What's the story on Huge BP's?

[ballpythonsrock2]

I was watching Brian on SnakebytesTV (Killer Ball Python's episode), and seen some very large Royals ( Ball Pythons ) So do Ball Pythons continue to grow each year for many years till they hit their max. weight or do they hit their full weight and size within a couple years and the big ones just have the gene's that made them so large.

[mikesmelly]

I just looked the episode up and I see what you mean. Although rare, some ball pythons can reach up to 6 feet in length, and being large bodied animals they will have a good amount of weight on them as well. I'm not sure if any particular genes come into play or if it's just random, maybe one of our scientists here know.

[ajmreptiles]

a lot of times they are a sub Saharan locality

[bmack]

Weight may fluctuate but ball pythons, like all snakes, grow until they die although it drastically slows down after the first couple of years of life. A large ball python could be a locality or it could just be a well fed older snake. Maybe a little bit of genetics but I'd say it's mostly just food.

[TheSnakeEye]

Weight may fluctuate but ball pythons, like all snakes, grow until they die although it drastically slows down after the first couple of years of life. A large ball python could be a locality or it could just be a well fed older snake. Maybe a little bit of genetics but I'd say it's mostly just food.

I second this. It could be a locality (which I'm not too well educated on) but it definitely can be an older snake. My 2009's are much longer, thicker and robust than my 2011's. Their heads are bigger, necks are thicker, etc... It's all about age.