underfed..... ?

[akaprincesssophia]

i was just wondering if she looks underfed? ive had her for a month and she eats two mice a week like a champ and could probably eat one more and not even feel it lol looking at other ball pythons they all seem much thicker around then she does so i was just wondering if she looks skinny or if its just me. thanks everyone

[blackcrystal22]

i was just wondering if she looks underfed? ive had her for a month and she eats two mice a week like a champ and could probably eat one more and not even feel it lol looking at other ball pythons they all seem much thicker around then she does so i was just wondering if she looks skinny or if its just me. thanks everyone

Move her up to weanling rats once a week.

She is a bit skinnier than I would like.. she might have parasites.
Her pale color also leads me to believe that she could have a nutrient deficiency, which is another indication of parasites. Where did you get her from?

[Danounet]

She looks good, Is really hard to make a baby ball fat, specially a female. They grow pretty fast. I wouldn't feed her any more than every 4-5 days.

[jsmorphs2]

She looks ok to me. Two mice is a decent meal if they are on the bigger side and not like hoppers or something. Its hard to tell from the picture since she is holding on to you and probably flexing. I think that she looks pale cause the pic is washed out. If she's got a strong feeding response definitely try to get her on rats, you'll be happy in the long run.

[akaprincesssophia]

one is telling me she looks good and the other one no lol i donno what to think. i got her at petsmart and the picture doesnt do the colors justice becase she doesnt look that pale in real life. she has very rich colors on her and i think she might be beginning to shed so maybe thats why the color came out like that..... ? i handle her everyday and i alwaysinspect to see if there is anything weird looking on her and to me she looks perfectly fine. last week i went to petco and got her vitamins and stuff ( sorry but i cnt remember off the top of my head what kind) the lady at the store has ball pythons and she recommended them and told me i should sprinkle one of the vitamins on the mice every time i feed her and the other one once a month so i just started doin that this last saturday.

[SlitherinSisters]

She looks good, Is really hard to make a baby ball fat, specially a female. They grow pretty fast. I wouldn't feed her any more than every 4-5 days.

Yep, I don't feed any of mine more than every 4 days.

Babies are babies, they are going to look skinny for a while unless you are feeding them a ridiculous amount of food. You've only had her month, give her a couple more and she'll look nice and chubby.

[Danounet]

BPs dont need any vitamins or sun light. All they need is some hides, water and a healthy feeding schedule.

To me she looks good.

[SlitherinSisters]

one is telling me she looks good and the other one no lol i donno what to think. i got her at petsmart and the picture doesnt do the colors justice becase she doesnt look that pale in real life. she has very rich colors on her and i think she might be beginning to shed so maybe thats why the color came out like that..... ? i handle her everyday and i alwaysinspect to see if there is anything weird looking on her and to me she looks perfectly fine. last week i went to petco and got her vitamins and stuff ( sorry but i cnt remember off the top of my head what kind) the lady at the store has ball pythons and she recommended them and told me i should sprinkle one of the vitamins on the mice every time i feed her and the other one once a month so i just started doin that this last saturday.

Well there you go. You got her from petsmart, it's going to take awhile to get her nice and chubby. I would keep an eye on her for parasites. If she doesn't start gaining weight in a couple months I'd take her to the vet.

Also, ball pythons don't need vitamins. That stuff is junk and that lady works at a pet store. If the pet store can trick people into buying things they don't need, they will.

[jsmorphs2]

Vitamins for balls in not necessary. In a serous case of neglect...maybe. They get ALL their nutrients form their pray items. If she wasn't eating and/or had mites THEN I would suggest a trip to a good reptile vet for a de-worming and treat the cage with Prevent-o-Mite. But if she is eating, has good stool (not runny or strangely smelly or colored), no mites, and is alert and active she is probably just fine.

[blackcrystal22]

Well there you go. You got her from petsmart, it's going to take awhile to get her nice and chubby.

Also, ball pythons don't need vitamins. That stuff is junk and that lady works at a pet store. If the pet store can trick people into buying things they don't need, they will.

Of course they do!
All animals need the vitamins and minerals that come from the food they eat. What you meant to say is that they don't need any vitamin supplements because they get everything they need from their food.

But yeah, what they are saying is correct. Any supplements are junk for snakes generally and they don't need UV because they eat whole animals.

Because it's a baby and from petsmart, it's likely fine. I'm just a bit worried about the coloration.. it could be the lighting, but if he does have a parasitical infection (which from petsmart, is possible) it would suck essential nutrients that help to keep the rich brown color in a bp.
If the color doesn't turn into a more 'chocolate' color and she seems to lose weight instead of gain any, you may want to get a smear done.
It's a good time to get a good gram scale too and keep track of the weight to make sure she is gaining weight like a healthy girl should.