BP's Size to Age

[hoff0992]

Hey everyone first time poster here. I recently purchased a ~4' ball python from the steel city reptile convention that just happened this past weekend. I have a few concerns though that I simply ignored because of the excitement of buying my first snake.

First of all my snake is only a year and 4 months old but it is almost 4' long. Seems a little off to me. He's way too big for his age. Secondly I noticed a wheezing sounds coming from my snake randomly weather I'm holding it or not. I read that this could be an upper resp. infection but don't know for sure. Any tips to check anything to make sure my new buddy is alright?

[The Serpent Merchant]

I have an 8 month old that is 41 inches so it isn't unreasonable for him to be 4'

RI's are trouble.

Do you see any mucus on him/in the cage?

Does he sit with his head elevated?

If you gently open his mouth are there bubbles in his throat?

[RestlessRobie]

X2 I would check for the secondary signs of RI as Aaron said

Also he seems fine they grow differently I have 2 less than a month appart one is 750+grams and nearly 3.5 feet and the other is 360 Grams and just under 2 feet so the grow how they grow

[satomi325]

I'm not entirely sure how long my ball pythons are, but I have 4 girls all born last November who are all different sizes ranging from 200-550 grams. There is no growth to age ratio. They all grow at their own paces. And Balls never really stop growing, it just dramatically slows down when they're older. And length isn't an accurate way to measure a snake alone. It should be compared to it's weight too. Just like a human's BMI as we all grow at different rates and stop growing at different heights.

Is your snake in shed? Sometimes stuck shed could be the reason for a wheeze.
I would bump up your temperatures to 95 just in case it is RI though. Just keep a close eye on him.

[hoff0992]

I haven't noticed any foam or bubbles but I cant get the mouth open yet still trying to figure that one out. He's not in a shed and there isn't anything laying in the cage. He wont eat which I know is reasonable since moving into a new environment but he did just go to the bathroom two days ago.

[The Serpent Merchant]

To get their mouth open, hold his head on the sides behind the jaw and apply firm but gentile pressure. this will create a gap in the front of the mouth that you can get a Q-tip or Pencil/pen into to force the mouth open. remember be as gentile as possible and that your BP isn't going to like it at all.