Are we overfeeding?

[WingedWolfPsion]

It's not really clear to me whether this post is about overfeeding, or obesity.

Hatchling ball pythons don't get obese--they just grow bigger. I've certainly never seen an obese hatchling.

I have seen obese adults. I had one female who so avidly took large rats weekly (she was a 3500 gram girl) that her weight went up to 3900 grams, and she started showing signs of obesity (showing skin between the scales, etc).
So, I cut back her feeding schedule, and she lost the weight--no big deal. She reached her overweight status a couple of months before the start of the breeding season.

It's absolutely possible for adult ball pythons to become obese--much more likely if they are NOT breeding, but possible even for breeders. Obese ball pythons don't breed well--the girl in question slugged out on me that year. The next year, coming in with a more modest weight, she had a good clutch again.

I now pay more attention to my females' weight gain. Very consistent feeders are most at risk for obesity, naturally enough. It's simple enough to reduce the frequency of feeding and the size of prey offered to them.

You asked what benefit their was in feeding on a 5 day schedule for baby ball pythons, apart from the snakes' growing faster. Well...that IS the benefit, and the only apparent effect.

My personal theory on this is that ball pythons have about 3 or 4 years to really reach their full adult size. While they continue to grow after this period, their growth slows to a crawl, particularly if they are breeding.
As a result, if you want a big ball python, grow them big in the first 4 years. If anyone has any evidence to contradict this, please tell me.