Why is he so small?

[George1994]

When they are 50 grams and the thickness of a quarter, I'm not so sure.


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Small Rat pups are about 15 grams, normally tiny, hatchlings should be able to handle one. That being said, have you seen the size difference in humans? Or any other animal in existence? They vary, sometimes dramatically. Yours might just be smaller end of the scale. It does seem really small however...

[aLittleLessButter]

The size and age don't suprise me but hearing that he eats fine and is that small doesn't sound right. I have a male clown that I found on Craigslist that was 6 months and only 160g when I got him. He is now 11 months and only 190g. Husbandry is on a point and he's otherwise healthy but he is a major problem eater. He is strictly a mouse hopper eater. Won't take a rat pup, won't take anything larger then a mouse hopper, won't take f/t. He also will only eat for 3 weeks consecutively then he goes off for a month or so before eating for another 2-3 weeks.
If your snake is a good consistant eater then you might try feeding more often. Feed every 5 days til he gets to 500g

[George1994]

The size and age don't suprise me but hearing that he eats fine and is that small doesn't sound right. I have a male clown that I found on Craigslist that was 6 months and only 160g when I got him. He is now 11 months and only 190g. Husbandry is on a point and he's otherwise healthy but he is a major problem eater. He is strictly a mouse hopper eater. Won't take a rat pup, won't take anything larger then a mouse hopper, won't take f/t. He also will only eat for 3 weeks consecutively then he goes off for a month or so before eating for another 2-3 weeks.
If your snake is a good consistant eater then you might try feeding more often. Feed every 5 days til he gets to 500g

I had IMMENSE trouble with my female Lesser! I got her June last year I think, and she has only just started to eat properly. She wouldn't strike at all, if she did strike it was out of fear and she would bite then let go and hide, I got her to eat twice in a period of 6 months. I handed her over to my local reptile store owners, and they had her feeding properly again in a few months, just got her back and she is perfect!

Bath her in an electrolyte bath, don't resort to feeding the small prey constantly, after a while it will go for what you are trying to feed it, try braining the prey item, double and triple check your husbandry and even change things around in the tank, it may not feel comfortable with how things are, regardless of your husbandry. There are tons you can do to change a picky eater. Mine was about 150g at a year, she in now 3 months older and nearly 300g.

[aLittleLessButter]

Bath her in an electrolyte bath, don't resort to feeding the small prey constantly, after a while it will go for what you are trying to feed it, try braining the prey item, double and triple check your husbandry and even change things around in the tank, it may not feel comfortable with how things are, regardless of your husbandry. There are tons you can do to change a picky eater. Mine was about 150g at a year, she in now 3 months older and nearly 300g.

He is in a rack with back heat controlled by herpstat4 which also controls my other 2 racks. Hotspot 90 ,cool side 81, humidity 60. Blue shop paper towel substrate. He has 3 hides among other things ive added to make his space a little more cluttered. I've tried a few different things; different hides, more clutter, changing which slot on the rack he's in. All changes were made weeks apart from each other to prevent stress. No matter what the change, his habits are the same: on for 3 weeks, off for a month. I tried bathing him once as recomended by someone on here but didn't make a difference. Many say bathing is more of a stresser anyway so I avoid it. Not sure what you mean by "electrolyte bath".
I have 7 balls total which I've had for a year, all doing great. Everyone eats every week except for my clown

[George1994]

He is in a rack with back heat controlled by herpstat4 which also controls my other 2 racks. Hotspot 90 ,cool side 81, humidity 60. Blue shop paper towel substrate. He has 3 hides among other things ive added to make his space a little more cluttered. I've tried a few different things; different hides, more clutter, changing which slot on the rack he's in. All changes were made weeks apart from each other to prevent stress. No matter what the change, his habits are the same: on for 3 weeks, off for a month. I tried bathing him once as recomended by someone on here but didn't make a difference. Many say bathing is more of a stresser anyway so I avoid it. Not sure what you mean by "electrolyte bath".
I have 7 balls total which I've had for a year, all doing great. Everyone eats every week except for my clown

Similar to my Lesser, these things happen with Ball Pythons at times. Most snap out of it after a while, took mine months and months!

Electrolyte bath -

http://www.captivebredreptileforums....lp-please.html

Another thing mentioned there is taking them for a drive! Don't know why, but this seems to work quite a bit when trying to get a feeding response. Put him in a bag, go for a drive with him for 15mins and try feeding him straight after!

[aLittleLessButter]

Similar to my Lesser, these things happen with Ball Pythons at times. Most snap out of it after a while, took mine months and months!

Electrolyte bath -

http://www.captivebredreptileforums....lp-please.html

Another thing mentioned there is taking them for a drive! Don't know why, but this seems to work quite a bit when trying to get a feeding response. Put him in a bag, go for a drive with him for 15mins and try feeding him straight after!

Thanks, I'll read more about the electrolyte bath. However, Im not gonna do the drive. I'd rather not risk him becoming stressed and staying off feed. I'm not upset over it. Hes not skinny or loosing weight. He is otherwise healthy. I'd like him to eat more and will continue occasionally tweeking things til he does but as long as he stays health and continues to eat I'm ok

[Daigga]

My mojave is fairly similar. She's gained maybe 100 grams since I got her in September despite being a voracious eater and skipping maybe 3 meals total. She's become a little fatty, but refuses to actually grow at all. I'm sure mine is just due for a growth spurt, and probably yours as well. Frustrating, but not much we can do about it, so no use worrying over it.

[200xth]

Marshall is extremely small. He eats great, is growing fast, but small for his age. When I first got him he was about 3 months old and only about 50 grams. Now, he is 6 months old and just over 100 grams. Is this a bad thing, or is he just a little gaffer?

Just out of curiosity, what do you feed him and how often? If you have the weights of the food, that would make it easier for me to get an idea of the size.

[gameonpython]

Just out of curiosity, what do you feed him and how often? If you have the weights of the food, that would make it easier for me to get an idea of the size.

I am feeding him 20-30 gram weaned ASF. I feed every 5 days.


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[gameonpython]

Small Rat pups are about 15 grams, normally tiny, hatchlings should be able to handle one. That being said, have you seen the size difference in humans? Or any other animal in existence? They vary, sometimes dramatically. Yours might just be smaller end of the scale. It does seem really small however...

All the rat pups I've seen are much bigger, but I guess it depends on where you get your rats. The ones that are sold here are 20-30 grams.


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