Is does she look over wieght? large pics

so my gf and I are agruing if my bp is fat or not I personally dont think she is.




http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...3/dscf0136.jpg


http://ball-pythons.net/gallery/file...3/dscf0134.jpg

Not overweight at all, not even close.

BP's are very heavy bodied snakes.

Good that's what I thought.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

Not overweight at all, not even close.

BP's are very heavy bodied snakes.

---

x2

Looks good, keep it up!

I don't own a BP (thanks to my squeamish sister) and while I want a spider web or bee, I look up pictures a lot and I see snakes from known breeders that are FAT plain and simple. This is not it. You're doing great!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jinx667

Looks good, keep it up!

---

x2 :gj:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by QueenOfKing

I don't own a BP (thanks to my squeamish sister) and while I want a spider web or bee, I look up pictures a lot and I see snakes from known breeders that are FAT plain and simple. This is not it. You're doing great!

---

Very rarely are breeding BPs (especially females) fat. Females need all the body weight they can get to lay eggs. Males are more at risk but fully grown males are more likely to just get put on a reduced feeding schedule to prevent getting overweight. A lot of breeders will offer their females whatever they want to get them back up to weight after laying eggs and through the breeding season while they'll take them. If you're making your living off of making sure you're getting eggs and hatchlings to sell you want to make sure your females are big enough to produce healthy eggs.

Is she fat? Absolutely not! In fact, judging from that first picture she looks like she is underweight. You shouldn't see her spine like that. The second pic makes her look healthier, but still far from fat. Ball pythons aren't supposed to be built like corn snakes. They are heavy bodied snakes. It really bugs me when I see underweight balls because people can't seem to grasp the concept they are heavy bodied snakes and underfeed them.

Quote:

---

Is she fat? Absolutely not! In fact, judging from that first picture she looks like she is underweight. You shouldn't see her spine like that. The second pic makes her look healthier, but still far from fat. Ball pythons aren't supposed to be built like corn snakes. They are heavy bodied snakes. It really bugs me when I see underweight balls because people can't seem to grasp the concept they are heavy bodied snakes and underfeed them

---

Actually those pictures where taken only about one minute from each other.

I can see what AK907 is talking about in both pictures, but it is more pronounced in the first picture... probably just the way she is sitting.

nothing to worry about, but further evidence that she isn't overweight.

How much do you feed her and how often?

one mouse a week I try to get the biggest mice possible, shes still under a year old as well. I dont have a scale, and she isnt fond of rats or f/t... and by that I mean she wont eat them at all.

You should feed multiple mice per week, probably, or try harder to get her onto rats. My 170 gram female is already eating large mice (20-25g) every five days and I don't really want to try to feed her mice for much longer. Most snakes will switch to rats if you're persistent enough for long enough - though she might be a diehard mouser, in which case you need to feed more mice per sitting, as long as she'll take them. Invest in a scale. They're available at Walmart for $20 for a digital one though I spent $30 at Target and really love mine. It's impossible to know if she's actually being underfed if you don't know how much she weighs or her food weighs.

Jinx recently posted a thread for switching snakes from live mice to f/t rats... I was actually just looking at it... Here you go:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...t-feeder-types

I am a little biased seeing as when it comes to BPs I am a chubby chaser and she looks good to me...:)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by QueenOfKing

I look up pictures a lot and I see snakes from known breeders that are FAT plain and simple.

---

:confused:

Please start a thread with links to these fat snakes so we can discuss this issue.

WOW! I think she's beautiful! I just got our 10 month old female to eat F/T tonight but she's not nearly as thick as your girl.

Nice work! Hope you have a 5.5 ft thick healthy girl in a couple years.

Thanks for the pictures!

Yeah I plan to get a scale when its in the budget and I hope she gets that size too. Having seen my gfs other pets she probably will get that big or bigger all her pets are huge not fat just extreemly large.

Your girl looks like a healthy ball python. I agree people tend to underfeed them, because they have trouble grasping how round a ball should be.

Now you don't say how old she is, but I am guessing one mouse a week, even a large mouse, is not enough. Mine start eating two mice a week at around 6 months old. While your girl is not blatantly underweight, feeding her a little more is not a bad thing.

Gale

I don't think I've ever seen an overweight BP in my (short) life, in person or in pics. They're just such heavy bodied snakes to begin with, and it's not like they're exactly famed for being aggressive feeders. If someone does have a picture or story of a BP they believe to be overweight I would be interested, though. I'm sure it could happen, but definitely not an issue for most owners/breeders/snakes.

She must work out! ;) Not fat!