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slow/not growing

bryansnake
06-13-2011, 07:38 PM
I saw the other post and read through it, I got some ideas, but I figured I should post and see what people say. I've had my snake for 3 months and a week now, got her in april. Since I've had her, she's fed perfectly fine, except for one time when I'm 99% sure I left her temperatures fall too much and stressed her out. She went on regurge protocol, feed fine through that, even took her to a vet to be sure, he gave me some anti-parasitic just to be sure. Other then that, she eats well.

So here's the thing. It doesn't look like she's gaining any weight. She's been in the 8-11 gram range since I got her. She's eating 1 pinky every 5 days, from the last time I fed her, so every 3 days without food really. She looks to me like she's grown. She's 16 inches now, around 14/15 when I got her. But she's not putting on weight. She's also active and seems perfectly fine, just not gaining. Should I do anything?

Also, I never see her poop. I've tried bathing her, nothing comes out. I don't see anything in the viv. The one time I did, she poop/pee'd on my hand when I tried popping her, about a week after I got her. I worry she may be constipated, but she eats normally, and she's not gaining weight, so it can't be building up in her, or she'd be heavier.

Should I go back to the vet and get her looked at? Any advice would be appreciated.

bryansnake
06-13-2011, 07:41 PM
oh, I forgot to mention, her temperatures are fine. 82-84 on the warm side, 70.5 cold side. I know it could be warmer, but it doesn't seem to bother her, she's very active. Mostly at dusk/night. But I know they're more nocturnal at this age/size.

Nanci
06-13-2011, 07:51 PM
If you really want to track her growth you need a scale that weighs in tenths of grams. I suggest My Weigh Triton T2 from Old Will Knot Scales.

Then, a snake, as a rule of thumb, gains about 1/3 the weight of the prey it is fed. So if you are feeding 2 gram pinks, the snake is gaining less than a gram each feeding, which won't show up on a normal scale.

Every five days is good. You can also cut small slits in the back, and even the sides, of the pink. Just through the skin. she will grow a lot more quickly, because she will digest better.

It's very hard to find poo from a snake that small- I wouldn't worry about it at all.

Once she gets on fuzzys you'll see her growth really take off.