Ball Python Eating Once a Month?

Hurly is a three year old, three and a half foot long, supposedly male BP. I don't have his weight in grams as he hasn't been to vet this year yet. He was eating small rats, but transistioned to small-medium ones this year. The small-mediums are a bit big for him. He only eats once a month and if given food at two week intervals, will not touch it at all until at least a month has gone by. Is this okay? He does look a little on the plump side to me. I'd do pictures but can't figure out how with new laptop.The vet we were seeing said eating small-mediums would increase his head and jaw size. Is this true (this is the same vet that said tube-feeding blenderized rat to a boa would be okay)?

I'm not an expert when it comes to ball pythons, but if you are feeding a larger size then it may just be it is taking longer to digest. I doubt the head will grow if the rodents are bigger, feeding more of the smaller rodents is healthier for snakes then fewer of the large ones. Digestion can also be slow if the temperature is low.

I hope this helps. : )

Yes it's ok so long he is eating that is ll that matters.

You can do bigger meal less frequently or smaller meals more frequently personally I prefer feeding smaller meals weekly (nothing larger than a small rat for a male). Males need a lot less food I even skip a week here and there on purpose, this allows me to have animals that eat with more consistency and year round.

Well, I'm kind of frustrated. The small size was "too small". He'd eat one, then look around for another, and eat ravenously every two weeks. So I thought I was going to go up a little in size so he'd stop acting so starved. But the small-mediums Layne Labs sent were whoppers. To me, they look like mediums, period-no small at all, no size variation that I can tell. I kind of griped at the vet when I took my other snake in, and she told me it would make his head more in proportion to his body. (But this was the vet that gave a whole bunch of wrong advice and if I hadn't run it past people online, my other snake might have died from doing what she told me to do). At the time, to myself I'm like, "But he's a ball python. His head is supposed to be smaller than his body." But I couldn't find anything on the subject while researching so thought I'd throw it out there.

Sounds like you need a new vet....if its eating thats all that matters

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Originally Posted by frostysBP

Sounds like you need a new vet....if its eating thats all that matters

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I'd say so. Make his head grow in proportion to his body, LOL! The latest greatest morph, the bighead!

Ok, when I couldn't find anything on it, I figured it was bunk, too. Well, working on our third vet, getting further and further from Barstow.

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As good of a plan as it is to have an exotics vet lined up just in case.
Why are you taking your snake to the vet annually?

I know it sounds silly, but it's like a well snake checkup. Hopefully the vet will catch anything I haven't before it gets too bad. Making sure they are really okay?

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Originally Posted by marya1962

I know it sounds silly, but it's like a well snake checkup. Hopefully the vet will catch anything I haven't before it gets too bad. Making sure they are really okay?

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Call me paranoid but I like to leave well enough alone. I only take animals to the vet when it's absolutely necessary. I'm not a fan of bringing my healthy animals into to a zone where unhealthy ones tend to frequent.

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Originally Posted by John1982

Call me paranoid but I like to leave well enough alone. I only take animals to the vet when it's absolutely necessary. I'm not a fan of bringing my healthy animals into to a zone where unhealthy ones tend to frequent.

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THIS^^
Furthermore, an incompetent vet is worse than no vet - esp. if there is nothing wrong with the snake to begin with!

We decided to check out the new vet in Barstow who was supposed to know and treat snakes. Support local business, have relied on them for years for cats and small pets, don't have to rent a car and go 45 miles. Sounded good when Silk had problems. But it was a disaster. Usually rely on Apple Valley. They know snakes and that's usually where Hurly goes. Spending so much on Silk this year that Hurly hasn't gone. But took Silk to Apple Valley and apparently they don't know enough to tell me what is wrong with her jawbone. The vet in Hesperia is injured, the one in Victorville isn't comfortable with large snakes. Tried San Bernardino but they aren't full service so why go. That leaves Yorba Linda: 120 miles and a car rental from here. Car rentals are not the bad thing, the "no pets" rule and breaking it is.

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