How big they might get?!

Hello,

Im always interested how fast BP grow and what size they get. I read the males get
from 800 to 2000g. Can't get more detailed info on google so here I am! Curious as hell.

Can you really tell at some age that your BP is gonna stay on a smaller size or
become a biger specimen?

I need to get a female Bell also but my bf is getting bananas about it. I Have a cat and want a dog and timon lepidus lizard. For now... no kids jet-can you tell?!
have 54+ animals at work I care for, but but, but, but at home just two. My lucky number is 3. Or 33.

I have an almost year old male BP, 700g. Cca 85cm. Eats rats like a champ, 10% his body weight. His Breeder says he is a bit chubby now but has grown great and looks healthy, got him 6 months ago at 170g.
Im wondering how big he might get?!


Can you guys please post the age and weight of your BP, pics also if you can.

THANKS! [emoji16]
Sorry for long post, I just had my second coffe [emoji270]


Chubster photo
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6aa25a0287.jpg

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It mainly depends on the amount of food you give them and partly genetics. Check out this big 5000 gram female:

https://youtu.be/P59Y771SUUM

And BHB did an experiment where they fed small prey items vs. large prey items and the snake fed the bigger rodents grew almost twice as fast, that blew me away. So I guess they will grow faster if you feed them rodents that are about 10% of their body weight vs. multiple smaller rodents that total that same weight. I feed a lot of mice to my ball pythons and I do notice that if I can get them to take a big rat they have a big growth spurt vs. multiple mice.

she's nine months old, about 2'5" long and 410gr. tiles size is 15x15"
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...eb623ddc94.jpg


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They can get in the 3 to 5 feet range and 1500 to 4000 grams range (male to female)

Larger specimen have been reported 6 feet and 5000 grams or more but they are very rare. Large males over 2000 grams are rare too.

The average keeper will likely end up with a male in the 1500 grams and a female in the 2500 grams range.

I have several females between 3000 and 4000 grams but the bulk of my females is usually between 2500 and 3000 grams.

By my experience, the potential size of a ball python is 100% genetic. The keyword being potential. The willingness to feed is key. Fearful animals are far less likely to grow than the outgoing ones. I have animals that consistently produce offspring that feed easy and grow like weeds. I have others that are just average sized animals that produce average sized animals. There are a couple people on here that have genetically large lines. I think I may be the only one that is chasing it as a specific trait. I have babies hitting 1400 grams at a year old, this is without doing anything special other than making sure they always get the proper prey size.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cchardwick

It mainly depends on the amount of food you give them and partly genetics. Check out this big 5000 gram female:

https://youtu.be/P59Y771SUUM

And BHB did an experiment where they fed small prey items vs. large prey items and the snake fed the bigger rodents grew almost twice as fast, that blew me away. So I guess they will grow faster if you feed them rodents that are about 10% of their body weight vs. multiple smaller rodents that total that same weight. I feed a lot of mice to my ball pythons and I do notice that if I can get them to take a big rat they have a big growth spurt vs. multiple mice.

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Hmmm I didn't know that! Was feeding two mice and than went to a proper sized rat and he is growing faster since..

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

By my experience, the potential size of a ball python is 100% genetic. The keyword being potential. The willingness to feed is key. Fearful animals are far less likely to grow than the outgoing ones. I have animals that consistently produce offspring that feed easy and grow like weeds. I have others that are just average sized animals that produce average sized animals. There are a couple people on here that have genetically large lines. I think I may be the only one that is chasing it as a specific trait. I have babies hitting 1400 grams at a year old, this is without doing anything special other than making sure they always get the proper prey size.

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1400 a year old, females?
really amazing...
Keep wondering how many grams he will hit in one more year if I keep feeding 10%

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pitonica

1400 a year old, females?
really amazing...
Keep wondering how many grams he will hit in one more year if I keep feeding 10%

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You do not feed an adult 10% unless you want a slugish animal once it eats and want a inconsistant feeder.

Adult have a slower metabolism they need less food, I don't feed a 400 grams to a 4000 grams female.

Ideally adult males you want to feed a prey That's 55 to 75 grams every 7 to 10 days, a female does not need anything larger than a 150 grams rat once a week even the largest female.

Over feeding is a real issue in captivity, considering the size of you snake I would already adjust his feeding especially considering that he is 700 grams and a male.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Deborah

You do not feed an adult 10% unless you want a slugish animal once it eats and want a inconsistant feeder.

Adult have a slower metabolism they need less food, I don't feed a 400 grams to a 4000 grams female.

Ideally adult males you want to feed a prey That's 55 to 75 grams every 7 to 10 days, a female does not need anything larger than a 150 grams rat once a week even the largest female.

Over feeding is a real issue in captivity, considering the size of you snake I would already adjust his feeding especially considering that he is 700 grams and a male.

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Yea, my breeder also said that.
sticking to proper pray definitely.. Not increasing. Aldough some people advise to feed more for a few more months If I want him bigger. More important is his health than size..
He is not at all sluggish, really active at night a day or two afer a feeding so he is thriving as his breeder commented.
Was interested of opinions from others and believe me I heard and was suggested things that I would never try on my own animals.


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The 10% rule I do not use. I use the body size rule that will work for the life of a snake. I should probably also explain that all my animals breed once they are old enough. They gain and lose large amounts of weight every year. AN animal that is breeding requires far more intake than one that is not.

As to over feeding in captivity, I will agree that the animals get far more food than they actually need however none of my animals overeat. They have good body tone. Very solid. If I was dealing with boas I would be far more concerned about overeating. When my animals have had enough, they stop eating. With the exception of the males in my large lines, all my animals go off food for two to six months a year. I have yet to have a ball python that does not know when they should stop eating. I am sure there are some out there but I do not have any in my collection. The males that eat year round do so because I feed them differently than the females. I do not particularly care how large they are in actuality, only that they are of breeding size and that they carry the genes to be big. Like most breeders I top my males off with smalls. They continue to grow but not at the rate of the females. A 600 gram male is just as effective as a 1500 gram male.

Can't say for certain yet - but my male is 2 years old and still seems to be growing. Got him at 172 g and 3 months old - now he is pushing 1000 grams and is 51ish inches long. I feed a small rat (between 50-70 grams) every 8-10 days. Over the winter he would only eat about every 20-30 days and only gained a little weight. Now that he is eating every 10 days he is gaining weight rapidly again. He's about as big around as the cardboard insert in a toilet paper roll

My biggest male is a little over 2 years old and weighs in at 950ish grams. He's about 3.5 ft long and eats medium rats like a champ! He's gotten quite long but isn't super chubby.

Someone should plot the ages, weights, and sex of all of the people contributing to build an approximate growth chart :-)

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...49c451d8fb.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...40837c9883.jpg


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by kenthebird

My biggest male is a little over 2 years old and weighs in at 950ish grams. He's about 3.5 ft long and eats medium rats like a champ! He's gotten quite long but isn't super chubby.

Someone should plot the ages, weights, and sex of all of the people contributing to build an approximate growth chart :-)

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...49c451d8fb.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...40837c9883.jpg


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Yes they should :)
Lol I can't believe you squeezed him into that bowl. He is beautiful [emoji172]

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The chubster doesn't look very chubby at all let alone even close to over fed but that's my opinion

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Males tend to be smaller in length and less in weight overall. My breeder girls get over 4000 grams and my males stay around 700-1100 grams. My males also tend to refuse meals more often than my females do. I guess they realize they do not need as much food to thrive due to their smaller size. If looking into cage size and cost of feeding, males are cheaper overall.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by stoaob3

The chubster doesn't look very chubby at all let alone even close to over fed but that's my opinion

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He is a bit big in person.. It's Specially strange for me cause he was little 180g noodle when I brought him and got over 500g in 6months, even twice rejected feeding cause of shed..and was definitely not over fed,, ate every 7 days..
That's why I wanted to hear opinions here from other owners..


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I have one happy, healthy, stealthy 5 y.o. male who currently weighs 2100 g, and was at his highest at nearly 2400 g--just before he decided to fast for 9-10 about a couple of years ago. He's also 4'7". Guess he's just one of those freaks of nature.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...svenweight.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeCharm

for 9-10 about a couple of years ago.

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*9-10 months

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeCharm

I have one happy, healthy, stealthy 5 y.o. male who currently weighs 2100 g, and was at his highest at nearly 2400 g--just before he decided to fast for 9-10 about a couple of years ago. He's also 4'7". Guess he's just one of those freaks of nature.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...svenweight.jpg

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Woooh, he is pretty and large. How did you feed him when you got him?
Has the xl genes [emoji3]

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pitonica

Woooh, he is pretty and large. How did you feed him when you got him?
Has the xl genes [emoji3]

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I regularly feed him medium f/t rats every 10-14 days. But once in a while--perhaps every other month or so--I'll feed him a large rat. Never had any issues with regurgitation, lethargy, or obesity (as you can see). In fact, he's up and slithering within 2-3 days after being fed. He's a lean, mean eating machine, and only problematic when he fasts :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SnakeCharm

I regularly feed him medium f/t rats every 10-14 days. But once in a while--perhaps every other month or so--I'll feed him a large rat. Never had any issues with regurgitation, lethargy, or obesity (as you can see). In fact, he's up and slithering within 2-3 days after being fed. He's a lean, mean eating machine, and only problematic when he fasts :P

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You got him as a baby or?
He has nice big head compared to the body.
When people overfeed youngsters its obvious a little head and to much of a round large body.
If you breed him, he is gonna have some nice gene noodles [emoji3]


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pitonica

You got him as a baby or?
He has nice big head compared to the body.
When people overfeed youngsters its obvious a little head and to much of a round large body.
If you breed him, he is gonna have some nice gene noodles [emoji3]


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Absolutely. I am very cognizant of not overfeeding him. This may sound completely unnecessary, but I visit a herp vet yearly for an annual check-up. Perhaps I may sound paranoid, but I like providing him everything he needs, as he is my only BP and pet, at the moment.

I got him when he was only 2 y.o., but he was already 1200 g at that age. The first time I took him to the vet, I was told that he was an unusually big, healthy male, and will definitely get bigger as he ages. I certainly think it's the genes, and unfortunately, I have no intentions in breeding him.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kenthebird

My biggest male is a little over 2 years old and weighs in at 950ish grams. He's about 3.5 ft long and eats medium rats like a champ! He's gotten quite long but isn't super chubby.

Someone should plot the ages, weights, and sex of all of the people contributing to build an approximate growth chart :-)

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...49c451d8fb.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...40837c9883.jpg


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ok that bowl picture is cracking me the hell up lol. He's like really ? Really? Lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sunnieskys

ok that bowl picture is cracking me the hell up lol. He's like really ? Really? Lol

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I know right?? We had just picked up a new little BP and used that little bowl to weigh the new guy, but we managed to squeeze Basil's big butt in there too ;P


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by JodanOrNoDan

The 10% rule I do not use. I use the body size rule that will work for the life of a snake. I should probably also explain that all my animals breed once they are old enough. They gain and lose large amounts of weight every year. AN animal that is breeding requires far more intake than one that is not.

As to over feeding in captivity, I will agree that the animals get far more food than they actually need however none of my animals overeat. They have good body tone. Very solid. If I was dealing with boas I would be far more concerned about overeating. When my animals have had enough, they stop eating. With the exception of the males in my large lines, all my animals go off food for two to six months a year. I have yet to have a ball python that does not know when they should stop eating. I am sure there are some out there but I do not have any in my collection. The males that eat year round do so because I feed them differently than the females. I do not particularly care how large they are in actuality, only that they are of breeding size and that they carry the genes to be big. Like most breeders I top my males off with smalls. They continue to grow but not at the rate of the females. A 600 gram male is just as effective as a 1500 gram male.

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X2

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