Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a female I got not even 6 months ago. I keep other reptiles, but missed having snakes and had always been interested in ball pythons.

This girl is beautiful. I got her from some friends who acquired her through someone at work who had a new gf who was terrified of snakes. From what they told me she was 2.

I would peg her at about 2 1/2-3 ft and only about 600grams. I don't think she was being fed often enough and she has been fed mice exclusively.

My question is, has her growth been stunted permamnently? She does not look unhealthy... perhaps not as thick as other balls I have seen and she was only 480g when I got her so she has put on some weight and shed twice. I just wonder if it will take years now to get her to breedable size or if she will start growing more quickly now that she is being fed more.

Is there anything special I should do to try to encourage her growth and overall health since she had been fed on such a slow schedule? Can I hurt her by speeding things up so quickly? (She was fed one mouse a month for the last year before I got her.) I know some pythons have chosen to go longer than that on their own but she seems to eagerly take food whenever offered (knock on wood).

Thanks for your suggestions...
Mo
-----
All my Children: 0.2 female humans (1 is 10 and the other is a 6 month old hatchling), 1 Saint Bernard, 2 maine coons, 15 leopard geckos, 1 pacman frog, 1 oscar, 1 jack dempsey, 1.1 ball pythons, and "Lilith" the black meowing kitty

Hi Mo. My girl is two years old and only 30" long. She is fed mice only and I feel she is doing fine. So do the snake guys at the pet store I go to. They DO know about snakes AND Balls.
When I asked about feeding her more, I was cautioned not to feed to much to fast for fear of causing her to "outgrow" (my term not theirs) her bones and cause calcium dificeincy (sp?).
Don't push to hard to fast. I have seen Balls MUCH younger than Rachel eating rats at six months! WOW! Don't ask for to much of your new girl. Just let her grow! Rachel is shedding every six weeks now, so your girl just might need to catch up if she was neglected. Have patience, she will live another twenty years, what is a couple of months? :0)

I suggest :

1) deworming with Flagyl at 50mg/kg Panacur at 25 mg/kg Telmin KH at 25 mg/kg
After deworming you'll see that what she's gonna eat will be much more turned into size than before.

2) feeding with rats (at the properly size!).
It appears that rats are more consistant than mices, and the snake is growing faster when eating rats tather than mices, even for the same weight of food ingested.

Is there a place where you can buy the stuff?

I am wondering this because I am thinking (may be wrong) that vets probably over charge. and getting them elsewhere might be cheaper.

please let me knwo.

Can you get it at reptile shows? I have looked but I have never seen those meds sold at the reptile shows.
-----
Longtang. I like snakes and rats.

You get that very simply at a drugstore shop. Don't need any prescription excepted for Flagyl, but if the guy at the shop is nice he'll give it to you without paper if you explain it's for animals. Can get that on the web too, online shop kind of HerpSupplies.com
It cost around $10 each.

PS : I'm from France, may be it's a bit different in US...