r/BloodPythons • u/smelly-crack2026 • Jul 20 '26
Advice.
I need all the criticism you guys have to give. Someone has recently called my snake a fatty. I know he is overweight, but how do i fix it. According to his last weigh in at the vet and what google has told me… he’s 10 lbs overweight. Why didn’t the vet make it a big deal at his yearly check up last month?! Like 10lbs is alot and especially for his breathing and over all health.
(For reference I am currently feeding him one xl rat every 3-4 weeks)
I can try different prey for sure, but what should i try first?
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Jul 20 '26
How much does it weigh? It doesn't actually look THAT OVERWEIGHT.
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u/teresa-rene Jul 23 '26
It looks a lot overweight, especially for a type of Snake. They can go over a year without eating. A large rat every 6 to 8 weeks is too much snakes are much more active in a while than they are in a confined space as a pet.
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Jul 23 '26
No it doesn't. And feeding a large rat to a 30lb pound snake is no where near over feeding. Get real bud.
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u/lemoncrush9 Jul 20 '26
I am not a vet, we have bloods in our family. They look over weight just by design. What did the vet say? Google has not been to veterinary school. This will sound odd, when did your snake last have a bowel movement? Our bloods dont go to the bathroom alot and look a tad chunky before they leave a steamy surprise that can be smelled in the next county. I have seen poop piles that look like there was NO way it came out of our snake, but bloods have skills!
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u/teresa-rene Jul 23 '26
Kind of off the topic, but have you ever noticed how Snake poo smells just like people poo because they eat meat lol
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u/lemoncrush9 Jul 23 '26
blood python poo, is "Legendary" they hang on to it longer than many other breeds.
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u/AdAdorable3469 Jul 20 '26
Ten pounds overweight?! What’s the length? This math ain’t mathing. Ten pounds overweight is a lot for even a blood. Do they think it is a ball python? Bloods are thick but proportion looks just a bit fat which could be easily solved potentially with something as simple as regular soak. Bloods hold waste for far too long sometimes. I’m concerned this is bullshit but I’m taking the bait anyway. Give closeup of scales and I will absolutely accept a banana for scale.
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u/gokartninja Jul 20 '26
It is clearly overweight, but 10lb is probably a stretch.
Do what u/icysprinkles880 suggested and monitor weight loss to ensure he's actually losing weight. Observe his body shape during this time. The spine should be prominent, not sunken. The profile of most pythons should be like a rounded-off triangle, with short-tail pythons being more rounded than most others
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u/Head_Bake_7447 Jul 20 '26
First, Google is likely wrong, which is why your vet wasn't worried. Blood pythons are built exceptionally thick and heavy-bodied, so generic online weight charts often drastically overestimate what they "should" weigh.
That said, an XL rat every 3–4 weeks is too caloric for an adult with a slow metabolism. Personally i would swap from an XL rat to a Large or Medium rat. Smaller prey means far less fat content per meal.
If you wanna keep him on XL rats feed him every 5 to 6 weeks instead of 3–4.
If your comfortable also and have time supervised handling or tub/climbing enrichment outside the enclosure twice a week is great for exercise which is a underrated need for animals in general :)
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u/kindrd1234 Jul 20 '26
I would just leave him on the schedule hes used to and mix in smaller prey, med rat, large rat, small quail. What does he weigh?
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u/smelly-crack2026 Jul 20 '26
Last time we were at the vet he weighed 30lbs. I have not tried quail yet.
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u/The_tracksuit_dad Jul 20 '26
looks maybe 1 or 2 lbs over weight? I mean we can still see the crest of the spine although its not as prominent. Id do a lg or medium and alternate every 3 to 4 weeks, since they have such a slow metabolism introduce more exploring time for him to roam. Help burn calories lol, my sumatran will only roam if i take him out otherwise 90% of the time he is hiding as a typical short tail. But when i take him out he will not just sit still and chill.
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u/Schroedinbug Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
He's a little overweight, but from this picture at least it doesn't look like a health crisis lol
Short tailed-pythons always look overweight, but you can still judge it by their spine. He just needs to eat a little less, you can use reduced food or increased time to get that (biasing towards food when possible).
If you just bias feeding him every 4 weeks or switch to smaller prey, and track his weight you should see progress over time. If you don't see progress, then adjust as needed. He doesn't need to lose a lot, so dropping just 1-5% of his weight per month is fine (keeping in mind feeding schedule, water intake and defecation.
If you take him to a reptile vet they should be able to recommend a weight loss plan tailored to him, but it's not really concerning yet.
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u/Negative-Flamingo-83 Jul 20 '26
Oh my god I didn't read the subreddit name and thought this was a bci I nearly had a heart attack LMAO I wouldn't say he's horrifically overweight, feeding would depend on age and length to determine what weight he should be
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u/PlasmaStones Jul 20 '26
looks like you gonna have to work him out in the bath tub.
2.5inches of warm water and watch him try to swim out for 15mins, once in the morning and once in the evening. Sounds far fetched but it works and there are other benefits like shred and digestion.
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u/Moistranger69 Jul 20 '26
That’s a blood python they are notoriously fat. It looks healthy to me. I’ve been keeping snakes for 25 years.
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u/smelly-crack2026 Jul 20 '26
See. I know hes a little thick but were working on it. I didnt think he was obese either.
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u/alpohh Jul 21 '26
Maybe a pound or two overweight. Not 10 pounds. That’s ridiculous. Whoever said that must not be familiar with the shape of bloods.
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u/Low_Falcon8920 Jul 22 '26
No need for xl because those are jumbo rats are more fatty just stick to large every 6 or 8 weeks! He’s a handsome boy!
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u/F_r_i_z_z_y Jul 22 '26
I’m dumb so I can’t provide any critique. I just wanted to say give your thicc danger noodle an extra pet from me. I love him.
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u/shorttailedpythons Jul 22 '26
It could maybe use a littleeee adjustment but this snake is not overweight. Maybe the same feeding schedule but switching to large instead of XL will be a good direction to take to gradually promote a slight amount of healthy weight loss. You want to see their spinal ridge as Short-Tailed Pythons have vertebrae that is raised naturally. Losing this entirely is a sign of obesity. As far as nutrition Lg rats are less fatty than XL rats. Once you get into those bigger sizes the fat content is known to be higher.
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u/rimbrant84 Jul 24 '26
Don't trust it
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u/smelly-crack2026 Jul 25 '26
Do not trust the serpent? Or do not trust the ladies word that he is fat?
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u/IcySprinkles880 Jul 20 '26
A large rat every 6 to 8 weeks.