Plumping up a stunted ball

[Butane]

Well I got my Athena in Jan of this year she was 3 mo old at the time, the breeder I got her from was.... Less than reputable. She was extremely underweight, and she was behind on where she should have been length-wise. I am afraid that the months he had her being underweight may have stunted her growth permanently.

She’s almost a year old now and despite her being fed a med. mouse every 7-9 days, having a perfect enclosure set-up, she’s still only about the size of a 5-6 month old ball python.

I just switched her over to small rats (pre-killed) for better nutrition and in hopes of getting her weight/length up (but I am not increasing the feeding frequency or anything like that though, that would be unnecessary).

Is there anything else I can do? Is switching to rats going to help or is she doomed to being a little tiny lol? I have this horrible fear that it may be my fault despite doing everything right.

[ahunt037]

i would think that changing to rats would help at first i was like whoa 7-9 days but then i saw almost a year old so i guess thats about right hopefully she will start putting on weight for u

[MissLeMew]

I had almost the same problem with my spider, only he was too skinny instead of just small. He kept growing length-wise, but because he'd been underfed before I had him he was a skinny little noodle for a while. He's about a year and a half now, and still a bit underweight despite the fact that he eats and eats well . Sometimes those yuck conditions they come from can take a long time to recover from.

Every snake grows differently. I've heard/read stories about 1-2 year old pythons that were the size of hatchlings due to underfeeding, only to find new homes and begin to grow normally. I'm not sure if they ever reach full size potential, but as long as their healthy it's not a huge deal.

I'm not sure as to why she hasn't grown much at all. Maybe her body is still just recovering from stress and lost nutrients? I know their metabolisms are a lot slower than ours, so maybe that's why it's taking a while. Just a guess, but as long as she's eating and healthy (no parasites, tumors, etc. etc.) I wouldn't panic. Perhaps someone knows more on the subject. I hope she grows for you, even if just a little!

[FireStorm]

Switching to rats should help. A mouse is a pretty small meal for a BP. My hatchlings eat a hopper mouse for their first meal or two, then they're on to adult mice or rat pups every 5 days. I'd say feed her an appropriately sized rat (about as big around as she is at her thickest part every 7 days. You could also have her checked for parasites....it never hurts to check. How much does she weigh now?

[angllady2]

Truthfully, giving her one medium mouse every 7-9 days IS underfeeding her.

You may not want to hear that, but it is true. At 1 year old, even if she started small, she should have been on small rats for at least 3-4 months. At 3 months old, even if she was tiny, she was still primed for a growth spurt if she'd been fed enough. At that age, even if you had to give her small mice she should have eaten at least every 5 days. If she was severely underweight like you said, a hopper mouse every 3 days would not have been overdoing it for a short time.

Now that she is older, it will be considerably harder for her to catch up, because her growth rate has slowed way down. Do give her the largest size of rat she can comfortably eat every 7 day at least, unless she refuses. She will probably grow some more, but it will take a lot longer.

Gale

[JLC]

Truthfully, giving her one medium mouse every 7-9 days IS underfeeding her.

You may not want to hear that, but it is true. At 1 year old, even if she started small, she should have been on small rats for at least 3-4 months. At 3 months old, even if she was tiny, she was still primed for a growth spurt if she'd been fed enough. At that age, even if you had to give her small mice she should have eaten at least every 5 days. If she was severely underweight like you said, a hopper mouse every 3 days would not have been overdoing it for a short time.

Now that she is older, it will be considerably harder for her to catch up, because her growth rate has slowed way down. Do give her the largest size of rat she can comfortably eat every 7 day at least, unless she refuses. She will probably grow some more, but it will take a lot longer.

Gale

At only a year old, she still has a lot of growing left to do...so I don't think a "rebound" in growth-rate is so unlikely. I do agree, though, that the feeding regimen of the last year has probably contributed to her keeping her small size.

Regular feedings of appropriate sized meals will set her to rights, I'm sure. She may also just be a naturally smallish ball python, so don't judge everything by weight and length. If she has good muscle tone and a healthy round shape to her body, then you're on the right track.

Good luck with her.

[WingedWolfPsion]

I have a female who was returned to me in this condition--I've had her back for a year, and I'm resigned to the fact that she will always be small, at this point. Some of them will rebound, and others, it seems, won't.