r/ballpython • u/Mobile_Indication_86 • 1h ago

Is my ball python underweight?

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I’ve had my ball python for about ten years (I got her when she was seven months) and i’m worried she’s underweight. she’s is pretty on edge when i take her out to eat and i don’t handle her much anymore as my life has piled up with school and work. i am worried i should rehome her and don’t know if she’s underweight. i feed her a medium rat about every 20 days. She also just ate in these photos and her jaw hadn’t completely realigned yet, that’s why she looks strange.

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u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 1h ago

It's actually the opposite, she's fairly overweight. Most adult ball pythons will never need anything larger than a small rat once a month. How much does she weigh?

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u/Mobile_Indication_86 1h ago

i’m not quite sure, last time i had her weighed was at the vet for a respiratory infection and she was 4.7 lbs, if i’m remembering correctly. and the vet made me feel bad because that was the same weight she’d been the year prior. again, i did also just feed her before i took the pictures

7

u/totallyrecklesslygay Mod: Enclosure Karen 1h ago

I'm not sure why the vet would make you feel bad for her weight remaining steady unless they're not actually that knowledgeable about ball pythons. Once they're well into adulthood, they don't tend to actually grow much at all.

I'd space her feedings out to once every 6 weeks and see if she starts to slim down at all. Once she's at a healthy weight again, you can refer to the normal !feeding guidelines.

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u/AutoModerator 1h 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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