I am glad you came here for advice. Others who are posting have more expertise than me but I have 18 ball pythons as a keeper so I know what a 2 year old should look like and that’s why I assessed yours the way I did.
There is obviously something going on physically that is preventing your ball python from being able to handle larger rodents. I hope you can find some answers. I know you have come to the right place!
Btw those little rats are adorable. I have kept mice and rats as pets so I only feed ft…….
You never mentioned regurges, you said she didn’t eat them, those are two very different things. This is not a, “I’ll try again for a while”, this animal needs to see a vet now, and one with reptile/exotics clinical experience. Realistically if you are breeding, you should have a trusted vet anyways in case you need them. DO NOT attempt syringe feeding if you don’t have experience with it, as you can injure the animal.
I’m going to be very blunt for a moment: you should not be breeding any more animals until you figure out the basics. One, the snake you produced is a combo that isn’t uncommon, yet you asked if it was a new morph. The bare minimum for selling hatchlings is being able to ID what you produced, so you can accurately list them. It’s incredibly important to be able to provide accurate genetics and lineage for any animal you produce. Then there’s the fact that you called that snake “nice and healthy” when, to anyone with experience, it appears to be in quite bad shape. This indicates a lack of knowledge that needs to be rectified. There are clear signs of malnutrition and dehydration. It shouldn’t take two years for you to seek outside opinion or help for a snake that is in that condition.
If you want to breed long term, go for it, but make sure you’re constantly learning and improving.
Fed today, and she at the whole thing, photo for proof, it might get blurred but for educational purposes anybody that would like to see the proof can message to see that it wasnt an assist feed or syringe, but a natural one unassisted, and yes this time around it was finally eaten,
Firstly i added an extra hide in the inclosure, increased tank temp, personally think it was the extra hide, as i monitor temp and have raised it before already.
Here on the MorphMarket Reptile Community we don’t allow the sharing of feeding images.
We understand that animals eating other animals is a natural process, but sharing these images is not.
This is not to prevent participation, but rather to prevent these sorts of images being scraped and used against us in efforts to stop people keeping animals in captive environments.
I am wondering what, aside this snake’s size, makes you think it is a dwarf? You’ve already stated this animal was severely underfed for two years, which has likely stunted its growth significantly. From the photos you posted there don’t appear to be any other signs of dwarfism. Has this snake seen a vet yet? What size feeder is it getting and how often?
A snake’s normal growth depends on a good diet. The first picture you ever posted of this snake showed that it was not recieving enough nutrients to grow properly, it was very underweight. Pinky rats aren’t even enough to feed a hatchling Ball Python because they do not have the bone density and developed tissue that a more mature rodent would have to provide nutrients, let alone a Ball Python that is two years old. At this age they should be readily taking down small rats. Edit: not that you should be feeding this specific snake small rats right now if it is still in the same state as it was 2 months ago…
An update photo of the snake would really help… and have you ever gotten this snake to the vet?
That is most definitely not what is happening here. It’s been explained that this snake is not getting the proper nutrition and that has stunted its growth. A ball python who is only fed pinkies for two years is simply not taking in enough nutrients and calories for normal growth. There’s no mystery here, no “world’s first,” no new morph, no dwarfism, just a pretty little snake that is not getting the proper nutrition.
As everyone else has said. Not a dwarf. You stunted their growth. I know you were just referring to this snake as a she… I would definitely consider this a ‘pet only’ animal if they are female. With how stunted she is she may never be able to breed normally or may eggbind easily.
And just because I needed to take a photo of this one earlier to update someone…
Here’s a super pastel lesser cinny. It is not a rare combo. It is not a world’s first. Even if yours is a super pastel HRA lesser, it’s been done.
Wait, does this mean you’ve been feeding her pinky mice this whole time? Have you been starting all of your hatchlings on pinky mice? These are not nutritionally appropriate, albeit the hoppers are better, however you are still possibly underfeeding her. How much does she weigh?
Okay, had me worried for a moment there about the pinkies. Do you have an actual weight on her? Are her meals about 10%-15% of her weight? You likely won’t see any noticeable growth for a while. Your original photos showed she had visible ribs, meaning she had almost no body fat or energy reserves. Even the photo you just posted, if it’s more recent, the first third of her body is still very thin, and her skin looks like she’s still dehydrated. All her meals right now are just going to rebuild body mass. She has to be taking in enough calories on a regular basis to have a surplus for growth as she has almost no body fat currently.
Also I just noticed, is that an injury or substrate in the corner of her mouth in that photo? You also haven’t mentioned if she has seen a vet yet, but I’d really heavily suggest you make an appointment if she hasn’t.
That is substrate because (she) gets a little slow when feeding. She also really hates being touched around the face, but i do try to remove it without adding to any stressful attempts, she is also semi transparent, and due to her size and no signs of growth i didnt want to attempt sexing this animal because i got bigger then most peoples hands.
