how many people weight their snakes?

i have a question for you all. personally i've never weighed my snakes... i can tell by looking at them that they are growing... so i haven't bothered.

do you weight your snakes? why?

i weigh my critters mainly to get an accurate growth record . though i can see that they are growing without weighing them , i just like to know how much and how fast they are gaing weight . another good reason for weighing is for breeding purposes .

I do. Well, I weigh Kisasa. I don't bother weighing Caesar...never have. But Caesar's just a pet...and while Kisasa is also a much beloved pet...she's also an investment in the future. And that means I take a great deal of enjoyment out of keeping meticulous records for her. Every feeding (or skipped feeding)...every poop...every shed...get noted in her journal. I usually weigh the rats I feed her as well, but sometimes I forget to. And I weigh her once a week, although I'm not anal about that. I realize her weight gains will fluctuate and I don't place a lot of meaning in those numbers....it's just fun to have something to jot down in the journal and watch them ever so gradually increase. If I ever have to take her to the vet, that journal will go with us!

I weigh all my snakes every three months. That way I could see if threre's a steady growth and weight gain.

I have an index card system. I record meals, sheds, weights, breeding info, etc of all of the ball pythons. I have almost 50 ball pythons and I find by recording weights I can see how well some are growing as opposed to others. It can be used to monitor habits or trends as well. It's also easier to see weight loss, which may be a sign of illness, before it gets to a visual point. It also helps to have the past records to see if this weight loss is normal for this snake in the past.

Rick

I weigh them all, even the geckos. However, I don't weigh them on a regular basis. I check my breeding females of course, and I check everybody else periodically. I like to weigh em when they're "empty".

I weigh all mine, and then you can take all that info to the vet and annoy them by making them go over every last bit, since they want to talk away for an hour on everything that COULD be wrong with your snake. Once i show them a accurately recorded listing of their weight, when they shed, any abnormal looking poos, and any odd behaviors.. not to mentiont he feeding record(did he eat the rat? Kill it but not eat it? Was it a reg rat or an african soft-furred?) and in special cases, I might even WEIGH the rat first. That really gets them to understand that I'm not some idiot up the street that bought a "cool pet" and am keeping it in a ten gallon tank with a phone book on top of it, and no heat. I am experianced, I know what I'm doing, and I make sure that I know if my snakes are healthy.
Now, I'm not saying that you HAVE to weigh your snakes to make sure they're healthy, just that it definately impresses the vet, so you can skip the entire.. "You know this snake is a con-stric-tor.. can you say con-stric-tor? I knew that you could" step. Half the time I have the entire history of the snake, sometimes pictures of some of the other snakes, and a listing of temps and humidities, JUST to bring home the point.
And its fun to watch their eyes bug out.
Wolfy

I weigh every month at the same time and before a feed. I also weigh their food before feed to kinda keep track of size and weight gain.


Hope this helps -Ed

I keep all of my snakes' records in the Degei software. I like to weigh them once a month to monitor growth, and I like to look back to how much they weighed when I acquired them and what they weigh now. It gives me self satisfaction to see how they have thrived in my care.

I'm more interested in the big girls (over 1200 grams) I have right now, because I hope to breed next season, so its exciting to watch them continue to grow at a healthy rate and hopefully they will reach a healthy breeding weight next season - if they don't, they'll wait until the season after that - but with my monsters, I'm pretty confident they'll be up to weight - my records show me that they have had consistent growth each and every month (I weigh monthly), which tells me that they're healthy and I'm doing "something" right! :D

I used to track opaques, sheds, poops and urates, now I pretty much just track feeds and weights.

All my snakes are monitored on index cards similar to Ricks for all the same reasons. It is especially helpful when they go off feeding to monitor and make sure they are not loosing weight due to sickness. Obviously breeders need to be monitored closely to make sure they are at proper weight. The more you keep track the more obvious it is when something is wrong or changes.

I weigh mine every other month. Probably no need to, but I'm a math weenie and I love numbers. :nerd:

I think i weigh myself more than my snakes.....and thats hardly ever.

I think that if your snakes are eating healthy and you can notice growth, you dont have to wiegh......of course, theres no harm in weighing them. I just personally dont see the sense.

Maybe if your trying to get somebody up to breeding weight of if somebody has an eating problem and you were monitoring thier weight, then ,weighing would probably be neccasary

I weigh my snakes more often than not out of curiosity but I think its also an important aspect of knowing if the animal is healthy. As we all know one can't be 100% sure that an animal is healthy and growing properly just by looking at it.

I like to weigh my snakes from time to time. The ones that get weighed the most often right now are the babies that hatched for me last season. It is nice to look back on all their weights to see how fast they have grown, or to compare them to each other. I also need their weights for selling purposes.

I like to weigh new snakes that I aquire, out of curiosity and just to have a weight to look back at when I may weigh them again whenever I am in that mood.

Lately I have also been weighing my largest female. She laid eggs last season and also incubated them, so I am making sure that she gains all her weight and more back before she goes again this season.

I also weigh one more of my young balls, to keep track of how much he is gaining because he was a really slow starter and also had to have some vet treatment and is just getting over that.

I don't really weigh any of the other reptiles regularly, and I haven't weighed any of my boas either. But I would say that a scale is a good tool to have laying around even if you don't use it much.

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Originally Posted by Brandon.O

I think that if your snakes are eating healthy and you can notice growth, you dont have to wiegh......of course, theres no harm in weighing them. I just personally dont see the sense.

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I guess for me, I have such a thirst for knowledge, which includes the knowledge of my snakes' current weight, that I can't imagine not even being curious! :D It's really cool to look at the rate of growth with something tangible, like numbers (at least it is for me).

Another advantage to weighing your snakes, if you are shopping for new additions and someone gives you a weight, you have a better mental picture of the size, because you know how big yours were at that weight.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

Another advantage to weighing your snakes, if you are shopping for new additions and someone gives you a weight, you have a better mental picture of the size, because you know how big yours were at that weight.

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Good point. If I had not been weighing my snakes, I would not know what to have expected my new 700+ gram Pastel to look like.

Last weigh in (usually every other week):

Cleo - 1100g
Carmen - 562g
Jenson - a whopping 15g!

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Originally Posted by Freakie_frog

I weigh every month at the same time and before a feed. I also weigh their food before feed to kinda keep track of size and weight gain.

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I have not kept track of rodent size and snake weight gain. I buy my rats (the ones I don't breed myself) by weight, like RodentPro's weights. I have given thought to getting the 'exact' weight of the rodents, but with so many snakes to feed each week, it's hard to do each feeding. Since you do this, I had a question for you if you do not mind..

Do you find a correlation been rodent weight and weight gain in the snake? For example.. If you feed a snake the same size rodent each week, is the weight gain similar in the snake each week? (there will be some fluctuation if you factor in activity levels, etc) basically it would be interested to know how much of the rodents weight gets converted into 'snake weight', if of course there is a correlation between the two.

Rick

I use Degei as well. I keep a fairly consistent one month schedule for the snake's to get weighed but if it's a busy time for us I don't fret about it much. Like Robin I used to keep track of every minute detail but with more snake's that has just become an impossibility so as long as I know everyone is pooping, shedding and growing I'm a happy herper.

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Originally Posted by SiscoReptiles

Do you find a correlation been rodent weight and weight gain in the snake? For example.. If you feed a snake the same size rodent each week, is the weight gain similar in the snake each week? (there will be some fluctuation if you factor in activity levels, etc) basically it would be interested to know how much of the rodents weight gets converted into 'snake weight', if of course there is a correlation between the two.

Rick

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I have found that feeding a smaller but still apropreate size rat every week alows for a more even and steady weight gain. Just for example I have a male that feeds on 100 gram rats once a week. Last month one the first he weighed in at 1275 grams. Yesterday before a feed he was a whopping 1500 grams and thats empty and after a poop and four feeds and he is now is shed. My het pied is on the same track he puts on about 100 to 150 grams a month. I have noticed that if I have to feed a larger item then the next time they tend to be a little slugish to take the food.


Hope this helps -Ed

I weigh often... Once a month, or even more often... Especially around this time (breeding)...


I think when it comes to breeders, it is a necessity.

Those who don't care to breed I'm sure don't have as much motivation to know how much their snake weighs..

i weigh mine because i like to see their progress, It's like watching your child grow up :D

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Originally Posted by LadyOhh

I think when it comes to breeders, it is a necessity.

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Not really.

-adam

i don't weigh my snakes, mainly because i don't own a scale, but i do keep track of their feeding, and when they shed

I thought it was something that you were supposed to do

everytime I asked a question (which wasn't really much, mostly about 1 not eating) the first response out of most people (not here, I don't think ... somewhere else) was "how much does it weigh & how old is it?" oh & "what sex is it?" which I still don't know

I knew neither ...... but I did go out & get a scale yesterday

I keep track of their feeding & now their sheds ..... & now I guess their weights


I do know they're cool & I love em

I weigh all of my ball pythons until they reach over 5lbs as thats as high as my scale goes lol.I now have 2 females that make the scale scream ERROR :carrot: :carrot: :carrot:

Yeah, the only snake I do not weigh regularly is the black blood. When I took her into the vet a year ago she was 8 lbs. To weigh her I think I have go stand on a regular scale with her and then weigh myself without her :P

Hahaha, that is awesome. I'll have to do that with my Borneo.

I weigh all of my gang at least once a month.

I usually weigh out of curiousity.

I weigh mine usually once a month; I'll take an hour or so, weigh them and log the weights. I like to see who's gaining.. I weigh them about 2 days after a feeding, to keep things on a level playing field; wouldn't want to weigh Ginger right after a feeding, and then the next month right before.

I weigh my snakes about once a month, Sometimes sooner due to the fun factor. All of my snakes are feeding very well and are growing rather rapidly so I get kind of a kick out of weighing them and writting down how much they weigh at each weigh in. Currently all of my snakes except for my het for pied and adult female are growing at a steady 100+ grams a month. It's really exciting just seeing the changes in weight.

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Originally Posted by recycling goddess

do you weight your snakes? why?

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I weight my snakes with tiny lead jackets. It helps them get a better full body work out, and maintain muscle tone.

monthly

I weigh them semi-regularly. If a BP is for sale, I try to make sure to get the current weight for the ad.


Two of mine are weighed regulary but only because they are growing at an incredible pace. You can see the grwoth without even wighing them.

One was 108 and one was 106 at the end of July. The 108 one is now 387 and the 106 one is now 356.