growing fast

[EL Ziggy]

I don't keep BPs anymore but I've had a few new or younger snakes double or triple their weight in 3 months. None of them were power fed and they're all still healthy and thriving. Many times when we get new snakes they've been kept on more of a maintenance diet. It's only natural for them to have a growth spurt once they're on a more consistent feeding schedule. I know a lot of snakes are overfed in captivity and that's something we have to be careful of. I know some species, like boas, have slower metabolisms, are more prone to obesity, and should be fed less often than other animals. I also believe in feeding my snakes well. When they're younger they eat more often and as they grow and mature I start dialing them back a bit. On average my snakes eat an appropriately sized meal every 5-7 days for the first year, every 7-10 days for the 2nd year, and every 10-14 days after that. I don't keep any snakes that should only be fed once every 3-4 weeks. Here are some examples of fast/healthy growth among different species of snakes.

Olive Python- 141g on 1/4/17 and 285g on 2/26/17
JCP- 31g on 9/22/15 and 134g on 12/27/15
Coastal Carpet python-85g on 9/2/15 and 324g on 12/12/15
Snow Bull snake- 52g on 8/22/14 and 235g on 12/10/14
Albino Bull snake - 270g on 4/26/14 and 757g on 8/23/15

[Andy_G]

Originally Posted by EL Ziggy

I don't keep BPs anymore but I've had a few new or younger snakes double or triple their weight in 3 months. None of them were power fed and they're all still healthy and thriving. Many times when we get new snakes they've been kept on more of a maintenance diet. It's only natural for them to have a growth spurt once they're on a more consistent feeding schedule. I know a lot of snakes are overfed in captivity and that's something we have to be careful of. I know some species, like boas, have slower metabolisms, are more prone to obesity, and should be fed less often than other animals. I also believe in feeding my snakes well. When they're younger they eat more often and as they grow and mature I start dialing them back a bit. On average my snakes eat an appropriately sized meal every 5-7 days for the first year, every 7-10 days for the 2nd year, and every 10-14 days after that. I don't keep any snakes that should only be fed once every 3-4 weeks. Here are some examples of fast/healthy growth among different species of snakes.

Olive Python- 141g on 1/4/17 and 285g on 2/26/17
JCP- 31g on 9/22/15 and 134g on 12/27/15
Coastal Carpet python-85g on 9/2/15 and 324g on 12/12/15
Snow Bull snake- 52g on 8/22/14 and 235g on 12/10/14
Albino Bull snake - 270g on 4/26/14 and 757g on 8/23/15

Ball pythons have the potential to reach 1000 grams in the first year on an appropriate healthy feeding schedule without being powerfed. Average hatch weight is around 60-90 grams. Speaking from first hand experience with more than a handful (almost in the triple digits...) of individual snakes raised to adulthood and then bred and more than a handful of species worked with, I agree completely with you Zig.