Size after 2 years?

What size are male ball pythons supposed to be after 2 years?

I keep worrying that my Spot is stunted because hes so much smaller than all the snakes I see here :(

Thanks.

I have a male BP. He was an 07 feb hatchling. So a little over 2 yrs. He's at 400g right now and I wonder the same thing!! Males will usually be smaller than females and less girthy....how much does yours weigh?

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Originally Posted by teebyrd393

I have a male BP. He was an 07 feb hatchling. So a little over 2 yrs. He's at 400g right now and I wonder the same thing!! Males will usually be smaller than females and less girthy....how much does yours weigh?

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Mine's an 07 August hatchling and he's 260g that's why I'm wondering he seems small, and he's fed every 6 days.

That is pretty small. He should be at least 800 grams I would think.
My 6 month old BP is 400g.
How much are you feeding him? What kind of mice?

Make sure you're increasing the size of the rodents as he is growing so he does grow more.

It will vary greatly from snake to snake, but for some reference I have '08 hatchlings from about 200g to 450g, '07s from about 600g to 1200g and '06s from about 800g to 1600g. My males are on the smaller side, and most of my females are on the larger sides of those scales. I could also be feeding a little more than I do, so I think these are leaning toward the lower to mid end of what the weights should be.

For a February '07 male, he could probably weigh quite a bit more with appropriate feeding. He's practically a late '06, so I would say that 500-600g would be on the smaller side of where he should be, but every snake is different, so while that may be true generally, he may just be small if you are feeding him enough. Most of my 400g mousers get 2-3 small adult mice a week if they will take them.

Snakes are just like people, there can be a huge range in size even if they're the same age. My '07 males range from 650-1100g, females 900-1500. All are on more or less the same feeding schedule.

Right now he's feeding on the size right below adult mice (pet store doesn't know the proper size name, but they're around the size of weanlings) I'm thinking about moving Spot up to adult mice but is he big enough yet?
Pictures are here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...92#post1029592

Feed him adult mice, if you can't get adults feed 2 smaller ones he should be eating a 26-39 gram feeder, you may want to start him on weanling rats. feed every 5 days

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Originally Posted by rainglow

Right now he's feeding on the size right below adult mice (pet store doesn't know the proper size name, but they're around the size of weanlings) I'm thinking about moving Spot up to adult mice but is he big enough yet?
Pictures are here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...92#post1029592

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He could for sure do with large adult mice. A nice rule of thumb to go by is to fee 10-15% of the snakes body weight.

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

He could for sure do with large adult mice. A nice rule of thumb to go by is to fee 10-15% of the snakes body weight.

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Thank you!! I was afraid to up the size because thier heads are so small but they eat such big mice, yea I'm afraid he'll choke or something.

If it's the best thing to do I'll start him on the adults asap :)

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Originally Posted by rainglow

Thank you!! I was afraid to up the size because thier heads are so small but they eat such big mice, yea I'm afraid he'll choke or something.

If it's the best thing to do I'll start him on the adults asap :)

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Lol they can eat something much bigger than you think! If it is too big, chances are they won't even try to eat it.

Ball pythons can handle small adult mice pretty much right out of the egg. I start my hatchlings on large fuzzy/small pup rats out of the egg, and they are eating adult mice or weanling rats within a couple of months.

I'm pretty new to the Ball world. My 4 month old ball is eating two rat pups
every 5 days right now totalling 34 to 39 grams. I'm just know looking at picking up an 07 pastel male from the same breeder and he is 1100 grams.

Oh my! My BPs must be huge for their age! I got my male in March of 08 (not sure when he hatched) and he weighed 118 grams. He now weighs 1200 grams...and that's after his two-month winter fast! My female was an adoptee I picked up in October of 08. She was supposedly about 16 months old and weighed 700 grams. She now weighs about 1300 grams.

They are both on rats that weigh about 90-100 grams every 14 days. Seems like no one else feeds anything that large on here, but using both the percentage of body weight and girth methods, this is fine for them. The vet says they both have great healthy body conditions. Their eyes are bright and their skin is shiny.

Everyone's right about them being individuals just like people. Some are little, some are big. I have two pomeranians, both female, and the 6-year-old weighs 4 pounds while the 2-year-old weighs 11! She's not fat, just built bigger. Everyone I meet thinks the little one is a "teacup" and I have to explain there's really no such thing :rolleyes:

Sorry...I got carried away :rolleye2: You get the idea :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rainglow

Right now he's feeding on the size right below adult mice (pet store doesn't know the proper size name, but they're around the size of weanlings) I'm thinking about moving Spot up to adult mice but is he big enough yet?
Pictures are here:
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...92#post1029592

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it's hard to tell how big he is because I don't know how big your hand is. But YES it appears he is big enough for adult mice. My normal was a little smaller than that and I moved him to adult mice and POW he started growing like crazy(and no I'm not over feeding) mine has always been that way. A quick grower. Oh yea and my snake was hatched on 12-23-08 and i just weighed him today at 200g

I am so crazy!!!! I haven't had him 2 yrs! Only one!! I feel like it's been that long. He's an 08 Feb not 07...oops. Time flies!! So 400 g for a 1yr old male seems to be ok :-) It's wild...he's become part of my family I feel like I've had him for ever :):

Yeah that's not bad for an '08. I have a couple of earlier '08 males that are 650-800g.

Thanks! I knew something was fishy :)

Sometimes there are just small snakes too...my 05 male, my first snake bought at the petstore has been hovering around 1000gs now for what seems like eternity. He usually fasts a couple of months in the winter and then comes out of it eating like a beast in the spring but not really ever growing much.

His weight seems to be ok, I would start giving him rats in the 35-40g range when he's feeing again.

sorry y'all mine's an 08. I've only had him a year...seems like longer. So 400g at 1 yr not 2 sorry!!

update. hatch 12-23-08///// weight now 312g

My 2 males aren't quite a year old yet and they are both eating adult mice. Both weigh in right around 400 grams.

thanks

My early 07 male is just hitting 600 grams. and eating small f/t rats.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rainglow

Thank you!! I was afraid to up the size because thier heads are so small but they eat such big mice, yea I'm afraid he'll choke or something.

If it's the best thing to do I'll start him on the adults asap :)

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try a rat pup, they can take a meal thats equal to about the middle size of there belly