Power feeding VS "Frequent feeding"

[John1982]

Just a little something to add:

Lifespan/Longevity
The average lifespan of ball pythons in captivity is 20 years. Reports document the maximum lifespan in captivity ranges from 28 years (at the Oakland Zoo) up to 50 years (reported by the Philadelphia Zoo). Average life span in the wild is reported to be 10 years. (Gorzula, et al., 1997; Bartlett and Bartlett, 2000; Bartlett, et al., 2001; Gorzula, et al., 1997)

I couldn't find a newer source so this is what I have to go on.

So making it past 10 years means we are doing a better job for them than they would have in the wild. Hitting 20 means we are doing as good as most other keepers and beyond is just fantastic.

Most write-ups you can find on reptiles will say, "average lifespan: 10-20 years", haha. Averages can be funny things anyhow, unless we know how they're doing their figuring. I reckon somewhere around 20-30% lower than the recorded maximum is a fairer idea of how long a healthy ball python will live in captivity. I bet 30 years is closer to a real age you can expect a captive bred pet ball python to reach. I doubt there are many CBB ball pythons dying at 20 years unless they've been overfed/bred a great deal. It's definitely an interesting topic with answers that will change, or become truer, as more time passes.