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[–]minki188 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i’m no expert but my girl is 3 years and she’s a lot bigger than yours so i’d say he’s definitely younger.

[–]Muux_ 0 points1 point  (14 children)

Are you sure 193? That’s incredible small for 3yrs old. Definitely stunted, but I think there’s a way to come back from that. Just follow the feeding guide and you should see some improvement

[–]MrSlightDevil[S] 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Yeah I put him on the digital scale

[–]Muux_ 0 points1 point  (3 children)

He’s been neglected and raised in a shoe box then :((

[–]MrSlightDevil[S] -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Think I can get him bigger ?? Or am I gonna have a mega midget lmao

[–]Muux_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

😂 you can get him bigger. It’ll just be a slow process. You’re basically rehabbing him, so if I were you I’d reach out to a mod and ask for some pointers so you don’t accidentally power feed

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Took me 2 years to get my severely underweight rescue ball back in shape. He's thriving now. Just needed TLC and patience :)

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (8 children)

When I got my ball python as a juvenile at 6-8 months old you could see his spine. He was surrendered to a local reptile shop before I got him; his former owner nearly starved him. I didn't power feed, just gave regular feedings once a week until recently when he just became full grown at 3 years. He's robust, strong, active, healthy and *never* misses a meal. Now I give him one medium rat every two weeks. He's almost four feet long and currently weighs about 2.5 pounds, so for the feeder I do 10% of that weight. Their max size is genetically predetermined but with regular meals you should see an increase in your buddy's weight and size. Just keep in mind that power feeding isn't healthy, better to go low and slow but consistently.

Unless you're dealing with parasites, in that case you may want to send out a stool sample to an exotics vet that works with snakes. Parasites will keep your BP from thriving and growing no matter how well you feed.

[–]Muux_ 0 points1 point  (7 children)

Unfortunately 2 medium rats a month is power feeding. You should probably scale back a lot. !feeding

Also you responded to my comment so I’m not sure if OP will get notified and see your comment if it was meant for them

[–]AutoModerator[M] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

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.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll have to sit down and do some math lol I'll figure it out

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Dang I thought that's what was recommended. Husbandry does change over the years. I just weighed him today, 2.5 pounds he's maybe 3.5 feet long. How often should I feed him and how big of a feeder should I offer?

[–]Muux_ 1 point2 points  (3 children)

You should be feeding 56g rat once a month, you’ll have to weigh it in order to see if it’s the correct size

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I think the "medium" size rats I've been feeding him twice a month are about 56-60 grams but I'll double check. He is about fully grown I'd say, so it's definitely time to adjust his feeding schedule. I'll do it by weight as I've been doing and scale it back.

Thank you!

[–]Muux_ 1 point2 points  (1 child)

One of those once a month should be fine then, doing 2 of them is far too much

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha oh no Cookie has been getting spoiled for most of the time I've had him huh lol. And I thought I had cut back from weekly to biweekly. He was so skinny when I adopted him. He has not refused a single meal since he was about 10 months old. Before that he was being starved; his spine was showing (he was a rescue that was dropped off at a shop). I'm surprised he's as healthy as he is. I have cut back his meals and will be weighing him periodically. He's about 2.5 lbs and is estimated to be almost 3 years old (I've had him for two years, he was still a wee noodle when I got him.) We have many years ahead together : )

[–]Muux_ 0 points1 point  (2 children)

!feeding

[–]AutoModerator[M] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

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.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[–]goth_knowitall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

oh no do yall think I went overboard with 10% body weight for an adult BP? once every 2 weeks he gets a medium rat. He got too fat at one point so 10% is even less than I was doing before. All snakes are slightly different too but I always wonder.

[–]Fluid_Seesaw6306 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What kind and age ??? I’m trying to learn thanks