figured I should say hi

hi! My name is Sara, I am new to snake ownership! I saved this little guy from being sent back to the supplier and put down, since he had been at the store I work at for over 6 months. (I didn't pay for him if that matters for people, I know chain store reptiles are a sore spot for some people). I have no idea what his birthdate is, but I know he is at least 9 months old since I have had him 3 months now and he was at the store for at least 6 months.

I am a little concerned about him as he is still quite small, as he is almost a year old and has only shed 2 times in the 3 months I have had him. he eats quite well, I feed him 3 small pinkies every 4-5 days, and he poops well also. I just weighed him and he only came in at 16 grams and he is about 15 inches long, which is way smaller than he should be with how much he is putting away and his age, right? in all other ways he seems healthy, his viv is at the proper temperatures, so all I can think would be the next step. he did grow about 2 inches from when I first got him. his first shed was patchy but his second shed was perfect since I gave him a humid hide.

any advice? (oh, his name is Asmodeus!) and I actually havent had him sexed, I just use him since the character hes named for is male.

the first photo I took of him at about 6 months old


one of the more recent photos, he had just had his post shed meal.

Hi and welcome! Asmodeus is quite small for his age...perhaps he was underfed at the pet store. I know when I worked for Reptiles by Mack (a major PetSmart supplier), we usually sent the tiniest hatchlings that had eaten the prerequisite 3 successful feedings we could find, since we got complaints about larger hatchlings.

Originally Posted by Asmodeus

(oh, his name is Asmodeus!) and I actually havent had him sexed, I just use him since the character hes named for is male.

I'm not sure which character you named him after (there have been quite a few by that name) but ultimately he is named after a king of demons, best known from the Book of Tolbit. In some legends he is the lord of the nine hells, and in others one of the seven princes of hell representing the seven deadly sins (with Asmodeus representing lust). In the Talmud, he married Lilith, Adam's first wife before Eve. Lots of fun mythology behind the name.

I don't think he looks -skinny- tho, right? should I be worrying about his lack of weight gain/size growth?
I am fairly certain the corns at my store (petco) are feed one pinkie every 7 days (mondays are feeding days). I thought about moving him to fuzzies because the food bump is gone in 2 days, but I am not sure he can even fit them in his mouth, even with the huge unhinging jaws they have!

and I named him after the Redwall character, by Brian Jacques those are awesome facts, I did not know that!

some snakes grow faster or slower than others. I've even seen snakes that grow really fast suddenly slow down, and snakes that grow slowly suddenly enjoy a growth spurt.

If he seems healthy and active and there are no known problems, just continue on with the feedings. Keep a weight chart (it's best to weigh after he poops, otherwise you are weighing his meal as well as him). And see where he is in a few more months. He may suddenly take off on a growth spurt.

Depending on where you live, he may sense it's Winter due to daylight hours and cooler temps, and that may curtail some of his growth.

He's a handsome snake regardless and the 2nd pic of him looking up at you is cute.

Welcome to the forum! So glad you could join!

I'm glad you gave the little guy a helping hand. He looks small but healthy so he might just be a little stunted from poor feed early on. Just keep him well fed and he should get to size in time. I agree with the above, keep a chart on his weight so you can see how well he grows.

Best of luck! : )

I actually have a hard time knowing which poop to weigh after since he has pooped 3 times this week, but all the poops look normal so maybe he just has a fast metabolism? I have started just weighing him right before meals, I figure that would be my best bet.

he may just be a small little snake his whole life or he may grow up, I guess only time will tell! I started a google doc chart for him, thanks for the suggestion!

I may also try to get a different scale, maybe the one I have is off.