Good evening to everyone! My name is Nichole and I am studying for Pre-Vet. This is my first post but I have been visiting the site for months then decided I should finally join last week. I have had ball pythons for seven years and even did some rescuing in the past.

Currently I have five ball pythons:
0.1 Normal; Nacho (1800 grams at seven years old)
1.0 Spider; Spaz (850 grams at three years old)
0.1 Blonde Pastel; Ava (1200 grams at three years old)
0.1 Pastel Het Hypo; Dream (285 grams born October 2011)
1.0 Albino; Loci (71 grams hatched 6/18/12)

I also have two dogs, two cats, two bettas, and a crested gecko. I may or may not start breeding my ball pythons this Fall but all depends on timing. Nacho, my normal girl, is the reason I love ball pythons and started rescuing. She was not a rescue but five snakes after her were along with a bearded dragon.

My quick two questions along with some background: I recently purchased all my BPs this year except for my normal, Nacho, and am a little nervous about my soon to be year old's weight. I purchased Dream, a pastel het hypo, from a small collector/breeder who gave me a feeding chart. I believe I purchased her on 6/26/12 or a few days before that. I think she is kind of small for her age but she has ate every time I have offered. She has gained about 15 grams since I purchased her. Not much but not too bad for a month. I fed her an ASF every 5-7 days. For me, she does not come off as a picky eater. Shouldn't she be a little bigger by now? She is 22-23 inches when I measured her today. I have the feeling the chart was altered.

My other question is also regarding weight. When I purchased my spider, Spaz, the lady informed me she had purchased him from Brad Boa in late 2009 as a baby but always had issues with putting weight on him. I paid $100 for just him and drove maybe a hour away. He was my first morph and first spider. He has a slight wobble which only gets worse when he is excited or hungry. She had him in a 10 gallon tank which I know is too small for his size. When I bought him, he was about 700 grams at 3.5 feet long. She mentioned she had a hard time getting him to eat. Well since he has been with me, he hasn't refused any meal. I offer a small rat every week and he eats with no issues. I have noticed though if I feed him every five days, he has hardly a wobble. So within a month of just feeding once a week every week, his weight empty today was 850. Is 150 grams in a month too much or just fine because now he is actually eating? I am not sure if she was just not feeding him or maybe his living condition was not good enough. What do you think?

Just to recap my questions:
1. For a 2011 October baby, is 285 grams on the small size?
2. For a late 2009, does 850 grams sound a little light?

Thanks again and I am happy to join the community!
Nichole