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  • 09-11-2020, 02:24 AM
    Mr. Misha
    62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    Thought this news article was pretty interesting and bring all sorts of questions. Apparently a 62 year BP produced a clutch without being near a male in the least two decades. Also I wonder what kind of BP that is because she doesn't look like a Normal.

    https://apnews.com/1b6262dfb39d2d7d7437534080b1748e
  • 09-11-2020, 06:48 AM
    GoingPostal
    62! Yikes, I only really planned for 30-40 year lifespans with my snakes tbh, I need to start training my niece in just in case.
  • 09-11-2020, 09:29 AM
    jmcrook
    Re: 62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    That’s insane. That means I probably saw that same snake on exhibit at some point growing up as a kid as I lived outside of Stl as a child. Obviously little sign of her slowing down much either!


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  • 09-11-2020, 11:24 AM
    Bogertophis
    To my knowledge, the previous record lifespan for a snake was 47 years (also a BP)...62 YEARS!? :O That's amazing! I'm curious to know the rest of the story...did she
    actually lay eggs fertilized over 20 years ago? My Florida rat snakes "ladies" keep on laying eggs (some viable) every year, but it's been over 10 years since I got them at
    age 1.5 years...the only time they might have been near their brothers was before then with their original owner, which means they'd have been quite immature to mate,
    & then to have retained that for this long...? It all boggles my poor brain. :rolleye2: Snakes are amazing creatures, whatever the answers. :snake::snake::snake:
  • 09-11-2020, 11:51 AM
    Hugsplox
    Re: 62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    To my knowledge, the previous record lifespan for a snake was 47 years (also a BP)...62 YEARS!? :O That's amazing! I'm curious to know the rest of the story...did she
    actually lay eggs fertilized over 20 years ago? My Florida rat snakes "ladies" keep on laying eggs (some viable) every year, but it's been over 10 years since I got them at
    age 1.5 years...the only time they might have been near their brothers was before then with their original owner, which means they'd have been quite immature to mate,
    & then to have retained that for this long...? It all boggles my poor brain. :rolleye2: Snakes are amazing creatures, whatever the answers. :snake::snake::snake:

    Crested geckos are like this too, retaining semen for long periods of time and then laying fertilized eggs later. Now I don't know about 20 years like this BP lol, but it's amazing to me what reptiles in general can do.
  • 09-11-2020, 02:11 PM
    Mr. Misha
    According to the article they did genetic sampling on two eggs to find out whether the eggs were reproduced sexually or asexually.

    The age of her is absolutely amazing and scares me a little bit... This is another reason why we need to rein in the breeding in our hobby.
  • 09-11-2020, 02:14 PM
    Hugsplox
    Re: 62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Mr. Misha View Post
    According to the article they did genetic sampling on two eggs to find out whether the eggs were reproduced sexually or asexually.

    The age of her is absolutely amazing and scares me a little bit... This is another reason why we need to rein in the breeding in our hobby.

    Exactly, and this is obviously a rare case, but it shows people how long lived these animals are. You run into iisues in the bird community, people buy birds that live 30+ years and end up giving them away because they weren't ready for that commitment.
  • 09-11-2020, 03:56 PM
    Snagrio
    Re: 62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Hugsplox View Post
    Exactly, and this is obviously a rare case, but it shows people how long lived these animals are. You run into iisues in the bird community, people buy birds that live 30+ years and end up giving them away because they weren't ready for that commitment.

    30+ years? Try 80+. I have an elderly neighbor who has an umbrella cockatoo and the poor guy's been traded around between several people already and from what I remember he's not even halfway through his natural lifespan, and will most certainly outlive his current owners. The neighbor's tried to talk me into taking him in (as I already have birds myself, a green cheek conure and a flock of chickens) but I know better than to take on an animal that's beyond my capabilities. So who knows where he'll end up in a few years.

    Quite sad... :(
  • 09-11-2020, 10:49 PM
    Vegan.Hiker
    Looks like a cinnamon right? Were those even around 62 years ago?
  • 09-11-2020, 11:42 PM
    jmcrook
    Re: 62 year old BP in ST Louis Zoo Lays a Clutch Without Male Help
    Honestly just looks like a 62yr old wild phenotype that just went through labor as an incredibly geriatric animal photographed in terrible lighting.


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