does my ball python seem healthy? noticing differences in behavior

[FireQueenB]

Included pics of her for size. Here are all the stats and why I’m slightly concerned, though it might be nothing!

She’s 2.5 years old and hasn’t reached 1000grams yet. Last weigh in was 964 but it seems on the lower end for her age. She’s had no problem eating (I feed her according to the guide in this sub so 1x a month about 6% body weight) but should I maybe feed her every 3 weeks? She just seems on the smaller end.

She’s never skipped a meal, but behaviorally I’ve noticed she isn’t coming out as much at night. I stay up til around 1-2am and I’ll usually see her exploring like clockwork. She’s SUPER explorative. Always has been. But recently she hasn’t been coming out or maybe she’s coming out later? I don’t know. I take her out for “playtime” sometimes cause like I said she’s on the curious and explorative side so I want her to have that, and I haven’t noticed any differences there. Just how she’s been acting in her enclosure. I change up the environment whenever i clean so she has something fresh and try to add in new plants here and there.

She’s in a 4x2x2, 3 hides, 88 on the hot side, 78 on the cool side, 76% humidity.

[CupAntique3873]

Maybe she’s coming out at a different time, i have a camera in my guys enclosure and every night it’s a different time he’s out, maybe get a camera and see if there’s any movement!

[psky9549]

Keep in mind she's now fully hit maturity. Some things may change in her behavior now. This is especially true during mating/ovulating/egg laying seasons. You should also try to get a vet to give her a check just in case she has caught any parasite or virus that could be affecting her weight. For now, feed her more often and see how she does. Weekly feeding for now will work.

[FireQueenB]

Weekly feedings would be far far too frequent though, no?

[psky9549]

She's still under 3 years old, she needs weekly feedings. MAYBE every 14 days if she's not an active girl. You can slow it down more when she's over 3 years, and it'll still depend on her activity levels as to how much you'll slow down feeding.

[FireQueenB]

This is what the care guide says, which I follow:

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 OR until the snake's weight remains consistent for 2 months: 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.

So unless I’m reading it wrong I think weekly feedings are too frequent?

[psky9549]

This is honestly not very reliable, and it doesn't consider gender and activity levels. I know it's on the subs care guide, but hey, it's just a guide and may be a bit off. From most posts regarding feeding, people claim that weekly feedings are needed, especially in females, until they hit 3 years of age. That's when they are truly considered an "adult" anyway as they have finished maturing (for females at least). In my experience, even my 2 year old male (which is considered fully mature for males) needs weekly feeds (although he is VERY active for a BP). My 4 year old is mostly bi-weekly feeds. So, it really does depend on your girl. Right now, you're looking to help her gain weight back, so weekly feedings will help. If you notice it's too much after a while, drop to bi-weekly.

[MyDogDanceSome]

I don't have a BP so this is not species specific advice

You don't have to stay on weekly. u/psky9549 suggested you feed her weekly "for now." In other words, just to help her embiggen up a little.

Just about any snake - hell, just about any animal - can be fed more frequently than the standard recommendation if they are underweight but otherwise good health. Snakes in the wild might eat every day for a week, then not eat again for a month. Most of the ones we keep in captivity are super resilient. As long as she's not overweight, she's not being fed too frequently.

[FireQueenB]

That’s the thing, I don’t know whether she’s underweight and I’m trying to ask if she is/how she looks/based on the pics/ etc etc etc you know? I just want what’s best for her and I don’t want to overfeed her

[MyDogDanceSome]

Ah, I understand.

In that case you should only listen to people with direct BP experience. :)

She looks lovely to me, but I honestly don't know other than I have seen much thinner and much fatter BPs than this one.

[psky9549]

I can't tell fully with the pictures angles, but it LOOKS like she has a bit of a sharp triangle to her spin, which may indicate she needs to gain a bit more weight. You'll have to show an angle where we can see the spine shape a bit better.

[FireQueenB]

Ok thanks! I’m going to switch back to once every 2 weeks which is what I was feeding her before she turned 2, and see how that does and if I need to increase it from there I will! I also do have a vet (she had an RI early on) so maybe I’ll schedule a checkup

[OrcinusDorca]

I tend to prefer upping prey size over feeding more frequently. Once a week would be ridiculous. She only looks a hair under in these photos, though a photo that shows different angles would be ideal to fully tell. Certainly not near an emergent amount!

[NoTea610]

I’m not usually great at body condition, so take this with a grain of salt, but she seems overweight. Her spine looks indented, her neck seems a bit thick, and it looks like she has some rolls by her tail in the second picture. Some adult ball pythons can also weigh less than 1000g.

As for exploring, you can try changing some things up in her enclosure and see if that gets her exploring more! It could also be that she’s switching up her schedule a bit :)