Weight gain or just big from meal/poop?

I realized a few weeks ago that Donuts is really undersized for her age. She's 8 months old. I feel terrible, but I'm working to get her to a more healthy weight and size.

So my question is, looking at these pics, is she just big right now because she's digesting a lot and therefore will soon empty out with her next poop? Or is she actually growing/putting on weight? Her neck and tail still seem thin compared to her body so I'm not sure.


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Edit: here is her two feedings ago, still on adult mice

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BEAUTIFUL snake, is there a memo about weight and age i wasn't introduced to.?? Snakes gain weight from feeding on prey in a weekly fashion or for me when mine defecates its last meal, so if the feeds are frequent there should be no weight gain problems..

Do you weigh her? I keep a calendar for each snake to track their meals and weights. That makes it pretty easy to track if part of the gain is probably going to end up in the corner of its tub.

Dont see anything wrong with that snake. They all grow at different weights.
I have a pair of albinos, one is almost 800 grams now and the other is 1400 grams (also laid a DH clutch last year).
They are the same age.

The first four pictures she actually does look a bit fat. Do not power feed because you feel she is under weight. All snakes grow at different rates so as long as she eats once every 7 days, that is all she needs.

Thanks for the input, everyone. It's really difficult to get a sense of what's healthy, average, or "fat" for a ball python. Some BPs people post look like slugs basically, they're so thick! And then everyone comments saying how good they look, so it's confusing. Donuts looks so stringy compared to a lot of BPs I see for scale, so I just don't know.

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Originally Posted by HannahLou

Do you
weigh her? I keep a calendar for each snake to track their meals and weights. That makes it pretty easy to track if part of the gain is probably going to end up in the corner of its tub.

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I don't, I never got a scale because I figured I didn't need one. I do track all her feedings but obviously don't know the exact gram weight of each feeder.

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Originally Posted by BCS

The first four pictures she actually does look a bit fat. Do not power feed because you feel she is under weight. All snakes grow at different rates so as long as she eats once every 7 days, that is all she needs.

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Okay, I have only bumped up her prey size recently. If she looks fat, I can give her smaller feeders again. I have been doing a small rat once a week, for just these two weeks.

I think I got worried after seeing some threads on BPs that were tiny, like hatchling sized, because they were being fed undersized prey. Even though they were eating consistently, they didn't seem to be getting the nutrients needed to grow pretty much at all.

She looks fine. Just keep doing what you are doing. Like Pit said they grow at different rates.

A scale is one of the most important things you could have. Especially during a hunger strike.

I suuper recommend a scale, I just have a 20 dollar, a digital food scale! I just put an empty plastic tub on it, tare it to 0 then put Louie in it and track it. Also I feel like ball pythons kind of have little necks and heads haha its what is so endearing to me about them, how their bodies grow so big n chubby but they have tiny cute heads with those trademark cheek bones. Very round and soft creatures. But your snake looks nice n big to me, no loose skin or droopy excess hanging off their bones. Also when they curl up and bend there shouldnt be a ton of excess skin bunched up. That's what makes a snake look healthy or unhealthy to me at a glance but for my own pets I weigh em and keep a chart!!

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Originally Posted by tembii

I suuper recommend a scale, I just have a 20 dollar, a digital food scale! I just put an empty plastic tub on it, tare it to 0 then put Louie in it and track it. Also I feel like ball pythons kind of have little necks and heads haha its what is so endearing to me about them, how their bodies grow so big n chubby but they have tiny cute heads with those trademark cheek bones. Very round and soft creatures. But your snake looks nice n big to me, no loose skin or droopy excess hanging off their bones. Also when they curl up and bend there shouldnt be a ton of excess skin bunched up. That's what makes a snake look healthy or unhealthy to me at a glance but for my own pets I weigh em and keep a chart!!

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Thanks for the advice on what to look out for! And yes, ball pythons have such adorable faces and heads!! It's what won me over about them for sure. I'll buy a food scale then, I was apprehensive about buying one mostly because there are so many out there and sometimes the reviews on them are really conflicting.

Big is Beautiful!

if she hasn't pooped since her last two feedings/when u took the last pix, she will loose mass/weight after she does go to the bathroom next. so her current size is misleading until u can get her empty weight and a visual.

unless she is severely malnourished, which she doesn't look to be, she will have waste. one way to tell is to just lift up her tail and look for the sausage butt.