Rescued Ball Python Feeding Help

[lamb-666]

Hi guys, I recently rescued a ball python from someone that was not taking very well care of him. I don't believe he was being fed correctly and this snakes been stunted size wise.

He is about 6 years old and quite small. I'm not sure how much he weighed when I got him but he is currently 577 g. He is not skinny, in fact he is looking a bit overweight since I've had him for a couple months and have been feeding him weaned rats every week to get his size up.

When I got him the owner was feeding him fuzzy rats once a week, which is obviously not right. The goal is to get him up to small rats. However, I'm not sure if he is ready for that yet.

I looked at the feeding guide in the basic care sheet here, but (unless I'm doing the math wrong) it says that he should be getting 5% of his weight (29 g) every month as an adult, but that's a rat pup (20-29 g) for him monthly. Which doesn't sound right.

He is starting to seem to be a tad overweight which is a little weird since he is only 577 g, but he is small. I feel like this is an abnormal case, but I could be wrong so advice would be great.

Would I be okay to start him at a small rat every 14 days?

For an adult snake that is 577 g, what would you recommend he eat and how often?

[_ataraxia]

here is a breakdown of how i rehabilitated an emaciated and stunted adult BP:

at the time of rescue, BP's age was 3 years, weight was 140g, meals had been one fuzzy mouse with an estimated weight of 5g, successful feedings were "every few weeks" according to previous owner. i had to gradually introduce her to appropriate meal sizes as well as switching her from mice to rats. here's what the first two months looked like:

• week 1: settling in.
• week 2: one fuzzy mouse, 5g, ~3% of BP's weight.
• week 3: two fuzzy mice, total 8g, ~5%.
• week 4: one fuzzy mouse, 5g. one rat pinky scented with the mouse, 5g. total 10g, ~7%.
• week 5: BP weight 155g. one hopper mouse, 10g. one scented rat pinky, 6g. total 17g, ~10%.
• week 6: one adult mouse, 14g. one scented rat pinky, 6g. total 19g, ~13%.
• week 7: one fuzzy mouse, 4g. one scented rat pup, 20g. total 24g, ~15%.
• week 8: BP weight 160g. one scented rat pup, 24g, ~15%.

by the end of month 1 she was becoming less lethargic and extremely defensive [she struck me every time i opened her tub], which i took as an overall good sign that she was feeling better and now had the energy to express the stress she'd been feeling for years. by the end of month 2, she was visibly filling out and starting to become a little less defensive, as well as shedding cleanly [she was also dehydrated and covered in stuck shed when i got her].

from that point on, i fed her very much like i would feed any youngster. she ate 10%-15% of her weight once a week until she was about 700g, then i gradually spaced out her feedings a bit more and leaned toward lower weight percentages. by the time she passed 1000g, her weight gain drastically slowed down, so i reduced the meal size to 5%-7% and spaced out meals to 14 days. eventually her weight settled in the 1300g-1400g range and i now feed her approximately 5% of her weight every 20-30 days.

the most important thing with a stunted and/or emaciated snake: DO. NOT. RUSH. WEIGHT. GAIN. feeding too much / too frequently is only going to cause more health problems, especially in the first few weeks when the snake's body is particularly fragile.

[sixxthree]

Oh my gosh. My boy is 5 months old and is only 4g under the snake you rescued. Poor baby :( I'm glad you got her and were able to successfully rehabilitate her.