don't need, they will.

Vitamins for balls in not necessary. In a serous case of neglect...maybe. They get ALL their nutrients form their pray items. If she wasn't eating and/or had mites THEN I would suggest a trip to a good reptile vet for a de-worming and treat the cage with Prevent-o-Mite. But if she is eating, has good stool (not runny or strangely smelly or colored), no mites, and is alert and active she is probably just fine. :D

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Well there you go. You got her from petsmart, it's going to take awhile to get her nice and chubby.

Also, ball pythons don't need vitamins. That stuff is junk and that lady works at a pet store. If the pet store can trick people into buying things they don't need, they will.

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Of course they do!
All animals need the vitamins and minerals that come from the food they eat. What you meant to say is that they don't need any vitamin supplements because they get everything they need from their food. :P

But yeah, what they are saying is correct. Any supplements are junk for snakes generally and they don't need UV because they eat whole animals.

Because it's a baby and from petsmart, it's likely fine. I'm just a bit worried about the coloration.. it could be the lighting, but if he does have a parasitical infection (which from petsmart, is possible) it would suck essential nutrients that help to keep the rich brown color in a bp.
If the color doesn't turn into a more 'chocolate' color and she seems to lose weight instead of gain any, you may want to get a smear done.
It's a good time to get a good gram scale too and keep track of the weight to make sure she is gaining weight like a healthy girl should. :)

thanks a lot guys. i few things to maybe help out as well.... i have a nice picture of her in my gallery of her balled up in my hand and u can get a better idea of her color [url=http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=30506&c=member&imageuser=16865][img] . and this week when i was taking her poop out of the cage it did have a bad smell to it and i know it was different then the weeks before cuz the smell didnt hit me the way it did this time. :(

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Originally Posted by akaprincesssophia

thanks a lot guys. i few things to maybe help out as well.... i have a nice picture of her in my gallery of her balled up in my hand and u can get a better idea of her color [url=http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/showimage.php?i=30506&c=member&imageuser=16865][img] . and this week when i was taking her poop out of the cage it did have a bad smell to it and i know it was different then the weeks before cuz the smell didnt hit me the way it did this time. :(

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Next time she poops put it in the fridge in a baggy and take it to a reptile vet for a parasite smear.
Usually they're only 20-30 dollars.
See if you can find a good reliable herp vet in your area.

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Originally Posted by Danounet

BPs dont need any vitamins or sun light. All they need is some hides, water and a healthy feeding schedule.

To me she looks good.

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Couldnt agree more she is looking good to me.

thanks everyone. some or u r making me feel better and some a little worried :(. im not an expert by any means but she seems totally fine to me, i handle her every day and shes very calm and shell roam around the bed when she has the chance. she seems very active when i take her out of the cage and it doesnt seem like anything is wrong with her but like i said im not no expert so i wouldnt be able to really know.

Your snake looks absolutly fine!!!!! Its color looks fine. Its size looks fine. I would try to switch from mice to rats (the appropriate sized ones). I was once told it this way..... Whats more nutritious, an old mouse or a young rat?

I would not listen to every thing your told though. If the majority say the same thing then it would be safe to say its ok.

Here if you are still in doubt.

This is/was my first BP (She is currently missing... But that's another story) I got her when she was VERY young. She had only 2 meals in her.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...i/100_1161.jpg

This is her 5-6 months after, Same hand. I wasn't kidding when I said female BPs grow FAST.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y18...i/100_1730.jpg

As long as she is gaining weight she will be fine. 2 mice a week is perfect. Babies tend to look a little thinner then adults. Eventually she will plump up if kept on a good feeding schedule.

A fecal float wouldn't be a bad idea though.

thanks u guys!! :) ur making me feel much much better and i live the picture of her size in ur second picture Danounet :) cnt wait till my baby gets that size and bigger :banana:

She looks OK to me in that picture, but even if she were underweight, she'll soon catch up with a steady diet. Ours was only 112g when we got it at 5 months of age. It was so thin, it looked more like an eel than a snake at the time. After it month or two it was filling out nicely. Today it's 1,100g and neither thin nor fat. Enjoy your new snake! :)