How big will he get?

[rufretic]

thats a big boy!!

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so basically he has a lot of growing to do still.

Don’t get your hopes up lol, not many males are going to get anywhere near that size. Jag is a beast and a rare extreme example of how big they ‘could’ get. But odds are your male will never get that big. I wish I’d get lucky and have a big monster boy but so far out of the 10 plus males I have, not one of them has even broke 2000g.

[MrBeeBow]

Don’t get your hopes up lol, not many males are going to get anywhere near that size. Jag is a beast and a rare extreme example of how big they ‘could’ get. But odds are your male will never get that big. I wish I’d get lucky and have a big monster boy but so far out of the 10 plus males I have, not one of them has even broke 2000g.

well im only at 500 grams now so he has some filling out to do, ill get my big snake fix soon enough when i add a BOA to my house.

[hollowlaughter]

The biggest ball python I've ever seen is about 5000 grams. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV7Ps7wW5vI

Of course it all depends on how much you feed them. I also think some lines of ball pythons are genetically different and grow a bit bigger than most. Most of my older bigger females are less than 3000 grams. You can keep them sub 1500 grams if you limit feed them and watch their weight.

Definitely. My male will be 3 yrs in 06/18 and he's just now starting to push 900g. But he was a picky feeder in the breeder's care and has been doing some fasting unprovoked after months of weekly feedings (compared to the biweekly for the breeder) so I definitely think genetics play a part.

[zina10]

Definitely. My male will be 3 yrs in 06/18 and he's just now starting to push 900g. But he was a picky feeder in the breeder's care and has been doing some fasting unprovoked after months of weekly feedings (compared to the biweekly for the breeder) so I definitely think genetics play a part.

Genetics definitely do play a part !

I have mentioned that before, but I got 5 hatchlings in 2010 (3 females, 2 males) all were approx the same size/age.

Despite being on the same feeding schedule, Jag grew much faster and much bigger then the others, right from the start ! He has never, ever been power fed. Last year he took a 8 month fast and barely lost 160 gr or so. I was breeding the 3 females with the other male and even though Jag wasn't the one breeding, he stopped eating during that time I was showing off one of the females to a friend and then got Jag out afterward. He kept nosing and sniffing around my arm and I believe he figured out there were female BP's in "breeding mode" nearby...

No fat on that boy either, he is all muscle, and quite strong. For a Ball Python, anyway

As for feeding, he hasn't been on a "set" schedule. He now eats large rats, because that is what keeps him "satisfied" and from looking for more (they leave no lump in him, either...) After he eats I simply wait until he tells me he is ready for more. I know him so well by now, I can tell when he is cruising for food. Usually he waits about 2 weeks between meals, sometimes 3. He also skips feeding when in shed.

So he is definitely not being overfed, yet even now he continues to grow, albeit much slower then he used to..

[Alicia]

Jag!

Yeah, the odds on the OP's little guy getting that big are pretty darned slim, but male ball pythons in general will get bigger than the >1000 grams if allowed to. And there is no reason not to allow them to.

Most of my adult males plateau in the range of around 1600-1800 grams. One is smaller, ~1300 (for a 2012 boy), while that particular snake's father weighs in at over 2200 grams.

[Godzilla78]

I’ve come to the conclusion, I’m ok with them being smSll and regulating their weight themselves. I offer plenty of food. If they want to eat and grow, they do. If they want to refuse and stay small, that’s cool too.
Mine are all plenty bulky, so a fast wouldn’t bother me in the slightest at this point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[hollowlaughter]

So he is definitely not being overfed, yet even now he continues to grow, albeit much slower then he used to..

Do you know how long he is, out of curiosity?

[zina10]

Do you know how long he is, out of curiosity?

Its hard to measure his length correctly but last year he could stretch from one side of my queen size bed to another (from side to side) so at least 60 inches.

Here is a older picture that "kind of" shows how long he really is.



and a couple close ups, cause I think he's cute

[Dutti]

Its hard to measure his length correctly but last year he could stretch from one side of my queen size bed to another (from side to side) so at least 60 inches.

Here is a older picture that "kind of" shows how long he really is.



and a couple close ups, cause I think he's cute

I have adopted my male when he was 3 years old and he was 3 feet. What surprises me is that it’s written on his identification paper which was issued when he was born that he would reach a maximum length of 4 feet. And it’s true. He is now 5 years old and 3,6 feet. How did the breeder at the time of his birth know that he would reach only a maximum length of 4 feet? By the way, I’m happy with his size, it fits his new enclosure very good. I’m just not happy with his feeding habits

[Sunnieskys]

Zina, he is a beautiful and huge boy! He is simply amazing! I hope Odyn gets big. I thought males grew to 4-4.5 ft. Is 3ft normal for a male?