Am I underfeeding my spotted python?

[mayrinarasauce]

Hello all!

The snake in question is a 11-month old spotted python, male that I got about a month ago

I'm not sure of his weight so I will be weighing him as soon as I can move him (fed him yesterday)
I feed him a pinkie every 7 days - I have done months of research before getting him, but the pet shop owners insisted I bought pinkies for my snake so I did

He hasn't been showing any signs of agression, but I still would like to know, after I finish this packet should I buy fuzzies?

Thank you!

 

[Tony Jones]

More info on the size etc of the snake or even photo's will be of great help put a snake of that age should be on alot bigger than pinkies & you dont mention if they are rats or mice
Pinkies have near to no nutritional value eitherMy yearling spotted is already taking hopper rats

 

[Sdaji]

It's a myth that pinkies have almost no nutritional value, and how quickly you grow a snake isn't too critical, but if by this age he's still only on one pinky per week you're feeding far too little. I go for the other end of the spectrum and usually have them on weaner rats by this age, but you really should have a Spotted Python on at least weaner mice by 11 months if all has gone well.

Having said that, if your snake is very small for its age because it wasn't fed enough or it was refusing for a long time, you still, as always, need to give food based on the size of the snake, not the age. If you take a picture of the snake next to what you're feeding it, we'll be able to say if the feed is appropriate or too large/small.

 

[mayrinarasauce]

It's a myth that pinkies have almost no nutritional value, and how quickly you grow a snake isn't too critical, but if by this age he's still only on one pinky per week you're feeding far too little. I go for the other end of the spectrum and usually have them on weaner rats by this age, but you really should have a Spotted Python on at least weaner mice by 11 months if all has gone well.

Having said that, if your snake is very small for its age because it wasn't fed enough or it was refusing for a long time, you still, as always, need to give food based on the size of the snake, not the age. If you take a picture of the snake next to what you're feeding it, we'll be able to say if the feed is appropriate or too large/small.

Hello Sdaji!

Thank you so much for your reply
My snake is quite small for his age, I think the pet shop underfed him because I have his feeding history and it seems they only fed him every 2-3 weeks, supposedly on pinkie mice. I will take your advice and feed him by size. I think I will finish this packet of pinkie mice for him then move up to fuzzies so he can get used to the size...does that sound okay?

Genuinely I am a bit scared for him because I fear it is my fault as I believed what the pet shop owner told me

 

[Sdaji]

If you want to use your pinkies up you're probably better off giving 2-3 per feed and/or increasing the frequency of feeding.