male bps grow slower?

[aaramire]

Do male ball pythons gain weight/grow slower than females? I have a male and a female and while the female is gaining weight like crazy the male seems to be just maintaining his. Is this something others have experienced?

[Thor26]

females tend to be bigger

[kurgan]

They tend smaller and whilst their growth seems to bottom out earlier (although it doesn't entirely stop) for the first year I think they grow at a very similar pace.

[Gloryhound]

If both were to eat the same amount I think they would probably grow similarly for the first year maybe two. The problem here is the male may not want to eat as much as a female. From a lot of what I have read (no personal experience) females tend to want to eat a lot more when just before breeding time if they are cycled annually as a way to pack on fat stores to help develop eggs. Also each ball python is different. Some seem to be willing to jump on a rat regardless of when the last time they ate was while others don't seem to want to eat unless you give them enough time between meals. Our big boy Seth, an 06 male approx 750 grams, would take down another small rat 2 days after previously eating a small rat given half the chance. After pre scenting the room he is ready and your hand better not get closer than a 1' to his cage while you are dropping that rat as he has snatched one out of the air before it hit the bottom of his tub once already! Then one of our big girls Osiris, 04 female 1808 grams, if you don't wait at least 6 days between feedings she isn't interested.

[aaramire]

I wonder if I should be feeding my boy more. He is about 325 grams and I feed him a medium size mouse every 5 days. Should I bump him up to larger mice? He has taken very small rats but I just feel like thats too large for him right now, and I can never find the appropriate size rat at my local pet store.

[Freakie_frog]

I wonder if I should be feeding my boy more. He is about 325 grams and I feed him a medium size mouse every 5 days. Should I bump him up to larger mice? He has taken very small rats but I just feel like thats too large for him right now, and I can never find the appropriate size rat at my local pet store.

I have two in that weight range and they eat rat pups every five days just fine. You might could bump him up and see how it goes.

[giaach]

My male weighs 300grams and I feed him two medium mice every week. Sometimes I think he wants more ha.

[COLDBLOODED262]

If both were to eat the same amount I think they would probably grow similarly for the first year maybe two. The problem here is the male may not want to eat as much as a female. From a lot of what I have read (no personal experience) females tend to want to eat a lot more when just before breeding time if they are cycled annually as a way to pack on fat stores to help develop eggs. Also each ball python is different. Some seem to be willing to jump on a rat regardless of when the last time they ate was while others don't seem to want to eat unless you give them enough time between meals. Our big boy Seth, an 06 male approx 750 grams, would take down another small rat 2 days after previously eating a small rat given half the chance. After pre scenting the room he is ready and your hand better not get closer than a 1' to his cage while you are dropping that rat as he has snatched one out of the air before it hit the bottom of his tub once already! Then one of our big girls Osiris, 04 female 1808 grams, if you don't wait at least 6 days between feedings she isn't interested.

my ball did the exact same thing pretty much he jumped almost his entire body lenth and grabbed the jumper mouse the instant i released it from my fingers he even gased my hand (adrenaline rush)

[elusivereptiles]

I wonder if I should be feeding my boy more. He is about 325 grams and I feed him a medium size mouse every 5 days. Should I bump him up to larger mice? He has taken very small rats but I just feel like thats too large for him right now, and I can never find the appropriate size rat at my local pet store.

I feed my 300+ gram snakes small rats.

[Inknsteel]

I feed my 300+ gram snakes small rats.

+1

I had my girl on medium mice (I call them medium anyway, around 26g each) and she didn't look to be growing as fast as I thought she would. She would also only eat one, never showing real interest in a second mouse if offered. She weighed in at 224g when I bought my scale. I switched her over to small rats, between 45-55 grams each and she's packed on about 100g since I made the switch a month ago. Now she's up to about 425ish and pounding a 50ish gram rat a week and doing great!