My 08 snake is only 140 gms?

[anatess]

I'm new to snakes and I just read the thread on the 540 gm '08 Mojave and got me wondering. Instead of hijacking his thread, I started this one. I got my bp (a spider) about a month ago and he was just a little over 100 gms then. All I know is he was born in '08 and he came from the Daytona Reptile Show (end of August, I think). So, he must have been born around June/July. I feed him one weanling ASF rat weekly. Right now, he is only 120 gms. I thought they grow fast at this young age? I don't know what the average weight of a bp is, but judging from the 540 gm Mojave born in May '08 in the previous thread, I'm starting to worry that my bp is not growing right!

[starmom]

If you believe that your snake is not gaining the weight that it should be gaining, and also eats every 5 days (appropriate for that weight) then you might want to think about getting a fecal performed to rule out parasites.

[Freakie_frog]

It may have to do with the size of prey and the amount of time in between when your feeding them. I feed a rat pup to my hatchlings. The prey size your feeding may be leading to a slow growth rate. Nothing wrong with it just different.

[scotty99]

Good advice to get him checked at the vets. I wouldn't worry too much. I have an adopted male BP, the previous owner was feeding him pinky mice at 7 months old! He is now 14 months old and is still small for his age (abt 400grms) but is putting on bulk quite fast now. As long as he's eating thats the main thing. Of course snakes are like people, and grow at different rates to different sizes

[anatess]

I mistyped. I meant to say 140 gms, not 120 gms (it is correct on the thread title).

THANKS for all the responses! I'm getting too spazztic over these snakes (we got 2 - the other snake is over a year old and is much bigger)...

[Darkice]

And the 08 mojave might have been born at the beginning of 08 and yours close to the end. So they could be almost a year apart which will account for the size difference.

[dreese88]

Yea anatess, my '08 male is only about 150 - 160, no need to be worried

[JD Constriction]

There is alot of variability in hatchling size depending on how they eat.

I have an 08 female born in late July that was a very slow starter and had to be assist fed who is now eatting fine but only weighs 100g.

On the other hand I have an 08 male (Lemon Pastel Axanthic) born in early July that is 550g full and eats small rats.

If they are being offered appropriately sized meals every 5-7 days and are eatting fairly consistently they should grow for you.

A vet exam only hurts your wallet if you are concerned.

Hope that helps.

[anendeloflorien]

Yeah a vet exam would not be a bad idea. At the very least a fecal float is never a bad thing as it can catch potential problems early before they turn into something more. I can't speak for all vets but I know that my local herp vet only charges me $35 for a fecal. When I've already put as much blood, sweat, tears and money into my animals a $35 fecal is a minimal investment and worth every cent to me when I get in a new animal. Vets will charge more or less to have the test done depending on where the actual test is done.

Just, next time he poops put it into a small plastic bag and take it to your vet immediately or if you can't get in right away put it into the refrigerator overnight won't do too much harm. You just want to make sure that any active parasites are not killed by freezing them or waiting too long to have the test done.

Good luck!

[anatess]

Whoa Adam... you have a LOT of snakes! And here I thought we were crazy for owning 2...
I must be getting good at this because I just sent off his poop to the vet yesterday! Didn't even need an appointment - just dropped it off. And... it was FREE. Well, not really. I had him checked out a month ago when I got him and I went ahead and told the vet to do the deworming. So, I get a poop check with it. Poop was okay... so, yeah, you guys are right on. Nothing wrong with my snake so far. I went ahead and fed him yesterday (since he pooped) which is only 5 days from the last feeding and he ate with gusto (he's been eating consistently since I got him ASF's). So, I'm going to keep a 5 day schedule until he refuses.