Two Year Old Size

[Mephibosheth1]

Greetings once again; I feel like I should just get one massive thread for my questions, and link them to the main page (lol)

my query this time is on BP size. In short, how long/big should a 2 year old ball be?? Do they usually get measured by weight, or by length (or both)??

I have also heard that if I don't feed him big enough prey that his head will not grow proportionally...something goofy like that. Is that the case?? I feed him adult mice and hopper rats weekly in an alternating cycle (a rat every 2-3 weeks). I'm not 100% sure how well he was being fed by his previous owner, and he won't say straight up exactly what he was feeding/how often.

thanks for checking it out

[FireStorm]

Adult mice are probably too small unless you feed more than one per feeding. A small rat should be about right. Most breeders go by weight, so investing in a gram scale might be worthwhile. It's hard to give an exact number for what he should weigh....it varies quite a bit depending on the individual.

[BHReptiles]

Greetings once again; I feel like I should just get one massive thread for my questions, and link them to the main page (lol)

my query this time is on BP size. In short, how long/big should a 2 year old ball be?? Do they usually get measured by weight, or by length (or both)??

I have also heard that if I don't feed him big enough prey that his head will not grow proportionally...something goofy like that. Is that the case?? I feed him adult mice and hopper rats weekly in an alternating cycle (a rat every 2-3 weeks). I'm not 100% sure how well he was being fed by his previous owner, and he won't say straight up exactly what he was feeding/how often.

thanks for checking it out

First of all, if he eats rats, I would just feed him a rat weekly. In the long run, that will be better for him (and you) because you're only needing to feed him one prey item instead of multiples.

A 2 year old SHOULD be full grown, but a lot of that depends on what he was being fed and how often. Most people will judge how well they are based on weight and length - in the form of how they look. If they look skinny, they aren't weighing enough. If they look nice and filled out, they are probably perfect in weight.

I rescued a 6 month old who only weighed 44g (smaller than a newborn fresh out of the egg) and she's currently 16 months old now and weights 875g or so. she's got nice body tone to her so I'm not worried about her at all.

If you have a picture, can you post it? We can tell you if the snake looks like a healthy weight or tell you that it needs to fatten up.

[Centexsnakes]

Being relatively new to ball pythons, I will say this, if yours will eat rats just feed rats, I have a male that's a dedicated mouser, while I don't mind the extra time and stuff I do mind the cost!!!!! Rats are so much cheaper in the long run!!! I'm glad my new girl will eat rats (hopefully, she is still getting adjust, lol) anywas, best of luck!!!

[Mephibosheth1]

I'll try and post pictures in the next few days; he's shedding currently, so I'm waiting until he's done to do anything with him

[Mephibosheth1]

Finally got a picture of him post shed; the coins are US quarters.






As stated above he was born in 2011, and eats either an adult mouse or a hopper rat every 7-9 days (I feed him the day after the urates appear)

shoyld he be larger/smaller??

how much more frequently (or infrequently) should I feed him??

is it true that his head will not grow properly if I don't increase the size of his prey accordingly??

thanks

[Anya]

Finally got a picture of him post shed; the coins are US quarters.






As stated above he was born in 2011, and eats either an adult mouse or a hopper rat every 7-9 days (I feed him the day after the urates appear)

shoyld he be larger/smaller??

how much more frequently (or infrequently) should I feed him??

is it true that his head will not grow properly if I don't increase the size of his prey accordingly??

thanks

Mmm, I would up the prey size. Many on here go by weight of the prey (15% of the snakes body-weight? I think. Don't quote me.) But honestly, I find it far easier to choose a prey based on how thick around the snake is- the rat should leave a small, slightly noticeable lump after swallowed. He doesn't look too bad, weight wise, but It's hard to tell from a picture. I would probably feed him a weaned rat every 7 days. Just me. Others can chime in.

Try not to fixate on his age vs. his weight so much. All snakes grow at different rates, and as long as they continue to grow, there should be no problem. It is a good idea to start keeping a record of his weight in grams, though, so if he starts losing weight, you'll know. That can help early diagnosis in a lot of health concerns.

edit: Oh, and about the head this...yeah, I think that's bunk. I've never heard that. (Then again, I don't know everything. I may be wrong.) As long as he's getting enough to eat, he'll be good.

[Willie76]

10%-15% food rule is only for youngins' up to 500 grams. I have a couple 350 gram Balls snatching weaned rats 1x per week. Over 500 grams, I would start with a small adult rat 1x per week. Do you have a gram scale so we could know the weight in grams?

[Mephibosheth1]

I can try and get one.....do you know about how much they tend to run??

[Willie76]

Reptile Basics (http://www.reptilebasics.com/digital-scales) has the digital scales for around $39 (with the weighing container - 7001 DX). Or if you have an OfficeMax or other office supply store, you can pick them up there too but they are a tad more expensive (~$50). I highly recommend the one from Reptile Basics.