Why Weigh

[kjhowland]

Why does everyone seem so concerned about the weight of their snake? Just curious.

[ADEE]

It helps you know how your animal is progressing.. easier to go back to.. gee for instance, my boa was only 74g when he came here, and now hes 315g. I know hes "grown" but not exactly how much.. If there is a problem and you notice your snake doesnt look so good, you can refer back to the most recent weight and see if the animal has lost any weight. Just a great way to monitor growth IMO. Every creature in this house gets weighed on a fairly regular basis.

[missi182]

I agree with Ashley, I think the most important reason to weigh my snake is to measure progress, and if he should go off feed - I can easily monitor his weight loss should it occur and have records ready for the vet if I need them. There is a sense of pride when you know your young snake is putting on weight consistently.

Oh and weight is relevant to breeding, especially for females which are best to be a certain weight before breeding.

[kjhowland]

yeah, butno female like her weight to be known

sorry, couldn't resist

[kjhowland]

ok is 121 g too little for a 10 month old male red tail?

[ADEE]

thats really small... my red tail is about 6mos old and he weighs 315g. He eats an appropriate size meal every 7-8 days... pictures would be helpful to tell whether or not your snake is *too* small.. Every animal is different, sharing your set-up, frequency of feeding, how long it is, exc. There are alot of factors to be considered... and heres the kicker... if you havnt had previous weights you have NO IDEA what kind of growth pattern the snake has had prior. Sorry had to throw that in there, weights IMO is up there with proper husbandry, feeding, exc in importance.

[kjhowland]

OK I bought the snake in March, breeder says he was born 7/27/07. Since I've had him, he has fed fuzzy mice once a week. He hasn't shed since I got him. His hot spot is 92 with a ambient of 82. He's approximately 20 inches long. What scales work best for reptiles?

[ADEE]

I use a regular household scale that weighs in grams, I got it at Target for about $30. Fuzzy mice are a bit small.. ours eats a regular size mouse weekly. How do you know it weighs 121? Its very pretty but going by the picture looks small for being almost a year old.

Follow this thread, it shows pictures of the scale I use.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/forums/s...149#post791149

[ChicaPiton519]

i have a food type scale from walmart, it measures in grams...
i dont remember how much it was...
uhh... yeahhh =]

=]

[kjhowland]

I used a postal scale. He weighed in at 4.3 ounces and I converted the weights. Breeder said he was eating fuzzy mice and I haven't pushed him to anything larger. Based on how he takes it, it seemed appropiate.