Undersized RTB?

[stloria]

I just got this guy about 2 weeks ago from a trusted friend who used to breed. He is almost 3, and I feel like he's too small. I know that only maintenance feeding was done, so I know he isn't going to be as large as I'd like. I am just worried about his growth potential. I unfortunately don't have a weight right now, I have to replace my scale.
Does anyone have any thoughts? He's eating great, is healthy, just ... small.

This is him the week before I picked him up


This is him at home at his first feeding (he turned the mouse around)

[Gio]

I just got this guy about 2 weeks ago from a trusted friend who used to breed. He is almost 3, and I feel like he's too small. I know that only maintenance feeding was done, so I know he isn't going to be as large as I'd like. I am just worried about his growth potential. I unfortunately don't have a weight right now, I have to replace my scale.
Does anyone have any thoughts? He's eating great, is healthy, just ... small.

This is him the week before I picked him up


This is him at home at his first feeding (he turned the mouse around)

Looks nice.

This topic has come up a lot lately.

This thread http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...y-stop-growing

Has some good info for you.

Your boa WILL grow! The longer it lives, the healthier it lives, the bigger it will get.

If your snake was around females (boas in season), and fed very sparingly, it may be off to a slower start, but if you feed normally, and have no intention of breeding, that snake could attain a large size.

One final edit:

A lot of "common" boas have various sub species that may have entered their gene pool. Without exact locality data it's hard to know if there may or may not be island sub species in your snake somewhere. Island forums do stay smaller.

[stloria]

Thank you! I've had someone tell me that there may be some Hog Island in there. As long as he is healthy, I can live with his size. I appreciate the feedback.

[Gio]

Thank you! I've had someone tell me that there may be some Hog Island in there. As long as he is healthy, I can live with his size. I appreciate the feedback.

OK,

That's a possibility and it makes sense if there is Hog in the genes. There are some areas of research that point to the island boas being more arboreal, which is pretty fun to see.

Let him settle in and switch to rats eventually. He'll grow!!

[stloria]

Thank you again. I look forward to him calming down and being with me for a long time.

[Evenstar]

Gio is correct. I just want to add here that there is no rush to GET him to grow. He'll get as big as he needs to with appropriate feeding so go slowly - it'll be better for him.

[stloria]

Thank you. Like I said, I have no desire to power-feed, I don't want fatties. I just worry about how small he is right now, especially having seen his father. I haven't seen his mother, though, so I'm not sure what she was. They were sort of a surprise clutch... anyway. Thank you guys so much for reassuring me.