Geriatric Yellow anaconda

[culturevirus]

Please forgive the question by way of intorduction, I know that online communities don't like drive-by posting. But I am in a semi-desperate situation. I have a yellow anaconda that is approximately 22 years old. I have had her since she was born and have never had any health or feeding problems with her. She has gone off her food for a few months now and does not seem to have any interest in eating regardless of how I "prepare" her food. What little I know of yellow's lifespans I gather that she is getting near the end of her natural lifespan. I'm not sure whether I should take her to a vet or I should accept that this is the end. Any suggestions for husbandry changes that encourage appetite? Any advice at all?

[Reptile_Reptile]

i think she is fine and all you need to do is wait. maybe the winter has affected her making her want to breed. or somthing along those lines i'd just offer her food every few months ( a snake the size of a 22 yr old anaconda can probably go a a year easy without eating)

[Damion930]

Wow 22yrs that's awesome if she made it this long and u haven't made any big changes lately id not worry yet snakes can go off feed for numerous reasons u can probly keep offering on ur regular schedual for quite sometime before u should worry im sure others will have more for u and welcome to the forum

[Ch^4]

As long as she's not losing weight and appears to be in good health, a few months without feeding shouldn't be a problem. I had a 2 year old BP go without food for about 7 months. It's very stressful for the keeper, but hopefully she'll be back to her usual jumbo rat pounding self soon!

However, with a 22 year old snake, it may not be a bad idea to get her checked out by a vet. Good luck and keep us posted.

[marvelfreak]

Hello and welcome! I wouldn't worry to much, but a trip to the vet might not hurt. Just in case this is a sign of some underline health issue. If she never gone off feeding before at that age i think you should play it safe and get her checked out. We would all love to see pictures of her. And please keep us inform on hows she doing.:)

[kenchenzo]

if she has never been to a vet i wouldn't stress her out.
wait to see what she does just keep her to her feeding times.

[presspirate]

I commend you on keeping your snake for the long haul! I have thought about your question and I think I have to agree with kenchenzo. If your snake has not had a vet visit, or even a recent vet visit, being that he is up in years, loading him up and hauling him to the vet could prove to be very stressful and debilitating. I guess I can't offer you any other answer, than wait and see, but maybe you can find a vet that will make a house call. I wish you the best of luck.

[culturevirus]

Thank you all for the encouraging words and suggestions. My old girl has nearly always been a quiet part of the house, but this summer she was moved in to the living room. In addition I went from being a born-again bachelor (3 years divorced and living alone) to having a cohabitating girlfriend with two children. I think she has only eaten once since August. Based on some other threads I've read on the board I believe I will try providing privacy for her for a day or so before attempting another feeding to see if she is feeling too vulnerable in the living room to eat comfortably. Gracie is not too big, about 8', so I can transport her to a vet without much trouble if she doesn't eat in the next month or so.

[Damion930]

We would love to see her hope all is well

[Freebody]

got my fingers crossed, sound like a stress thing to me, kids in the house may make her feel like she better not eat incase they attack so she can defend herself, im sure in time she wil realize they are no threat to her and eat fine in the living room. and like everyone else said, we would love to see some pics of your old girl :?

[Reptile_Reptile]

Thank you all for the encouraging words and suggestions. My old girl has nearly always been a quiet part of the house, but this summer she was moved in to the living room. In addition I went from being a born-again bachelor (3 years divorced and living alone) to having a cohabitating girlfriend with two children. I think she has only eaten once since August. Based on some other threads I've read on the board I believe I will try providing privacy for her for a day or so before attempting another feeding to see if she is feeling too vulnerable in the living room to eat comfortably. Gracie is not too big, about 8', so I can transport her to a vet without much trouble if she doesn't eat in the next month or so.
my snakes live in my living room also. and the way i keep (or try to but it seems to work) the stress levels down is i put a towel on the part of the cage facing the most active runway of the room so they arent constantly looking at random people moving about. hope that helps

[Lankyrob]

All my snakes and lizards are in my living area - we have a four year old and her friends here sometimes too. The animals dont present any stress porblems (all are eating shedding etc fine) but then they have always been in this environment whereas with your old girl this is all new to her.

[culturevirus]

I have good news to report. She ate on Monday and today she shed. I decided to take the sage advice of the board and covered part of her tank for a few weeks to give her a sense of security. I don't if it was the covering or just that she was finally ready to eat, but eat she did. I'll see about sharing a picture of her soon for all to enjoy.

[Reptile_Reptile]

sweet looking forward to it glad to hear everything is fine now too

[marvelfreak]

Good to hear! Now we needs some pics.:)

[kenchenzo]

nice to hear she is back to normal. hope to see some pics soon mate.

[culturevirus]

I don't need to tell you all what a pain it can be to get a good photo of a snake :)

http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/culturevirus/DSCN1116.jpg
http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n183/culturevirus/DSCN1107.jpg

[Reptile_Reptile]

wow thats beautiful man she looks great

[kenchenzo]

very nice mate. a real beauty.
mine shed last night.

[marvelfreak]

She's gorgeous!

[blindfireak40]

Aww What a pretty girl! Glad to hear she's eating again, everything still going good?

[jessy]

any advice on yellow anacondas

[ladyjustice33]

Wow....that is one gorgeous snake man!!!! I always keep my pets for life unless it's just a bad match from the start. I never thought about it, but after reading your post, it really brought home that snakes live a lot longer than your average dog for example. I get really really attached to my animals, so if your the same, I can't imagine how it would feel to lose an animal that has been with you for 20 to 30 years!! Most marriages don't last that long now a days, lol !! Guess I will find out though cause I read that my little columbian rainbow averages about 20 years in captivity. Glad to see your Gracie is doing well and she looks fantastic!!!

[NennaMeerkat]

Just read this thread from start to finish and I am really glad you got her to feed again. Also really love how beautiful she is. Thanks for sharing and I hope that she continues to eat for you and that she gets used to a new busy home as well. Keep us updated! Even if you are a "drive by poster".

[brylecc1989]

Wow man amazing specimen. Good job keeping and maintaining her for so long!

[bigsnakegirl785]

I wish I'll be able to keep my snakes for so long!

[stephanbakir]

Great lookin snake man.

[culturevirus]

Wow! I'm surprised to see that interest in Gracie goes on. I'm pleased to report that she continues to eat vigorously and has adjusted to life in the living room. I continue to keep her partially covered most of the time to give her some security. She has even decided to eat from my girlfriend's hand as well as mine.

To the person who asked if I had any advice I'd have to say not really. My husbandry has always been really simple. I don't handle her that often, just enough that she is comfortable being held. She's lived nearly her whole life in a 105 gallon aquarium, which I keep relatively, but not scrupulously clean. The tank has nearly always been heated with an under tank heater. She's somewhat smaller than the sizes I've seen listed for grown females. She's probably slightly under 8 feet. Which I attribute to my probably feeding her a little less than I should have over the years. She always seems to be of a good weight, but I have gone under the advice to me that the back of your snake should have a slight valley along the spine area. I started feeding her live food which she ate for about 10 years. After that the rats were getting pretty large and I feared that they may cause her injury if she was sloppy in an attack. After that I've always fed her frozen food. Like I said, pretty basic husbandry.

I think that her longevity is due mostly to the fact that I've always been able to keep her housed and regularly fed. Like many folks I've always believed that you should keep your pets for life. I've just been able to do that when many folks have found themselves unable to do so.

[blindfireak40]

Glad to hear everything's still going so well!! :)

[shaunyboy]

glad to hear the old girls back to herself

great news mate

cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

I just read this thread, and I commend you for providing such a stable, loving home for your snake. I see too many up for sale on Craigslist because people didn't think the purchase through, or decided they were bored with the snake after a few years. You're one of the good guys, the few people who truly accept the massive responsibility that a giant constrictor can be.

I'm so glad to hear she's back to eating well, and I wish you many more happy years with her.
A bit of encouragement for you- the oldest snake on record was a ball python in a US zoo that lived to be 47 years old! There have also been retics and Burms that lived well into their 30s.

[Snakefood]

what is the average lifespan for corns and BP's?? everything I could find on the internet said 20+ years, which can mean almost anything!!

My guy is just a little baby, so we have many, many years together!! He'll take me into my senior years!! (odd to think actually, I am used to dogs. Ours usually live to 15-18 yrs)

[Lankyrob]

I think 20-25 years if "average" for corns and BP's

[Snakefood]

Awesome!! It tears me apart when I lose one of my animals, so the less often it happens, the better!!

[marvelfreak]

I just read this thread, and I commend you for providing such a stable, loving home for your snake. I see too many up for sale on Craigslist because people didn't think the purchase through, or decided they were bored with the snake after a few years. You're one of the good guys, the few people who truly accept the massive responsibility that a giant constrictor can be.

I'm so glad to hear she's back to eating well, and I wish you many more happy years with her.
A bit of encouragement for you- the oldest snake on record was a ball python in a US zoo that lived to be 47 years old! There have also been retics and Burms that lived well into their 30s.
There's a Rosy Boa that is been on display for over 60 years. It belongs to a College or University in one of the south western states. I just can remember which one.