Handsome new guy

[tweets_4611]

Last week one of the guys in my lab group text me asking if I had a ball python (I have pictures of Lilly on Facebook). When I told him I had several he started telling me about how he has a BP, but it's at home, he feels like he's neglecting it, and he would like to find it a new home, since he lives in a frat house and can't keep it there.

I told him I could long term babysit, or just keep the lil guy, it didn't matter to me. He told me the BPs name is Joey, that he eats one mouse per feeding (and he admitted that he wasn't feeding him often enough).

However when I asked how old he was....he's 4! At least... the guy has had this snake for the past 4 years! And he's eating one small mouse at a time?! I was kinda worried about the lil guy then. Anyways, I picked him up today, and it's not as bad as I thought.





The poor thing only weighs 300g (I have an 09 female that weighed that much back in November!)... but he doesn't appear to be super skinny like I feared he would be. I'm not sure how a 4 year old snake can be that small and not be skin and bones, but he doesn't seem to be. He's pretty light colored, almost fire-ish, but I'm thinking as he gains weight and get some good nutrients that may change. Either way he has an awesome pattern, and I love his tail strip/blushing thing he has going on!

Hopefully he will eat for me this week... I'm going to offer when I feed my other guys and feed him like he's one of the little girls, since he weights about the same. He's acting hungry, but I don't blame him. I'm going to try to slowly get him off the maintenance diet he's been on for so long and get some weight on him!

[kc261]

He's an attractive little guy!

He is definitely skinny. That triangular shape is pretty apparent in the pics. As far as him not being skin & bones, I'd guess he has been fed fairly consistently throughout his life, but just not enough, which has caused slow growth.

[tweets_4611]

Oh, he's definately got the triangle thing going on, but when someone tells you they are feeding a small mouse every three weeks or so, and on yeah, he's 4 years old, I was thinking he was going to be in much worse shape.

He has a really cool kinda darker freckling going on where the alien heads usually are.

I showed the guy from my lab my collection when he brought the lil guy over, and he was shocked by how big my 06 girl is!

[DesignerBP]

nice looking. unique pattern. I smell dinker!

[Danounet]

My Axanthic was in a similar condition (age and weight wise). I started feeding him weined rats and then small rats. He gained weight quick. He went from 296g to 900+g in a matter of I would say 9 months tops. Also expect many sheds . He also ate some adult ASFs male back when I was still breeding them.

He still around 900g but he hasnt eaten in almost 3 months with the winter (or Im hoping that's what it is, my other snakes are off-feed as well) He still looks very thin, but he is so long/large now, my biggest snake. He is about 2+ years old now.

Congratulatins!!

[chago11]

im glad you have him now. i had a lady come to my buddies pet store today and ask me for a pinkie mice and i happen to ask what she was feeding and she told me a 2 year old cal king so i told her what a snake that old should be eating and she told me that she had him for 2 years and the snake is alive and happy eating one pinkie every 10 days. i tried hopefully she will listen to me. how can people be so stupid?

[tweets_4611]

I'm wondering if he will actually gain much weight very quickly. With a young snake it's understandable for it to grow so fast, but most BPs slow way down on growth after their third year or so. Since Joey is at least 4 I'm just hoping to get him rounded out some, and get whatever growth he's going to go through.

Of course the first thing he did was poo and pee all over his clean tub (and that was after I weighted him so 300g - a little bit) but I wasn't thinking and just threw all of the bedding and waste out. Next time there is any fecal matter I'm going to take it to a vet and get it checked for parasites... I'm just having such a hard time believing this tiny guy is 4 years old!

Oh another note, I really don't think the guy that had him knew any better. He knew he should be fed more than every three weeks, but that was as often as he was able to get home recently. I'm not so sure about the first couple of years. He didn't seem to think anything about the fact that he was so small, so I'm going to work on educating him on BPs and be sure he has the right idea if he ever wants the guy back.

[AcePythons]

He really does have a nice pattern. Well...at least he was feeding it. When I moved down to Arizona I moved in with my aunt who was keeping my cousin's corn snake until he got out of prison and that poor thing never had food or water except maybe once a month until I got there. Then when I moved out of her house I went every week and fed him and made sure he had water for the next 4 years until my cousin got out.

But glad you got him and will get some decent meals into him! I'm sure he'll be a cute lil dude for ya!

[jben]

nice looking pattern he has going on.

[yardy]

I got an 08 royal last year at start of November that only weighed in at 245g & she felt light & was hollow underneath. She's probably the best feeder that I have now & weighed in at over 500g last time I checked; she was only getting small/med mice but I'm not sure how often. She was healthy but small & slim, now looking great & getting prettier every time she sheds. I haven't been power feeding, just let her make up for lost time & I'm slowing the feeding down a bit now as I don't want her to get fat just bigger.