Can you tell age of BP by length and weight

[humpee316]

I purchased a BP from Petco on April 4 of 2010,advertised as a baby,Sex unknown,because no one could tell me age or sex...Researched,viewed videos on popping,attempted,think she is a she,still uncertain,but will go with it until told otherwise,looking into local herp specialists ,but not willing to break the bank to find out.anyway as of today she'/he..is 27 inches long and ways 270 grams give or take a gram,so any opinions would be appreciated...

[llovelace]

Maybe 6 months old, but you can never be really sure with store bought, since they are not usually fed properly

[ice#1]

kind of tricky to tell age that away. some people try to push there animals to reach breeding size quicker. or it could of been a problem feeder they had there for some time. so anything would just be a guess.

i know the 2 local pet shops that are around me keep track of feeding and shedding of the snakes they sell (won't tell you who they got them from) but at least keep track of allot of info they collect as they got the snakes

[Maverick67]

I wouldn't try popping on probing if you are just a beginner. you can injure the snake if you do it wrong. just be careful. A local breeder or herp vet would be a better bet of finding out the sex of your bp.

[humpee316]

I wouldn't try popping on probing if you are just a beginner. you can injure the snake if you do it wrong. just be careful. A local breeder or herp vet would be a better bet of finding out the sex of your bp.

I did it once way back after a couple of weeks of having her/him and after watching quite a bit of videos on you tube.but havent done it since .didnt want to hurt the little girl/guy..maybe down the road i will find out but in the mean time i seem to have a healthy,happy snake and thats good enough for me....thanks

[Maverick67]

Healthy and happy that's whats important

[MarkS]

You can't tell age on a ball python by length any more then you can tell age on a person by their height. I've got some old adults that are just past the 2 1/2 foot mark, and I've had some that have gotten longer then 3 feet in a year. At 27" 270 grams seems a little light to me though. However young snakes will often put on a growth spurt where they will lengthen out while staying thin then stop and start putting on weight.

[Shadera]

Nope, not a solid indicator.

I just picked up an 09 calico that's only 225 grams. Doesn't look underweight at all. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was a 2010 baby.

[humpee316]

You can't tell age on a ball python by length any more then you can tell age on a person by their height. I've got some old adults that are just past the 2 1/2 foot mark, and I've had some that have gotten longer then 3 feet in a year. At 27" 270 grams seems a little light to me though. However young snakes will often put on a growth spurt where they will lengthen out while staying thin then stop and start putting on weight.

Im a greenhorn when it comes to BP care but i will tell you she has grown quite a bit in the last few months,and is quite solid and shows no sign of health issues.she has a healthy appetite .taking 1 sometimes 2 20 gram mice every 5 to 7 days.any advice or observations would be great...Thank You..If you so to my page you can see her in photos i posted.Theres like 7 pics