Is she fat?

[amandersen]

Ok, my friend is convinced that my BP is fat. She is a year old, don't know weight, just shed and pooped yesterday. She has been eating a small rat once a week, but if she is overweight, I can change that. She has never refused a meal and eats like a champ!

Not the best pics in the world. they were taken on my phone.

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[TheSnakeGeek]

not over weight at all. healthy lookin girl. ball pythons are suppose to be a little heavier bodied and a little "chunkier" looking. lol

[Kat_Dog]

Looks good to me! Ball pythons have fat bodies compared to their heads, so it's easy to think they are overweight.Very pretty snake

[amandersen]

Thanks! My friend has a baby ball, and he has horrible husbandry. His fiancé gave it to him as a birthday present, which was a horrible idea. Annabel is my first snake and my husband and I did a ton of research before we got her. I didn't think she was fat, but once someone says something like that, I start to obsess and worry haha. I also recently got a red tail boa, and now that she shed today, I will have to post some pics!! Thanks again for the reassurance!

[angllady2]

Nah, that pretty girl is what a ball is supposed to look like. People see so many skinny, neglected balls and pet shop "maintenance fed" ball pythons, they forget ball pythons are supposed to be round and plump.

I will tell you how you know if a ball is really fat. If you can see patches of light skin in between the scales when the snake is relaxed, then it's fat. If not, then it's healthy.

Also, if your ball python is angular and not round, then it's too thin.

Gale

[Gerardo]

BPs dont really get fat. They will stop eating if they feel the need to "diet".

[Mike41793]

Looks healthy to me!

[loonunit]

She's fine! Ball pythons are the labrador retrievers of snakes. They look chunky because they're built chunky.

... I had a friend who rescued an adult male ball python, and her vet told her the animal was "overweight" and "should only eat one rat a month". And then a year later the snake started exhibiting "cage aggression". So I went over one night after feeding my babies, and that was my very first latch-and-wrap bite.

Friend: "Do you think he's hungry?"

Monty: CHOMP!

Friend: "Oh my god!"

Me: "Yeah, I'd say he's kinda hungry. Could you grab a pencil? Quick, please?"

[Luciferskeeper]

Looks like a healthy ball. Nice round body is a good thing!

[rossi46]

BPs dont really get fat. They will stop eating if they feel the need to "diet".

Huh? What part of their genetic make-up or DNA would tell them to stop eating?

They're opportunistic eaters. In the wild, there's tons of uncertainty as to when their next meal is. BPs don't have the ability to understand they are in captivity, being cared for by an "overly generous" owner who will offer a nice plump rat the next time, if they decline this meal.

There certainly are fat BPs out there - I see it all too often in breeders who are plumping up their females in order to get to breeding weight ASAP. Maybe I'm the only one out there, but I'm keeping my pied lean.