ball python scale color

Question
QUESTION: My 2 year old ball eats two very large rats every week, without fail. since she always accepts food regularly, I continue to offer it to her. is this harmful to her?

thanks!

ANSWER: Girls are PIGS when it comes to feeding. Satinka my ball would probably eat more than the 2 adult mice she gets every week if I let her.

There is nothing wrong with that as long as she isn't overweight. It does seem like a bit much to me, it might be wise to stretch that out to every 2 weeks instead of every week or even longer. Most people I know with larger snakes (I'm not sure how long yours is, I'm assuming 3.5+) will wait 3 weeks when feeding the larger prey. Yes she will get grumpy with you if you all of a sudden don't feed her for 2 weeks, so this must be done over a matter of a few months. Signs of being overweight are in fact "love handles" or fat rolls and not being able to coil properly. This is cured by stretching out the feeding and making sure she is getting exercise outside the cage.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: My friend owns a ball and his lately has been turning down food- the last three months she has not wanted to eat. Her scales on her belly have turned an orangeish tinge, not like the pink color she normally gets before she sheds. she has seemed moody lately and lethargic...can you offer an opinion to what she might be sick with? I'm pretty sure he needs to take her to a vet but I just wanted to get an idea.

Answer
It's normal for Ball's to go sometimes for months without eating (as long as they keep up their activity and general well-being). And this time of year it's also normal. But the orangeish tinge doesn't sound good. And as I know she hasn't been eating too many carrots, I'm thinking it might be some kind of deficiency. Since you didn't mention blisters, I know he isn't keeping the substrate in the cage too wet.

Have him take her in for a look over, and see if he can get a sample of her poop for the vet. That is the easiest way to check for parasites or other problems. Plastic baggy (Ziploc is best) or small plastic container for it will do. Since she hasn't eaten in 3 months, it should just be the urea but that should be OK I think. At least see if the vet can tube feed her and see if she can keep down a meal.