An age old question

[TheSnakeGuy]

I wanted to know if anyone had any snakes over 20/25 years old, and when they become "seniors" do their behavior/appearance change at all? I've never seen an oldie.

[dereklondon24]

Have a friend who has one at 19 years and he tells me she is the same as when she was 3.


1.0 normal bp- Blitz
1.0 Nicaraguan boa- Gavin
0.1 Red Tail Boa- Tara

[snomoon]

according to the guy I got our snake from, s/he is 15 right now. Not sure what s/he was like when it was younger, we have had it less than 1 week.

[Capray]

My friends corn snake lived to be 17, she definitely showed her age a bit, she had trouble hunting and shedding. She picked up some quirks!

[katiekat]

I know a 26+ carpet and he definitely shows his age, He eats just fine but is very slow moving, hisses more than normal, just lays there and huffs and puffs out of his cage.

[AlfredtheBP]

my ball python is a pretty old guy, has scars and nicks and marks all over him. he doesnt act old, but he sure looks like it. if i were to guess id say hes at least 10

[kitedemon]

20 is kinda middle age for a BP the oldest on record was 47 and that snake arrived as a breeding age adult. I believe she was still ovulating at 40. I have a third hand old man. i got him from a friend whom had him for 14 years and he got him from someone whom had him for a while I have had him for 3 years now. He is 20 at least. He is exactly that same notion as all the others although he does have kinda an aged 'face' the scales have lots of striations that I have never really seen on an other snake. I'll try to grab a shot here soon.

[kitedemon]

Hosted on Fotki

Hosted on Fotki

- - - Updated - - -

Look at the Rostral scales and internasal scales they all have dents and marks from just years of poking into things.

[LLLReptile]

I have a 20 year old (21 in a couple months!) adult female that I've had since I was a little kid. She's much the same as I remember her throughout my childhood, the only difference being that her feeding cycles are distinct and obvious - she eats like a pig for 6 months, and fasts for 6, like clockwork. She still could breed, but the last time she laid eggs she became eggbound, and since this snake is my baby... Not breeding her anymore. After two years not breeding she hovers at about 3500 grams empty. She's my usual snake for reptile presentations at libraries etc, since she's so big and so sweet.

Sorry if you've seen these pics already - they're what I have

The day I got her:


About a year or so ago


-Jen