Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a CB 05 female BP at 200g and 23". What can I do to make this girl grow faster and bigger...safely. I am not interested in powerfeeding and the like. Rather, I am interested in the variables that affect growth rates. In other words, what is the best temperature, food size, food type, humidity, enclosure size, stress level, etc, etc, etc...to maximize growth rate?

Thanks!
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0.1 CB '05 Ball Python
Chlorhexidine

how often do you feed? i feed 1 adult mouse or rat fuzzy every five days and my male is growing like a weed. Some snakes just grow fast, some are slow. as long as your temps are high 90-95 F on the hot side, they should be able to digest their prey faster and be ready to eat sooner. i have been told that rats are better food than mice, which i assume might make them grow faster, but i have not noticed any difference so far. I am not sure if i beleive there is much of a difference between rats and mice, because they are both different foods than BPs eat in the wild.

anyways, good luck, powerfeeding seems like the only way to make them grow faster than normal, but i'd never do it or recommend it to anyone for any reason. don't let your snake get fat

True:
"Some snakes just grow fast, some are slow."
I have some babies from this year ... Same clutch ... 5 months old 2 females weighed over 600 grams 1 female at 400 and 1 at a little over 175 ... Food does play a part in this ... The larger females are on rats and the smaller on mice ... I hold the same temps, housing, etc.
Not all that true:
"as long as your temps are high 90-95 F on the hot side, they should be able to digest their prey faster and be ready to eat sooner."
Think of it this way ... With the higher temps yes they will digest faster and be ready to eat faster BUT THEY WILL NOT RETAIN AS MUCH ... Lets say you hold the temps around 82 - 88 degrees ... They will retain alot more of the food item then at a higher temp and still be able to eat every 5-7 days ...

I beleive it's genetics - all of my snakes are on the same feed and same schedule same set up -some grow very quickly some grow very slowly and there are a lot in between. My one female that I keep in a big tank is 14 months old 44 inches long and 1500 grams - she eats one small rat a week the rest of my mid to late 04s are closer to 3 feet long and 800-1200 grams. We dont know why the one girl got so big so fast - she didn't even start eating until she was two months old - could be genetic or maybe cause she was in the big tank and had more room to grow??? Doubtful on the second part - but if it works for fish - LOL - who knows. Give them the most optimal set up you can afford and they should thrive.
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Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer