I have a Ball Python I purchased about 8 months ago who’s age I have no idea about (person I purchased from did not know). Well as of last month he’s weighting 564 grams. He normally eats anywhere from every 2 weeks to 1 month. I know its probably hard to say what his healthy weight should be without knowing how old he is and length (been meaning to measure him) but if he were say (guessing) about a year old would 564 grams be ok?
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I have a female that is a bit over 2 years old. She wasn’t well started from the breeder and it was a struggle to get her to eat for nearly a year after I got her. She is just now reaching close to 600 grams, and never misses a meal now. So long as they have good body condition, and aren’t underweight or fat then they are a healthy weight. All snakes gain size at different rates due to many things.
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Thanks for reply…Just curious as I’ve only had one other Ball Python. I LOVE the different morphs…I find Balls can be some of the most beautiful snakes in the world but I HATE it when they go off feed. In fact I hate it so much that I don’t think I’ll ever buy another one so my boy Odin will be with me for life but no more balls lol. I’ll stick to all the other hungry guys/gals I have…They don’t miss meals as they are a bunch a greedy monsters lol.
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This is the main reason I never recommend BPs as starter snakes. Temps, humidity, security, and feeding issues are too much I feel unless someone really does their research. Colubrids and some boas are by far easier in most cases. Rat snakes and king snakes are fool proof starter snakes with minimal research. I probably won’t get other BPs unless I find a really nice deal on another female for breeding, and will focus on less popular colubrids. That and colubrids are so much more fun to watch.
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I have adult males that are 600 or 700 grams. They eat well and are very healthy. There just not that big. Body structure is always a better indicator than weight. I find if you feed the males less often there less inclined to go off the feed. 10-14 days is how often I feed adult males. I feed weekly for adult females.
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I can agree with this. When I used to keep a larger amount of balls, I too fed mine once every two weeks. I also fed them smaller meals than normal. I found when you do this they accept food much more regularly and still grow at a decent rate.
As to your ball @ag2357, I’d say if he is a year old and at that weight he’s perfectly healthy. I’ve seen some 2 year old males at lower weights than your boy and they were still healthy. No set weight really, every individual is different.
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Thanks everyone…I appreciate the replies.
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