Stunted BP?

[LiadanCroft]

I have a baby BP that was born June 2016. We got him August of that year with about 2 meals in him and hes been growing and healthy as can be ever since, never had a bad shed, refused meals first 3 weeks but after 2 assist feeds he jumped on the next offer and has never turned away from a meal ever since. I've kept a lil bit of a chart on all 4 snakes I currently have, his isn't perfect since I started keeping charts in march, but I do have a couple months worth of information.

Chewy -
February -190 grams
Fri 3 march Large ft mouse
Fri 17 march large ft mouse
Fri 24 march large ft mouse
Fri 31 march large ft mouse
Sat 8 april live rat pup
Fri 14 april large ft mouse
Tue 25 april- 263 grams
Sat 6 may large live mouse
Sat 20 may live rat pup
Thu 1 june -261 grams

As you can see from april to june he's stayed at pretty much the same weight, I didn't expect much of a change, however it seems theres the smallest drop of about 2 grams. The reason the charts suddenly shift is because we found a local rat and mouse breeder but he only comes near our city every other week. Should I up his size? go back to feeding once a week? or continue on the current schedule?

He's due his next meal tomorrow I ordered (rats must be pre ordered cuz he goes from one corner of the island to the other to get them before going through cities selling them) him a rat pup.

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[LiadanCroft]

As a second thought he might have lost more weight than seen here as in april time he was empty for his weigh in whereas he hasn't pooped his last meal as of now. And here's a picture comparison. (The plate one is today the other one is from april after he moved a bit forward changing the number it says, but official weight in april was 263.) Scale was properly calibrated for the plate he is in)

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[John1982]

I doubt he's stunted, you're just feeding a good bit less than many folks looking to raise them up on the faster side. The fact that he only ate 2 meals between those weigh ins, with the meal before the first being 11 days prior, probably explains the no gain. He could also have been full of crap for the first weigh in and recently relieved for the second. If you want to see faster growth, you can bump him up to larger prey or feed more often - I wouldn't do both since he looks to have excellent body shape, regardless of weight/age.

[Craiga 01453]

He probably hasn't pooped in a while because he is using the entire prey item for growth and wasting none or very little.

[JodanOrNoDan]

He doesn't look bad at all. If you want him to eat steady continue with your current regimen. If you want a little faster growth you can bump his feeding to every four days.

[Stormy]

As a second thought he might have lost more weight than seen here as in april time he was empty for his weigh in whereas he hasn't pooped his last meal as of now. And here's a picture comparison. (The plate one is today the other one is from april after he moved a bit forward changing the number it says, but official weight in april was 263.) Scale was properly calibrated for the plate he is in)

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We had one of our ball pythons that was doing the same thing; took him to the vet and had him checked for parasites which we found out he had. Had him treated with three doses of medicine spaced two weeks apart and now he's growing like a weed and slamming weaned rats weekly. Do you have an exotic vet near you?

[LiadanCroft]

Yes we do as a matter of fact I recently learned that one of the top specialized reptile vets in pierto rico wokrd in the same city I live. Thank you for the suggestion!! Will check him one or two more weeks if he stays the same we shall take him, better safe than sorry!

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[DennisM]

Yes we do as a matter of fact I recently learned that one of the top specialized reptile vets in pierto rico wokrd in the same city I live. Thank you for the suggestion!! Will check him one or two more weeks if he stays the same we shall take him, better safe than sorry!

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I see no need for a visit to the vet. The snake is feeding about every 10 days and still has increased it's weight 40% in 4 months. If you want faster growth, up the feeding schedule. I would stick with rat pups for now and up that to weans once he gets to about 300g.

[LiadanCroft]

Ok. I really don't mind him not growing super fast or anything as long as hes not stuck same place too long or losing weight.

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