Healthy weight for my ball?

My boy Snuggles is... roughly two years old, as far as I can tell. (I think he was ~6mo old when I bought him, 1.5 years ago).

He is a bit longer than a 20 gallon long tank, so make that 33-36" or so, and weighs 715g.

Can't seem to find good info on the right size for his age. He's sort of a picky eater, mouse-only, so I'm worried maybe he is lighter than he should be.

Would be great if anyone with a similar age male could post their weights. :)


Oh - one more question - I don't know any other balls so I'm not so sure on their behaviour.
Often after constricting a rodent (live or fresh killed, doesn't make a difference) he seems to... lose it, and looks around for 2-5 minutes before he eats it. Even when it is laying on him... seems really confused. Is that fairly common? or is Snuggles just... extra special? :)

He might be a little
Special :) but as long as he eats I think your good. One of my
Female girls will not eat in public, if I have the tub out, she will sit there ( after constricting and killing it) and just look at you, she will even go as far as dragging her meal all the way to the back to get away and eat it. Hope this helps!

-Mark


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I am here: http://tapatalk.com/map.php?wunbjv

Your BP sounds light for an adult male, but that's probably due to him being a mouser. Have you tried feeding multiple mice at a time?

Sometimes he will eat 2 or 3 adult mice, I usually offer him whatever he will take. A lot of the time he will only eat one though, and skips a week once in a while. He has been a lot better about eating regularly as he is getting older, though.

He also seems to go off eating for 2-3 weeks either side of a shed, so every time he sheds he doesn't eat for 4 weeks or more.

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Originally Posted by pythown

Sometimes he will eat 2 or 3 adult mice, I usually offer him whatever he will take. A lot of the time he will only eat one though, and skips a week once in a while. He has been a lot better about eating regularly as he is getting older, though.

He also seems to go off eating for 2-3 weeks either side of a shed, so every time he sheds he doesn't eat for 4 weeks or more.

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Welcome to the world of owning ball pythons! They can be a real PITA sometimes! :rofl:

Pics would help greatly. It sounds like he is a little light, but without pics that is just speculation.

Alright, finally got my other phone working and took pics with it, because I can't find the charger for my real camera... lmao.

http://electrontube.org/q/s2.jpg


http://electrontube.org/q/s4.jpg

What do you think? :snake:

I have a male who is about 1 1/2 and he is over 1000 g and 32". He eats rats though....and he never misses a meal....I hope it stays that way but who knows lol

it all depends on your snake some will grow faster than other ones and some will skip meals it also depends on the genetics for example if the parents werent very long then the babys will probably not be very long

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pythown

Sometimes he will eat 2 or 3 adult mice, I usually offer him whatever he will take. A lot of the time he will only eat one though, and skips a week once in a while. He has been a lot better about eating regularly as he is getting older, though.

He also seems to go off eating for 2-3 weeks either side of a shed, so every time he sheds he doesn't eat for 4 weeks or more.

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715g is fine for an 18mos male BP. It sounds like he's eating on a regular basis (for BPs, at least), and you're offering him as much as he wants. Getting him on rats might speed up his growth, but there isn't anything unhealthy about his weight.

Ive tried rats a few times in the past, doesn't seem interested for the most part.

I think he ate one small live rat once, but that is it... :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by pythown

Ive tried rats a few times in the past, doesn't seem interested for the most part.

I think he ate one small live rat once, but that is it... :(

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If you're fine with feeding him mice, then it doesn't matter if he doesn't want rats. Normally that's just a preference for folks who don't want to feed multiples when the snake is an adult, which is less of an issue if he's your only one. He looks very healthy.

mine turned a year old this month, and he is @ 950g ish, and he seems alot skinnier than yours, so i guess every snake is different. Mine is a mouser also, and lately has been extra picky with eating.

My BP is a '10 male and he weighs 650g He's put on a nice chunk of that in the last couple months now that I've switched him to a more appropriately sized meal each week.

My normal male is 2 years old and he just hit 700 grams but he has skipped a lot of meals over the second year so I think that's why hes a little small for his age id expect him to be at around 900 grams if he fed regularly. I also have a Female pastel Same age as him and she just got to 600 grams but shes never missed a meal. Don't worry just let them grow at there own pace:)

Males are generally lankier than females, but you should never see any bones. If their spine is showing (they will be V shaped) then you might want to up their feeding, but your boy looks like he has a nice, rounded shape to him. So judging by those pictures you provided I think he looks pretty good. Just keep up what you're doing and you'll be fine. :gj:

Great, thanks for the weights guys :)