How long do they really live?

I have females in my collection that I got 20 years ago as adults or subadults so who knows how old they really are, but at least 22, 23 maybe?

I also have CB females that I produced 11 years ago.

I think that with proper care, ball pythons can live a very long time.

I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, but it is my personal belief that many of the shorter life spans in ball pythons are due them being drastically over fed in captivity.

Hope this helps.

-adam

This is a great thread first of all. My oldest female is only an 03. To me she just seems so old.

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

but it is my personal belief that many of the shorter life spans in ball pythons are due them being drastically over fed in captivity.

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I feel the same way about inbreeding in the captive population. I think the level to which some people inbreed these snakes to produce morphs is pretty selfish.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, but it is my personal belief that many of the shorter life spans in ball pythons are due them being drastically over fed in captivity.


-adam

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You're supposed to feed them once a week, right? I don't own one yet but I just wanted to know.

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Originally Posted by MechWarrior

You're supposed to feed them once a week, right? I don't own one yet but I just wanted to know.

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Yes but size of rodent has alot to do with that too. In the wild they would eat alot less then once a week and would get WAY more exercize.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I have females in my collection that I got 20 years ago as adults or subadults so who knows how old they really are, but at least 22, 23 maybe?

I also have CB females that I produced 11 years ago.

I think that with proper care, ball pythons can live a very long time.

I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, but it is my personal belief that many of the shorter life spans in ball pythons are due them being drastically over fed in captivity.

Hope this helps.

-adam

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This helps alot and I think there is something here. As I thought, initial feedback seems to lead to the fact that WC have lived longer...once we start looking at CB animals that longevity isn't as established. I think you are right that smaller meals could be one way to extend their lives. I think there is a lot of correlation to humans - those that live sedentary lives with high fat/calorie diets are more likely to die early. This same outcome seems to be showing up with Ball's as well. By decreasing the food intake of our snakes could be the easiest way to increase life span. Since we don't have any scientific research on the actual calorie needs of WC and CB snakes we have to look at anicdotal evidence. Your 11 year old CB are some of the longest lived(that I have received feedback on) and we know you feed much smaller meals. I think this gives us a good indicator of a way to improve our snakes life span...even if not a 100% accurate assumption there appears to be no downside to feeding smaller meals and only a positive.

according to mr richard bartlett, the captive record is 47 years... it's in two different books i have written by him. i dont have anymore info on that record though.
as an aside, i agree with adam... if you fed a ball more conservatively, it would likely live much longer than if it were fat and sassy.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Adam_Wysocki

I have females in my collection that I got 20 years ago as adults or subadults so who knows how old they really are, but at least 22, 23 maybe?

I also have CB females that I produced 11 years ago.

I think that with proper care, ball pythons can live a very long time.

I'm not trying to start a debate or anything, but it is my personal belief that many of the shorter life spans in ball pythons are due them being drastically over fed in captivity.

Hope this helps.

-adam

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I've been cutting back on meal sizes but I've realized I don't really know how to gauge the proper weight. All I've really read is that when they are obese, the skin can stretch to the point where the scales don't cover it all. I guess this effect is like what you see on their necks when they eat. I also guess that your snake is probably overweight long before that happens.

My BP has developed two little strips of fat on each side of his body. Should he be totally lean? Also, he's only 13mos old so should I be worried about weight right now? He's just shy of 3' long and I'm currently feeding him 1 small rat per week.

Hey Adam, do you breed them at that age?