Worried about size...

My BP Jackson looks a little thin to me, compared to the pictures I've seen on here. He's on an every 5 days feeding schedule, and I'm pretty sure I'm giving him the right size... He's about 5 months old and eating rat crawlers. (I had put up a post that I was concerned that they were too big- they look huge next to him!) He does poop alot, though- probably about three days after I feed him, or once a week. He seems to be healthy enough, I wish I could just quit worrying about every little thing! :P

How much does he weigh? Most ball pythons can eat rat pups from "birth"....

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Originally Posted by LGray23

How much does he weigh? Most ball pythons can eat rat pups from "birth"....

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You must get some big babies! I start my hatchlings on fuzzy mice.

OP---post a pic!

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Originally Posted by Jason Bowden

You must get some big babies!

OP---post a pic!

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I don't breed, it's just from the babies I have bought and from talking to friends who breed. I have one female who only had 2-3 meals before I got her and she easily takes the rat pups I offer..IMO she isn't abnormally large at all...

Rat pups are 20+grams and def not baby food.

A snake that poops alot could mean other things as most my babies hardly poop once a month

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Rat pups are 20+grams and def not baby food.

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lol now I'm worried my rat pups I've been buying are mislabeled. :confused:

Yeah, I agree with Rich.
Rat pups are as big or sometimes bigger than adult mice.

If the snake can eat a rat crawler, I guess they aren't too big for him.
He's probably fine.
Show us some pics.

Pics would help. I think as long as he's eating on a 5-7 day schedule then he's not being starved. If you are worried about the pooping, save a sample and send it into the vet for a fecal test. My vet only charges $25 for a fecal test for parasites.

Might of bought Rat Fuzzies labeled pups. Which fuzzies are about 10-19grams depending who you buy from.

Just about all python species can eat way more than most people imagine.

10-15% body weight is a typically quoted figure for weekly feedings of yearlings for many species.. however plenty are capable of eating 50% or more of their body weight in a single feeding.

NOT that this is recommended, especially on a regular basis. I'm just saying that if you think your snake is thin or unusually small, you may be right. It might be worth trying to up the prey size a bit.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

How much does he weigh? Most ball pythons can eat rat pups from "birth"....

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Really that must be some huge BP hatchlings or some very skinny pups ;)

BP are started on rat crawlers :gj:

Your friends who breeds are obviously are mistaken when it comes to rats, a pup is 2 weeks old with eyes open and I can tell you even the biggest hathlings will not take down a pup.

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Originally Posted by Deborah

Really that must be some huge BP hatchlings or some very skinny pups ;)

BP are started on rat crawlers :gj:

Your friends who breeds are obviously are mistaken when it comes to rats, a pup is 2 weeks old with eyes open and I can tell you even the biggest hathlings will not take down a pup.

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It must be me who is mistaken because the "pups" I get and am apparently referring to have their eyes closed lol. My mistake. :oops:

Can someone post a pic of a fuzzy, crawler, and a pup so we can see the difference and when I say I'm feeding fuzzies, or pups we all have the same basic idea of what size we're really talking about? I thought I was feeding pups but now I think the ones I get are fuzzies. Mine are 16-18 grams with eyes closed.

To know what you should feed your BP at this time it's easy forget the scale forget the weight of the snake and prey feed a prey that is equal to the girth size of your snake (widest part of your BP's body)

Once your BP is an adult it will be different if you want an animal that feed with consistency feed smaller preys (55/75 grams rats to males and 85/120 grams rats to females) which we are obviously far from the 10% to 15% that some may suggest.

Heres what some call Large Pinkies or small fuzzies
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/100_4271.jpg


Heres Fuzzies at 11g
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/100_4273.jpg
Fuzzies at 16g
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/100_4269.jpg
Heres pups around 18-22g
http://i577.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/100_4270.jpg

Thanks Rich, so what is a rat crawler? larger than pups?

crawlers to some are fuzzies or pups depends what your defination

I start my hatchlings on live adult mice and move on to rat pups after about the first month. The mice are just the regular mice from Petco...not huge, but not small...

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Originally Posted by blueberrypancakes

My BP Jackson looks a little thin to me, compared to the pictures I've seen on here. He's on an every 5 days feeding schedule, and I'm pretty sure I'm giving him the right size... He's about 5 months old and eating rat crawlers. (I had put up a post that I was concerned that they were too big- they look huge next to him!) He does poop alot, though- probably about three days after I feed him, or once a week. He seems to be healthy enough, I wish I could just quit worrying about every little thing! :P

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As long as he's eating and defecating regularly, I wouldn't worry about it. Hatchlings typically are slimmer than adults (they usually start bulking up at around a year of age), and there is really no set length/weight ratio anyways. Every snake is different, same with other animals.

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Originally Posted by sho220

I start my hatchlings on live adult mice and move on to rat pups after about the first month. The mice are just the regular mice from Petco...not huge, but not small...

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Unless your hatching out 80-100g babies adult mice are Way to big. When average hatch ling is 55-65g and adult mouse is 20g. Ive fed fuzzy rats to larger hatchlings in the 70g range and that left a huge lump. Couldn't imagine that size rat which is same as adult mice in a baby smaller

Heres a 120g ball eating a rat fuzzy about 20g in size. Now shrink the snake in half and feed same rat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Az4oSc2EDc

Not being rude, but OP wants to get his snake up to size, but suggesting large meals will prolong that by fastings, and or regurges.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Unless your hatching out 80-100g babies adult mice are Way to big. When average hatch ling is 55-65g and adult mouse is 20g. Ive fed fuzzy rats to larger hatchlings in the 70g range and that left a huge lump. Couldn't imagine that size rat which is same as adult mice in a baby smaller

Heres a 120g ball eating a rat fuzzy about 20g in size. Now shrink the snake in half and feed same rat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Az4oSc2EDc

Not being rude, but OP wants to get his snake up to size, but suggesting large meals will prolong that by fastings, and or regurges.

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Like I said, They are what Petco sells as adult mice...they aren't huge, but they are bigger than crawlers or pups...they're kind of in between, bigger than a hopper, but not full grown adult.

and I didn't really suggest anything...just sharing what I do...and what I've done for several years that appears to work just fine...

My BP is about the same age as the OP's--a month younger actually. He's currently a little over 200 grams and eating rat pups (20-29 grams, usually closer to 29) once a week.

If you know your snake's weight feed something 10-15% of that, if not, go by girth. The best bet is to get an accurate food scale and go by the weights, there's less worry and doubt when it is a simple question of numbers. And ignore the names of the different sized rats/mice and buy them based on their weight instead--it doesn't matter if it's called a pup or a crawler as long as you know it's 20-something grams.

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Originally Posted by LGray23

lol now I'm worried my rat pups I've been buying are mislabeled. :confused:

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Why are you worried? Because someone says it's my way or it's wrong? What about your friends who breed? Or your very own experience? Were you having regurge problems, or fasting issues?

Asking what to feed my BP is like asking should I cut or not? You're gonna get all kinds of answers...researching and asking questions is fine, you just have to take all that information in and process it to come up with your own conclusions...the longer you do this and the more time you spend with your animals the more you'll get to know them and what makes them tick...they're individuals...they weren't made on an assembly line...no one can say you should absolutely be feeding a 3 month old ball rat pups that are 18 grams.

To the OP...if he looks skinny, feed him more often or feed him slightly bigger prey...simple as that...this is not rocket science...:gj:

Alot of pet stores don't know what's what when it comes to size of prey. I've had my wife stop and ask for hopper mice and they have given her small fuzzy mice at the hopper price, I have found it's best to go by sight when dealing with pet stores at least until you trust their ability to correctly identify prey size, or buy from a rodent breeder they usually get it right

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heres what is most important when feeding hatchlings. it is better to get them eating instead of getting them to eat big meals. when i hatch out the first meals i give are new born rat pinks. i feed the hatchlings every 10 days just to get the feeding response dialed in. it doesnt take long for them to be feeding weekly but still i dont push the size yet. i keep them feeding regularly. once they hit the 150 gram mark i start steppin it up. now i also breed my own rats so its easier for me to have endless supplies of rats. you have to also understand that the majority of pet store employees are people that dont have alot of experience with reptiles. they sell reptiles yes but are not the people you want to rely on. most pet stores also buy their rodents from rodent breeders and what they may buy as crawlers are what the rodent breeder sells them as pups. this is so they can buy at one price and mark it up even more to the consumer. i know this cause i used to sell rodents to pet stores and i see what they do. your best bet is to buy from rodent breeders if thats an option. but be more concerned about keeping the feeding response going instead of power feeding.