I need help getting my ball python's weight up please

I've got a ball python that I believe is under a year old. I got him last Christmas. He's been eating frozen thawed mice very well but he is under weight. I tried to switch him to rats but when I offer it to him he's not interested in it at all. He just seems scared of it. I tried using rats that were the same size as the mice, I tried scenting the rat, I tried braining it, and I waitied 5 days before offering it to him again. He doesn't seem the least bit interested in rats and he will gladly take a mouce. Once he bit the rat thinking it was a mouce but he freaked out when he realized that it wasn't. Most people say that the only way to get ball pythons too switch to rats is to keep trying but he's pretty young and he loses weight pretty fast. I honestly have no clue what to do. Is there any way I can get his weight up by feeding him mice? I've been offering him a second mouce after the first and he looks at it and smells it but then doesn't take it. Also Iv'e heard that feeding your snake too frequently can be very bad for their health. Can I please get some advice on what to do?

Do you have a picture?

I'm not an expert, but if your snake is actually underweight, I think your priority should be focusing on getting weight on him- by offering him appropriately-sized mice, if that's what he's willing to eat. And try to switch to rats once his weight is stable. He will gain weight as long as the prey is an appropriate size. Do you weigh him regularly?

My snake is a little over 3 months, and is at 210g. I give him 10-15 percent of his body weight of an adult mouse every 5-7 days. I always weigh the mouse beforehand to make sure it falls within the proper range.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...1894541318.jpg

You can certainly get his weight up by feeding mice, but what size mice are you feeding him? And we cannot advise much without knowing the size of your snake.
You should be feeding once every 7 days- one mouse of the size appropriate for his size; yours isn't the only one that won't take more than one rodent per meal.
If he's underweight right now (& we don't know that for sure yet) the main thing is to keep him eating reliably & worry about switching to rats later. The main
advantage of rats is just that they're bigger, & since many BPs will only eat one item, eventually rats are a more appropriate size for an adult BP. There are other
alternatives to feeding rats too, but for now, a weight & photos of your BP would help us help you. For now, feed him once a week on mice of appropriate size.

It's not about what you are feeding but how you are feeding it, grams per gram it's all the same so if you feed the right amount your snake should not lose weight but keep gaining, if you feed the right amount of food and the animal is losing weight than there is likely an underlying issue.

Without seeing the snake we can't help determine whether the animal is underweight or not.

Can you share some pics? Preferably with the snake on a flat surface and taken from above.

Also, many snakes in captivity are actually over weight. So your snake may not be overweight at all...

Here are some images of him

https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...380&height=676https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...380&height=676https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...380&height=676https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...202&height=677

I feed him adult mice (or at least I've been told they are adult mice) that weigh about 10 grams (they might weigh a little more than that but I don't have any with me right now so I can't check)
he weighs around 285 grams

He's not underweight. He looks really good actually.

Oh..a 10g is a hopper, not an adult mouse. I feed those to my Pacman frog.

He looks just fine weight-wise, definitely not underweight. But he should be eating adult mice if that's how much he currently weighs.



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I agree with above posts...first, he looks fine, but also, it's time to up-size the mice to standard adults (not "jumbos").

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...7833a7390d.jpg

1.0 Pumpkin Pied BP
0.1 Bearded dragon
1.2 Leopard gecko
0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog

aah
I see
thank you so much for the help!

aah
I see
thank you so much for the help! I really appreciate it

I'm looking to switch mine over to rats as well, but I was told that it helps to make the rat smell like a mouse- either by rubbing mouse bedding on the rat, or even thawing the two together.

Dante is still intimidated by the rat as yours is, but I was told to wait a bit longer until he's more established weight-wise, and can comfortably miss a meal or two. But like others have said, some never take a mouse.

1.0 Pumpkin Pied BP
0.1 Bearded dragon
1.2 Leopard gecko
0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Idon'tknow

I feed him adult mice (or at least I've been told they are adult mice) that weigh about 10 grams (they might weigh a little more than that but I don't have any with me right now so I can't check)
he weighs around 285 grams

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10 grams is what I feed to a BP out of the egg and adult mouse is 25 to 35 grams, jumbos up to 45 to 50 grams so it's not the wrong prey just the wrong size.

i am "rehabing a 'rescue' snake. I took it to the vet due to my concerns with being so much smaller than online guidelines. Probably born Aug 2018. his weight increased from 135 gr (6/21/19) to 296 gr (9/29/19).
roughly a little under 3 months. the vet said he was not too small and that he would never be a large snake. I realize that every snake is different like so many other posts have mentioned. I did increase him from hopers to adult mice and then to 1 small rat. It doesnt sound like my rehab snake is typical. It sounds like you have tried all the right things. Have you kept a feeding chart. I can see how this snake is growing/eating/times/weights/etc. You are doing a good job. If you still have doubts take him to a certified ARAV.org vet in your area. Good luck

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Awesomethepossum

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...7833a7390d.jpg

1.0 Pumpkin Pied BP
0.1 Bearded dragon
1.2 Leopard gecko
0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog

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Lol, this guy looks like hes expecting me to answer a riddle before allowing me to pass through his cave.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Joykoins

Lol, this guy looks like hes expecting me to answer a riddle before allowing me to pass through his cave.

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Tallulah is a beast. Feeding time is scary, she's a food dumpster and has gone around the tongs to try to grab my hand numerous times. And pacman frogs don't let go. :/

BTW she's only a baby XD Just like my snake, she's about 3 months old.

1.0 Pumpkin Pied BP, 0.1 Bearded dragon, 1.2 Leopard gecko, 0.1 Ornate Pacman Frog