Albino Burm. Advice/Help needed

im for getting an albino burm within the next week or so.
One problem being is that the snake is 3 years old and yet no larger than 4 foot
reason being the previous owner before the shop i getting her off was told only to feed her one large mouse every fortnight.

before i part cash for her im looking to know if any1 knows if this would have a dramatic effect on her growth as im aware she should already be at the 10 ft+ mark. Also if this may have a dramatic effect on her lifespan?

thanks all
dave

Hey Davey,

If this is a normal Burm it's pretty small and this most likely may have something to do with the feeding regimen.....but it could be a dwarf, the growth rate of these are more in line with what you mention above....there are plenty of Burm keepers that'll weigh in later on...anyway check out the below link...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Try her/him on increase in food size say large weener rats for a few weeks,
if all goes well small rats. Shouldn't effect the life span. Look at it as controlled growth rate (BY AN IDIOT THE PREVIOUS OWNER)

Oh dear - that is VERY small for a three year old burm, especially if female.
I would doubt she is a dwarf to be honest - there are not many over here, and you would be sure to be paying more if so. Three years ago, they were very rare indeed and fetching well in excess of £1,000. Prices have fallen, but they are still about half that figure. If a petshop paid for one of these off a stock list, they would know all about it. There are VERY few dwarf morphs about in burms also, and any albino will be likely to have a large dose of regular sized burm anyway.
I see this as a pretty common issue with petstores in my area to be honest. They do not understand that as a snake increases in girth, food size needs to be increased.
I would not necessarily let this put me off the purchase. The main deciding factor for me would be the condition of the snake. It is perfectly plausible that she could be small for her age, but in very good health otherwise.
You see this situation with even some very reputable shop keepers and breeders. They deliberately keep food items small until they sell a snake to save space.
And the good thing about snakes is that, although they do have growth spurts early in life, they continue to grow throughout their lives.
Another thing is not to get hung up on length. Burms CAN reach certain lengths in certain periods of time. This does not mean they all should. Different snakes have different growth rates. I have a granite albino burm who is coming up two years old. Despite always being on a suitable feeding regime, he is only about 5 ft. He's short, but chunky and very muscular.
If you take the snake, start her on weaners as Wama has said, and increase size slowly. I would imagine a snake that has been feeding on such small sized food would have little muscle tone, so get plenty of branches into the enclosure. A combination of this, and a decent feeding regime, should have the burm right in no time It is amazing how quickly they grow once they move onto rats! Hopefully she will convert without trouble. She should certainly bee feeding on rabbits at this stage, but don't rush and you'll get there