i think my spotted python is undersized :(

[mayrinarasauce]

Hello! I own a yearling spotted python, male
I'm worried the pet shop I got him from underfed him. I saw that (from his past feeding schedule) they fed him pinkies every 2-4 weeks?? Like is that not insane??
anyways, he's about 30cm and 14 GRAMS - unless my scale is broken

I've recently been feeding him 2 pinkies a week (obviously I can't force him to move up sizes quickly). Still, I will be moving him onto fuzzies in 2 weeks
bit worried about him. However, he's been moving around the cage fine, very acitve. He drinks regularly (although he hasn't shed since I've gotten him and that's about 2 months, any suggestions?) temperature is just right with a water bowl to control the humidity, is there anything I can do for him besides feeding him more often and bigger mice?

Thank you

 

[Herpetology]

not insane, thats how pet shops work, they keep their animals small so they dont outgrow the display boxes

 

[Doge123456]

sorry but that is kinda still insane that they don’t feed there reptile the right amoun Just so they can have a smaller enclosure and don‘t have to pay for a bigger enclosures that the natural will need
Not trying to be rude just still think it’s insane

 

[mayrinarasauce]

not insane, thats how pet shops work, they keep their animals small so they dont outgrow the display boxes

I just wanted to know if there is anything I need to worry about health wise?

 

[Herpetology]

I just wanted to know if there is anything I need to worry about health wise?

What is “just right” temperature wise

Looks in decent shape, if not a bit small (which we already pointed out the reason)

 

[mayrinarasauce]

What is “just right” temperature wise

Looks in decent shape, if not a bit small (which we already pointed out the reason)

34C +- on the warm side, 27C +- cooler side

 

[Bluetongue1]

What you are doing is fine. There is no need to ‘play catch-up’. Food availabilty in nature is very inconsistent, rather than the regular, reliable feeding in captivity. The growth of snakes in nature therefore tends to be slower. If anything, captive snakes tend to be over-fed. What is important is that the snake seems to have adequate body condition and sounds quite healthy. So just feed it normally. It does not need to catch up, it just needs to be feed appropriately for its current size from here on in.

Pinkies contain adequate nutrition. What they don’t contain enough of is roughage – indigestible material that is passed through as waste. Hair, claws and thick chunks of bone make up the majority of roughage. The food wastes that are passed outg are called faeces and also cotain mucous and bacteria from the gut. So roughage is important in periodically helping to clean out the gut and keep it healthy. This is the reason why snakes should not be kept indefinitely on pinkies.

An appropriate sized food item should leave a visble bump in the snake about initially about one third of the way along. So a food bump of say one and a quarter to one and a third times the normal diameter of the snake at this point, indicates an appropriate sized prey. While they are capable of eating much larger prey items, this size is readily digested. The point to all this is that you may be able to progress to fuzzy mice sooner than you think, if you have not already done so.