Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my ball python for a year and a half, its my first one. I thought everything was normal until I meet someone and saw their ball.
My ball is very small compared to his which is 9 months. My ball eats 2 adult mice every two weeks, she sheds normal and poops normal,thats why I thought everything about it was normal. the reason I am worried is because she hasn't grown much sinse I got her She is only a little bit longer and a little fatter but thats about it, she is just over a 1' long. and before anybody says anything let me tell you that I visit this site everyday and read the important post, tring to learn more, I have also followed all instructions given to me by the Breeder. Is it possible that she is a runt?
I am going to have my aunt take a pic with her digi cam. today and try to post a pic of it.
Thanks for reading
Britt

I feed my young ball pythons every 5-7 days. Usually 1 food item that will give your python a lump in her belly for at least a full day is an appropriate size meal. If you don't see a lump in his/her belly after eating its not a big enough food item. In other words a food item that is a little larger than his/her biggest part of her body is the size of meal your python should be eating.

Jason

Hi Britt,

I'm not an expert but I have read a lot of books and websites about care for a ball python. My best advice is to feed it every week, and pick a designated day, and be faithful about feeding it. For example, I feed my baby every Wednesday at 6pm. Obviously it's hard to do that all the time but try to be constant about your feeding her. Also, all pythons vary in size, length, and girth. My python is a lot skinnier than my friends python and they are about the same age. As long as your python is eating, pooping, and shedding normally, you really have nothing to worry about. Also, unlike boa constrictors, python's grow pretty slow, and if you handle her or look at her on a daily basis you aern't going to notice her getting bigger.

Again, I'm no expert, but that's my 2 cents, and I think a lot of people woudl back me up on it.

-Ben

>>… she hasn't grown much sinse I got her She is only a little bit longer and a little fatter but thats about it, she is just over a 1' long.

Hi Britt –

Based on the information you provided, it is hard to say much for certain. There are a couple of issues here. First, exactly how long your snake was and how much it weighed when you got it a year and a half ago, and exactly how much it weighs and how long it is now. I can’t tell either of these things from what you say, except for the length now (sort of). So no one could really tell you if you have a “runt”. Are you absolutely sure it is only a little over 12 inches long? That would be quite unusual. It can be difficult to determine the length of a snake which is not dead or anesthetized with great accuracy. I rarely try to measure the length of neonate snakes anymore; their weights are more important to me. But out of curiosity I just picked 4 of this summer’s ball python hatchlings from different clutches which had eaten between 2 and 4 meals. All measure at least 18 inches long. And these were animals that were only 60 to 80 grams at hatching, not huge. For sure, ball pythons are well known to have what I call “half-sized eggs” which produce half-sized hatchlings. I’m not sure if anyone has ever followed up on these smaller babies. The common wisdom is that they eventually catch up with their more normally-sized siblings. So, to really track your snake’s progress it would be helpful if you could accurately weigh it from time to time.

As to the second issue, since you say you have been following this forum for a while, you surely know that most of the people who post here express the desire to breed their animals and advocate feeding them more food, more often than you are doing. This doesn’t make their feeding regimen the only “right” one despite the certainty expressed in some of the posts. I can only say that, after getting hatchlings started on fuzzy mice, I generally feed them one adult mouse every week. As time passes, I increase the size and number of prey items offered. With mature adults, I offer food frequently during the months I know they normally feed, and allow them to eat as much as they will take.

-Joan

wow if it is a female and is only just over a foot long she is small. Bp is 3 and a half months old and is about 20 inches long.
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1 ball python (vakker)
0.1 dogs
2.1 cockatiels
1.1 chinchillas

my 1 and 6 month bp is just ovr 2 1/2 feet.