BP not growing?

In January we got our first BP from a pet store (probably our first mistake) and have been expanding our collection since. However, this first BP has not gained more than 50 grams in the six months that we've had her. She was about a month old when she was sold to us. I've been feeding her hoppers every week for the first three months and she's been moved up to mice every 4-5 days since April-ish (f/t). She is still under 150 grams. About April-ish she contracted mites but we've been treating her (and quarantining her to keep the mites from the rest of our snakes) but they seem to be alleviated. I'm a little concerned; every other BP we've had has grown more. She's got a heating pad, two hides, and a water bowl and is in a 29-gallon tank for right now w/ aspen substrate (we will be getting rack systems soon). Is there anything that could potentially be going wrong in our husbandry or is she doing fine? She's about 18 inches long and ~130 grams. Any advice/help is appreciated.

If you are not feeding enough your BP is not gonna grow what you did is basically maintenance feeding.

Hoppers are never fed for 3 months, they are fed to BP out of the egg for a few weeks, before quickly moving to adult mice.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines

The mites didn't just appear. They were introduced. Either you brought them home on you or on one of your latest pickups.

Reptile Spray works really well and is available at Petco and PetSmart.

I know what they came from and we treated that snake and this one before they spread to anyone else and quarantined them for three months. There have been no more mites appearing for the past couple months on either snake.

Are you underfeeding all of your animals?

What are you feeding and how are you regulating your heat source?

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Originally Posted by Dragonpun

I know what they came from and we treated that snake and this one before they spread to anyone else and quarantined them for three months. There have been no more mites appearing for the past couple months on either snake.

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The problem with mites if you do not treat properly and with the proper products you are guaranteed a re-infestation within 30 days.


1# You need to treat all the animals in QT at the same time, if you treat one but not the other they will migrate.

2# You need a product that treats all stages of development of mites, most products do not do that, they do not kill eggs and therefore 30 days later there is a re-infestation.

3# Depending on the extent of the infestation more than one treatment maybe required.

stated in original post

Y'all can you like not treat me like I don't know anything about feeding them? The one in question is 130 grams and eats a mouse every five days. I'm not asking about everyone else. They're eating fine so don't assume I don't know anything, thanks. She's been eating mice every 5 days consistently and is simply not growing. There has not been a single mite spotted so stop asking about that, as it has been almost three months since the treatment of the mites and we still check for them. That's 3 life cycles and haven't seen them so I figure they're alleviated. YES, I treated BOTH WHILE QUARANTINED FOUR MONTHS AGO. Seriously, stop asking about all my other snakes and the mites, as they're not the ones in question. I just think you people love to be condescending and don't realize I'm still learning.

The mites have been gone for 3 months. I'd appreciate if you stopped asking about them.

If you don't want feedback and constructive criticism maybe don't ask questions.

We're here to help. We are trying to address any and all issues that may be part of the answer to your question.

If you're underfeeding one, that may lead us to believe the others are underfed as well. As for the mite issue, it's something that can occur and re-occur if not treated properly. People are offering help. Being argumentative and condescending isn't a good way to get help. Maybe be appreciative that people took the time to try to help...

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Originally Posted by Dragonpun

Y'all can you like not treat me like I don't know anything about feeding them? The one in question is 130 grams and eats a mouse every five days. I'm not asking about everyone else. They're eating fine so don't assume I don't know anything, thanks. She's been eating mice every 5 days consistently and is simply not growing. There has not been a single mite spotted so stop asking about that, as it has been almost three months since the treatment of the mites and we still check for them. That's 3 life cycles and haven't seen them so I figure they're alleviated. YES, I treated BOTH WHILE QUARANTINED FOUR MONTHS AGO. Seriously, stop asking about all my other snakes and the mites, as they're not the ones in question. I just think you people love to be condescending and don't realize I'm still learning.

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Nice way to thanks people who care to help and try to help by offering additional advice or getting a full picture :gj:

Again you don't feed a BP hoppers for 3 months.

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I've been feeding her hoppers every week for the first three months

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That means during that time the animal was underfed or maintenance fed and not growing to it's full potential.

If you feel that the animal is fed enough and not growing have a fecal done if positive which I would also recommend a few fecal to be done other animals as well (even though I am not supposed to talk about the others).

Good thing I'm never coming back to this site for advice now! You jerks just looooooooooove to repeat yourselves and be condescending towards someone who's still learning and trying. You need to take a check on how condescending you are, Deborah. Just, keep that in mind. It's not my fault you decided to "help."
All I see is people who try to get help just be ridiculed by you so-called "experts" and "seasoned pros." Just keep your community to yourself and see if anyone can ACTUALLY help in the future. I asked one simple question and gave necessary information and still haven't gotten my answer! Good thing I'm going to an actual herp VET (not some online person who thinks they know more than they actually do) and I'll ask him all my further questions instead of referring to this place of idiocy. I've only become one of you. Don't blame it all on me; do a self-check. I don't like taking other people's crap.

Isn't it helpful to know that you may be underfeeding your pets? The mice are probably too small, switching over to rats will help. It's relevant how you are feeding your other animals though because if one is being underfed, it's likely that the others are too.

I didn't see your answer for what you are using to regulate your heating with. If you are not using a thermostat, please unplug your UTH immediately otherwise your snake could get badly burned.

No need to blow up, questions need to be asked in order for everyone to understand if there is a problem with your husbandry.

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Originally Posted by Dragonpun

Good thing I'm never coming back to this site for advice now! You jerks just looooooooooove to repeat yourselves and be condescending towards someone who's still learning and trying. You need to take a check on how condescending you are, Deborah. Just, keep that in mind. It's not my fault you decided to "help."
All I see is people who try to get help just be ridiculed by you so-called "experts" and "seasoned pros." Just keep your community to yourself and see if anyone can ACTUALLY help in the future. I asked one simple question and gave necessary information and still haven't gotten my answer! Good thing I'm going to an actual herp VET (not some online person who thinks they know more than they actually do) and I'll ask him all my further questions instead of referring to this place of idiocy. I've only become one of you. Don't blame it all on me; do a self-check. I don't like taking other people's crap.

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You haven't gotten an answer because you haven't given enough information for us to provide one. These "jerks" are asking questions to get a better understanding of you, your collection, and your problem.

With your attitude you'll never learn anything which is sad since you are self aware you have things to learn. It is obvious you are new which is why people are asking questions to see if there is a larger problem. Your unwillingness to share makes me suspect there is.

Anybody can own a snake but maybe you should have made sure the first was thriving before bringing more home. BTW, a quarantine is in order each time a new snake comes home. Not after you let it spread the nasty buggers to others in the collection.

I'll see myself out as I need to go check my collection anyways.

:rolleyes:

It might be helpful to switch over to rats, they are generally more nutritious than mice for ball pythons. It can be a little bit difficult to make the switch to rats, but with time and patience you can get your BP on rats. Based on you saying she weighs 130g, a smaller rat fuzzy would be about the appropriate size. I'm sorry your question is being met with some condescension. It sounds like you have the animal's best interest at heart. I used the advice in this guide to make the switch from mice to rats. Best of luck.

WoW... must be something in the water today????

People have to ask questions to give you answers and many here have more knowledge than you can ever hope to have.
Good luck finding a vet that is reptile specific, first thing most want to do is go for antibiotics without doing any cultures or knowing the animals history.

Rats vs Mice...... the only major difference is that it is easier to feed one larger prey than several smaller ones. Gram per gram is too close to really matter.

Now if you are feeding a correct size with a good schedule and your animal is eating every time AND still not growing then you will want to get a fecal done to look or an underlying cause.