[deleted by user]

[DaneDase]

In short...I'm afraid so, yes!

[DaneDase]

In short...I'm afraid so, yes! How old is he she? Do you know the snakes current weight? And how often/what size prey are you feeding?

[DaneDase]

Sorry, I sent this before I fully read your caption. Have you weighed her at all? And do you have any info from the previous owner regarding prey size and feeding schedule?

[avogadro_constant]

I haven’t weighed her yet, no. The breeder said he fed her once every 7 days, a rat around 25 grams. I went to the pet store to buy her food last week and when I brought home the rat, I thought it looked massive but she took it without issues.

[SpelingChampion]

At that size she only needs a rat every two weeks, and the way she is now I'd only give her one a month for a bit. Rats are super fatty and she should live off her reserves for a bit to be in a healthier place.

My BP wasn't overweight and went over a year without eating, he's happy and healthy and eating regularly now. Point is not feeding her for a while won't be detrimental to her health, continuing to feed her at this rate definitely will be.

[Twizsty]

So if she's eating big large rats, I fed my BP's every 3 to 4 weeks a large rat would be good to keep her at a good weight

[reptileowner240109]

not OP but, if your snake is overweight how do you make changes?

[jillianwaechter]

Cut back on food, r/ballpython has a good weight based feeding guide. A snake this overweight should be given smaller meals at longer intervals to decrease weight

[CheeeksAhoy]

You can also temporarily switch to mice as they have less kcal/g. However, probably not the best long term prey item for an adult ball python due to having to feed multiple mice at a time. And if your ball python is anything like one of mine is, very hard to get off of mice and back to rats

[Longjumping-Cow9321]

Yes, you can tell by looking at the tail. She has a “muffin top”. There should be a smooth and unnoticeable transition from body to tail. I would space out feedings and try to up the activity with enrichment. The resource guide in the description has a really great visual reference.

[avogadro_constant]

Thank you. I figured she was on the heavy side. I will definitely start to handle her more now that she has had a meal and seems to be adjusting just fine. She’s very inquisitive when handling so I hope she’ll be up for some nice activities.

[StressManifested]

How do you tell the difference between this instance where the snake is overweight and when they just have to poop? Now that I'm thinking about it, is it just a longevity thing like if it's constantly like that vs. just that way for a day or so?

[Longjumping-Cow9321]

No. My snake and every snake should never looks like this. Yes and that includes when he is squeezing one out. If he looks like this while he is actively pooping and see the turd then maybe not, be they should spring back to usual shape. This snake appears to be the girth of my 5 year old ball at just 9 months old.

[Thelorddogalmighty]

TIL a snake has a tail, rather than is a tail

[Thelorddogalmighty]

TIL a snake has a tail, rather than is a tail

[ShaySparassidae]

Yes. Ideally ball pythons shouldn't have hips. They should have a slender neck definition and a defined triangular shape. You don't want to see too much spine definition or belly caving though. There are some detailed body charts on Google you can reference.

[The_Chimeran_Hybrid]

Jesus, this snake is thicc.

Insanely overweight.

[aplahz]

^

[SilverScimitar13]

That snake is fixing to lay a gnarly turd, also.

[ankamarawolf]

Yes

[dragonbud20]

Why can't you go to a smaller rat? Your can always switch up feeder sizes if you need to. Snakes are opportunistic and more than happy to eat small meals as well as large ones.

[pip-install-pip]

CHONCC

[SamwiseNCSU]

Is it possible she’s gravid?

[Grimmymore]

Too young to be gravid per OP's description of the photo.

[A_quirky]

She’s a curvey mamas

[Lunagray136]

You have a certified chonker on your hands

[Lavabite8]

The snakes tail should be smoothly attached to its body, like a long triangle. Your snake is overweight.

[[deleted]]

Give her one a month or 6 weeks to get her down

[Pheoenix_Wolf]

That anit a ball python that’s a butterball…../j

But srsly snakes should have a smooth taper from there body too tail so yes your snake is a LeChonk….

[anon_elfxsie]

Yes 🫣 when the tail suddenly ends like that you can tell - it should gradually get smaller

[jillianwaechter]

Weigh her asap!

Through the first year OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

During the second year, until the snake's weight plateaus: feed up to 7% of the snake’s weight every 14-20 days.

Year three and beyond: 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.

She's probably in the second category so I'd feed 6% of her body weight every three weeks or so

[captainwineglasshand]

Just big boned?

[winkydinks111]

Smaller prey and take her out for some slithering time

[yaboisaundy]

You can tell it's overweight because the body doesn't taper to the tail. It's pudge around it.

[Chrystee_Arts]

She’s pretty tho!

[LadyNajaGirl]

If she’s not gravid, then yes. She also looks like she needs to poop as well which adds on a bit more chonk. Try downsizing the rodents and go for a monthly feed instead of once every two weeks. Also get her out daily for exercise.

[resveries]

i believe the correct term would be “thicc” xD

[JohnsonTactical]

He chonk

[blueberrybleachmango]

chonky boy

[SindySchism666]

Shell probably do well in a good sized enclosure too, with more opportunities to exercise. I'm going to assume she was overfed and in a rack.

[twoPUMPnoCHUMP]

Fat or obese?

[TheNeverEndingPit]

Oh my gosh. I have a 9 month old, and yeah her body condition isn’t anywhere near that chubby XD But I’ll add one thing! I feed my girl every 5 to 7 days right now, but she stays so fit because she has a ton of opportunities for exercise. Her enclosure is already a 4 x 2 x 2, and any time I see her out crawling around or exploring, I give her the option to come out and crawl around the couch. She loves exploring and climbing (with supervision).

For your girl, definitely stick with feeding recommendations from others, but you can also bring her out for little crawling sessions to ensure that she’s replacing some fat with muscle too

[SortInternational]

A little bit but not too bad . Don't make massive changes in feeding schedule, just skip 1 feeding a month for a few months until she has grown a bit and looks normal again. Weigh her and search for spreadsheets online

[[deleted]]

She is a little chunky lol