Question about size and weight

[Gearhead5225]

Hi guys, just had a concern about one of my girlfriends ball pythons. Ive never kept them so im not entirely sure. She usually cares for her snakes and i care for mine, but shes out of town for the weekend so i went to check on them and this thing looks absolutely massive. I found the card with all its info on it and ill post it below and see what you guys think.

Now please note something. I know she ate 2 nights ago, and im not sure when the last bowel movement was.

[PitOnTheProwl]

WoW..... How much is she feeding her?

[Eric Alan]

She's definitely a good size girl!

During the first year, 100 grams per month is about average. She's pretty much right on target for that. They certainly pack on the size when they're young, that's for sure!

Love her name too - a BEL named Belle. Classic...

[Gearhead5225]

Once every 7 days unless in shed. Last meal was a 125 gram rat, but before that i think she was feeding her upwards of 150-175 i think. By the "wow" comment im gonna assume shes massively overweight like i thought. What should be done to help get the weight back under control without starving her, and what would be a good weight for her age? Feed a 75-100 gram rat ever 2-3 weeks for a couple months to get the weight back in check?

[Eric Alan]

I'm sure the reason she looks huge is because of the huge meal she's digesting. At her size, a small rat (60-90 grams) once per week is appropriate.

[Gearhead5225]

Alright. Appreciate it. So do you think that just dropping the size of the prey to that and feeding ever 7 days as usual will get her size back to being on track? Or skip a week every once and a while.

[PitOnTheProwl]

Offer a small rat every 7 and if she eats cool.
She is close to the 1k wall.

[Gearhead5225]

She eats frozen thawed like a beast. Dont even get the thing all the way in the cage and shes on it.

[Eric Alan]

I'd just back down the prey size and still offer once per week. Their metabolism when they're young is pretty incredible, so I'm in the "take advantage of it while you can" camp. She'll eventually tell you when once/week is too much for her anymore.

[Gearhead5225]

Awesome. Appreciate it. So 100grams a month in growth is a good target for them when there under a year old then? She has a couple others that are right on track with that.