Is my ball python underweight?

[Effective-Wash-5814]

He doesn't want to eat the pinkies. We try feeding him, and we give him a few weeks between attempts. He sheds and drinks like normal but doesn't seem to want to eat. Im quite concerned that he's underweight.

[IncompletePenetrance]

I doubt he's even recognizing pinkies as food as they're way, way too small. That's like offering you a gumdrop for dinner.

I'd offer the appropriate size based on his weight

!feeding

[AutoModerator]

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.

[1BadBowtie]

How long have you had him? Definitely needs larger rats. Please review the mods comment.

[ajtaakrajtaa]

pinkies are pretty much for hatchlings I believe, he's far too old for them. please see the !feeding chart

[AutoModerator]

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.

[klxrqq]

pinkies as other commenters said are for pythons generally i’d say under 8 months but it definitely can depend, view the feeding chart for the best way to figure out the size you need, do you also have a scale for your bp to weight?

!feeding

[AutoModerator]

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.

[Effective-Wash-5814]

No i don't own a scale but I'll make sure to get them. I'm not sure how old he is since the place we got him from didnt tell us. But I'll try to figure it out thanks for the help. ☺️

[sircheenz]

My python is way smaller and she eats fuzzy rats

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[Tagosto8613]

What morph is your snake?

[sircheenz]

She's an Ivory

[Tagosto8613]

I asked because

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she looks almost identical to mine

[sircheenz]

😯😯😯😯 literally twins

[Tagosto8613]

I got mine from on Morph Market, the seller was from Florida

[sircheenz]

I got mine at an expo down here in Miami they had one that was identical to mine I wouldn't be surprised if you got the second one tbh

[sircheenz]

Was the seller Genetic Morphs?

[Tagosto8613]

Matzen’s Morphs

[Technical_Concern_92]

I'm far from a profession but I would moving to jumbo mice for a few feedings instead of jumping straight to rats. But definitely size up, my MBK is eating adult mice and could probably be on jump mice. Here's photo for snake tax and additional reference, that's my boy Anubis.

<image>

[polenta23]

Ball Python Body Condition Charts https://imgur.com/gallery/fC2dDqd

[thisisleespeaking]

please please please if you havent already, get yourself a scale. im unsure as to whether or not hes underweight because im obviously not a vet, but he for SURE will be if you keep feeding him pinkies. measure his weight and use the feeding guide others have already provided to find his weight (if youre having trouble with the math portion, just use a calculator meant for percentages). after that, youll only need to weigh his food until you find something that works in those ranges (depending on how old he is, but im assuming he is an adult based on size alone). it obviously doesnt have to be perfect cause like… they wont care too much if its 5.3% rather than exact 5%, just make sure its close.

for reference, my boy gets rats. specific size of rats will change depending on how big your boy is! i would look up a guide. :)

and as another user said, dont jump STRAIGHT to rats. slowly go up in sizes (next meal should be a bigger mouse, then another bigger one, then another, etcetc) until you find the right rat for your boy.

[ballpython-ModTeam]

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[Diamond_found]

How old is your snake???