Please Help - Ball Python "Morbidly Obese"

Hello,

Sorry I am new to this. I really need opinions. I recently took my 6 year old female BP to a new vet for a general checkup. The vet gasped, and told me that on a scale from 0-9 for obesity, my Zoey is an 8 (that Zoey is morbidly obese). I was shocked because I thought she was perfectly healthy. She is 47 inches long, weights 1.73kg. She was eating one 70g rat every 2 weeks. The vet recommended to a large mouse (20g) every 2 weeks. I feel like I am starving her. Is she really obese??

Any help you can offer would be appreciated thank you

A 20g mouse for an adult ball python??? That don't sound right. As for judging the body condition, pics would help. There are several ways to tell if a beep is a little too far on the chunky side. Look for a flat back, no visible spine ridge at all, rolls or lumps where the snake curves, gaps between scales where skins is stretched over fat, or a tail the tapers abruptly, instead of smoothly, like someone stuck a tiny tail onto a fat sausage.

A 20 gram mouse is tiny for an adult BP. My juvenile boy Tyson is on 17-18g mice now and he is about 188 grams. I suppose if you're trying to thin your animal out 20 grams might do that while still providing some sustenance??? Hoping to hear from some more experienced members on this one...

Was this a snake vet, or a general vet...? Most of the time, normal vets don't know left from right about snakes.

Posting pics is the only way to judge body condition!

Sounds like it may be time for a new vet??

OP posted this photo on Reddit.

I think the snake actually looks a bit on the thin side. Continue with the larger rats. Ignore your vet. They must have an obesity scale for a different species of snake.


https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...e12c1cdcb8.jpg


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Balls are thick, heavy bodied snakes. Compared to a boa, which are more square and lean, I can see how someone might think a BP is fat... but a vet??

If the vet is used to seeing colubrids or boas then yes a heavy-bodied ground-dwelling snake such as a ball python, blood python, or dumerils boa will seem "fat".

The ball python in the picture is not fat.

That snake is a tad thinner than mine and I have actually been trying to put weight on mine... You need a new vet who is experienced in treating ball pythons... Your current vet could have killed your snake. I am very glad you posted here for a second opinion.

You can't always listen to vets. Most of them don't specialize in snakes, let alone ball pythons. I've had one person come to me saying their vet told them that their 8 month old ball python at 93g was too fat for his age and should be fed 1 mouse pink every 2 weeks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Lizardlicks

a beep

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oh my gosh that's an adorable way to refer to BPs and i'm totally using this.

it's sad that experienced herp vets can be diamonds in the rough, but the truth is the majority only have minimal BASIC knowledge of our animals. judging by the picture your baby looks a-OK and could probably use some bigger meals! how old is the snake? i never saw that mentioned.

also, welcome to the forum!!! we're very happy you found us and sought to ask your question; you obviously knew something wasn't right with that vet's answer.

i think i can speak for most of us in saying we hope you stick around. :gj:

I always call them beeps! XD Also, boopers, because boop their snoots.

20g rat? Haha my female is eating 25g gram rats and weighs almost 200g wow


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1700 grams is actually on the lighter end of the spectrum for a 6 year old Ball Python female. She is not "skinny" but she sure isn't even fat, much less morbidly obese.

Does this vet treat reptiles often?

Also, unless there is a problem, I really see no need to take a snake for a "general checkup" to a vet. More chance to get it sick, through stress, wrong temps and possible mites.
Of course IF there is a problem, by all means, the vet is where you need to go.

But perhaps not to that vet ;)

Please continue to feed that snake appropriately sized meals, at the very least small rats.

The snake is actually thin for a female considering the picture, obese snakes have scales so spread apart that you can see the skin in between, I am not seeing that.

Adult female that size can be fed what you are currently feeding ONCE a week and even larger.

An adult female should be nice and PLUMP and a good body weight / proportion for a female is about 500 grams per foot (which she is not)

As for the vet find another one.

Agreed with everyone above. Find a herp vet, preferably one that specializes in snakes and has at least some experience with ball pythons.

Just to reaffirm everyone else, your snake looks totally normal, if even a little bit thin! I'll bet that vet checked a colubrid chart somebody gave her (corn snakes, king snakes). I hope he/she never gives advice about any other reptiles. If this were me, I would call and correct her, as she gave advice that would have starved my ball python to death, literally.

Also agreed, snakes don't need regular checkups.