Weight concern

[cron14]

Craigafrechette,

Thank you for your response and the 'Welcome!' I love animals, but have never owned a reptile before, this is all new territory for me. So, I kinda freaked when I looked at the average weight for a 3 month old ball python--146 grams--while Sarabi (my python) weighed 64 grams.

I had contacted Snakes at Sunset and they told me that she was eating, but didn't have a record of her meals. You said that it looks like Sarabi is on the 'small side.' Does that mean I should expect her to grow more slowly or not get very big?

You mentioned to up the size of her prey, when needed. Should I simply go by the largest part of her girth? Or is there another indicator that I should take into consideration?

I apologize for all the questions. I've done my best to educate myself--through books and YouTube videos--about ball pythons and their care, however I seem to have new questions everyday. Haha. I really appreciate your time and you sharing your knowledge and experience.

Just because she is off to a slow start doesn't mean she won't become a voracious eater. I've had my BP for nearly three years and he's always been a fairly picky eater so he was a slow grower. The speed of their growth when they're young all depends on how consistently they feed. Basically what I'm saying is theres no way of telling right now whether you'll have a fast or slow grower. Also, as others I'm sure will suggest, make sure husbandry is spot on (I think they're a bit more forgiving than people suggest but I don't have anywhere close to other experience) . BPs are known to go off feed if the husbandry is off which is why I ditched aquariums for an AP T-8.

A lot of people go on a 10-15% body weight rule when it comes to feeding. That means the prey being fed is 10-15% of the snakes body weight. I did this for a little while but then started to eyeball it. Since I feed live, I can usually pick out the rat I want to purchase even though I don't necessarily know the weight. Largest part of her girth is a safe bet, especially if yours takes F/T. Since mine is established, I like to feed a larger meal once every 2-4 weeks and have had no issues. (Don't do this with your baby) Welcome to the forum! Everyone on here is awesome and has helped me a ton since I started on this reptile journey.

P.S. Don't go off averages you see on the internet. Every snake is different and will grow at their own rate. To some my 1,100 BP may seem small for a three year old but to others he's the perfect weight. Body composition is the most important factor.