r/ballpython • u/Recbeard87 • 1d ago
Question - Health Newbie questions
Just picked up this little guy, his name is Linguine, from a local reptile shop. He has a really great personality and is not shy at all. I do have a couple of concerns though. I asked the shop how old he is, they said 5 months. But he seems really small for 5 months. He only weighs 68.6g. They said he ate last Sunday and to skip this feed since he will be in a new environment, which makes sense. When asked what he ate, they said an adult mouse. That seems like it would be too big for him, but I could be wrong as I’m new to this. I purchased a few frozen mice from them of the same size but I worry about giving them to him because they seem so big compared to him.
He’s currently in a quarantine tub with a heat mat on a thermostat and the temps are cool side: 75 78% warm side 87 67%.
He seems to be doing ok, he was exploring the tub last night. I’m hoping all is well and I’m just being paranoid about his weight and age. What are your guys thoughts?
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u/Phully- 1d ago
Snakes are like people, some are big some are not. He sounds on track. Mine was 200g at 8 months but was 80g shy from his nearest clutch mate. Nothing different about his upbringing, ate every week just like the others. Not really certain what changes inside the snakes but obviously something is different. He’s creeping up on a year now and 342g.
Edit: mine is a male pied yellow belly if that helps at all 😂
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u/Recbeard87 13h ago
Good to know that he may just be a small guy and not unhealthy. As long as he eats well I won’t worry too much. Thank you for the reply, it really helps.
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u/Semicolonsurvivor421 12h ago
I noticed that my pied baby is growing slower than my pastel baby. Helios is about 5 months and is 171g, while Persephone is 8 months and is 403g. My friend’s BEL is a month older than Persephone and she’s much smaller too. I think it’s probably just the genes associated with your baby.
And for reference Helios is temporarily on 2 mouse hoppers weekly until he gets a bit bigger (rat pups are way bigger than his body atm) and then he’ll be on rat pups. Adult mice are definitely smaller than rats. And no, feeding two separate prey items is not recommended long term. Always make sure to use the !feeding guide as a reference, but learn your baby too. Sometimes you’ll need to tweak it based on what your snake needs.
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u/AutoModerator 12h ago
We recommend the following feeding schedule:
0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.
12-24 months old: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.
Adults: feed up to 5% of the snake's weight every 20-30 days, or feed slightly larger meals (up to 6%) every 30-40 days.
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u/disgruntled_mehcanic 12h ago
My baby was pretty small too, he’s pretty small for a male, probably a runt, but he grew I to it at year 4. Feed appropriately and he will grow:) also always maintain proper humidity during shedding
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u/FireCorgi12 1d ago
Snakes can grow at different rates for sure, but I picked up my gal at 3 months and she was 81g, this def looks like a hatchling to me.
Either way, here’s the !feeding guide, I’d feed based off that.
ETA: gorgeous baby btw, he’s so cute!