Female Size Difference

ok so two of my female balls were hatched at the same time from the same clutch so they are sisters.

i have had them since sept 11 2005 and they both weighed in around the same weight; 145g(yellow) and 130g(brown) <---those where their names at first...

ok so now its over a year later and their growth rate and current weight differs a lot from each other.

yellow is not shy at all and is a very agressive feeder and has never missed a single feed. she would even eat the f/t rat that brown didnt eat if she refused to eat that feeding.

brown is very shy and has missed a few feedings here and there but her feeding response has improved much in the past few months. she hasnt missed a feed in months.

their current weights are 1200g(yellow) and 725g(brown). so yellow has been eating much better then brown but this is a big weight gap for two females from the same clutch.

think that yellow would be a better breeder than brown because of her weight gain and size. they're only over a year so im going to wait until next to breed them anyways.

it's not a problem or anything i just wanted to talk about it and see if anyone else here has experiences like this.

Whoa that is a lot of weight for one year. I would be surprised if you got any good eggs out of her. How often did you feed?

weekly feedings. but shes crazy though. always ready to eat, even a few days after her feeding she wants more. some times if brown didnt eat i would give her the f/t rat and she would take it right away. but this is like maybe once a month or two.

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Originally Posted by bigballs

ok so two of my female balls were hatched at the same time from the same clutch so they are sisters.

i have had them since sept 11 2005 and they both weighed in around the same weight; 145g(yellow) and 130g(brown) <---those where their names at first...

ok so now its over a year later and their growth rate and current weight differs a lot from each other.

yellow is not shy at all and is a very agressive feeder and has never missed a single feed. she would even eat the f/t rat that brown didnt eat if she refused to eat that feeding.

brown is very shy and has missed a few feedings here and there but her feeding response has improved much in the past few months. she hasnt missed a feed in months.

their current weights are 1200g(yellow) and 725g(brown). so yellow has been eating much better then brown but this is a big weight gap for two females from the same clutch.

think that yellow would be a better breeder than brown because of her weight gain and size. they're only over a year so im going to wait until next to breed them anyways.

it's not a problem or anything i just wanted to talk about it and see if anyone else here has experiences like this.

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Welcome to the headaches ball python females will cause you to have:) .This is perfect evidence on how each snake differs from there own clutch mates.I would veiw them both as good breeders in the future,the reason is they are gaining not losing weight.If they were picky eaters and only ate every other month and were losing weight they would be sold as a pet to someone if they were mine.Its possible brown could start eating better and pass up yellow:) .

well they have another year to get ready and both eat very well. im pretty sure brown will catch up and hopefully become a wicked breeder.

but its amazing how snakes from the same clutch, both female and same feeding schedule can have different personalities and growth rates.

I have 2 '05 girls and the difference in weight is amazing. One girl is reaching 1000g and the other is "maybe" 350g. The first girl eats, eats and eats some more, then asks for seconds. The other girl might take one mouse per week... Won't eat anything else or anymore than one... Little snots!

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

I would be surprised if you got any good eggs out of her.

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Why?

-adam

I have several circumstances like that now. I have an 04 female that likes to go off feed for weeks at a time for no particular reason, and is just now reaching 1200g's. On that same note, I have 2 early 05's, 1 is at 1000g, 1 is at 780g. Then I have 1.1 05 het alb...female is at 980g, male is at 570g. I even have an 03 female I bought about a year ago at 1300g, who's at 2050 now...with laying a clutch, going off feed 2 times for several weeks. So growth just differs.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

Why?

-adam

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I may have just misread some posts, but isn't a 1000 g in one year's time a bit much?

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Originally Posted by tmlowe5704

I may have just misread some posts, but isn't a 1000 g in one year's time a bit much?

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No, if that's how much the female wants to grow in a year, it's fine. ;)

-adam

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

No, if that's how much the female wants to grow in a year, it's fine. ;)

-adam

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I retract that then. Thanks

well i fed her once a week, never anything bigger than a small rat(maybe sometimes 2) so if thats the weight she got to then she should be ok.

unless shes taking steroids behind my back...

i think some bps like to give us trouble by not eating every week...


but i noticed that yellow(1000g) is much more friendly and not shy and she is a hardcore eater

but brown(750g) is very timid and nervous around people and she wont feel like eating once in a while

i wonder if their behaviour has something to do with feeding response

Yes.

My pastel female is a great eater, "outgoing", and 1104g

The normal female is very shy, was a poor eater and is 473g If my normal female is distrubed from her hide so that she's wandering around her tub in the rack shortly before she is fed, she will not feed

The normal female could be one of her clutch mates; they're very close to the same age. I picked up both at the same time from the breeder.

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Originally Posted by bigballs

unless shes taking steroids behind my back...

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:8: :omfg: HAHAHAHAHAH!!!! that was funny!

thank you, thank you


i try...:D

ya i know. if i handle brown at all before a feeding then there is a good chance that she may not even eat.

i wonder that maybe the "outgoing" ones feel safe and the "shy" ones not as much and that affects their feeding response and growth rate?

stress level?

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Originally Posted by bigballs

i wonder that maybe the "outgoing" ones feel safe and the "shy" ones not as much and that affects their feeding response and growth rate?

stress level?

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I would be inclinded to think so, as my female pastel lived in a 20 gal long tank for almost a year of her life with me, while my normal female lived in a small rubbermaid.

I've seen a large improvement in the normal female feeding response since I moved her into a rack.

Growth is growth. Heck we have a male BP who hit 1,000 grams right around his first birthday and that's a big boy from what I can compare him too LOL. He's never been overfed, never fasted, just a steady, strong eater week after week. Most of that 1,000 grams came by the way on rat pups and weanlings. He didn't even see his first small rat till he was a year old. Some of them just seem to use their food very efficiently, perhaps that's genetically driven...I don't know. I do know he came from a great breeder so he's carrying some wonderful genetics with him and was a very well started baby so I'm sure all that plays into it as well.

youre right, growth is growth.
i find it interesting how two sisters can be so different.
kinda like people...