Who has the oldest snake here?

sattva · 07-27-16, 08:03 PM

I am trying to get an idea on growth rate... I know each snake is different and they grow their whole life, and get slower and slower as they get older...
I thought the people that have the oldest snakes might be able to enlighten us... Thanks in advance...

**Boots** · 07-27-16, 08:49 PM

Well I guess I can start. My garter is about 5 years old now and as they can live to ~ 15 in captivity I doubt he would be the oldest.

Jason

**Tsubaki** · 07-27-16, 09:36 PM

My oldest snake was 23+ he passed couple of years ago, he was mine for 16 of those years. Oldest snake i have now is probably Kira at 7 years old.

Sublimeballs · 07-27-16, 10:19 PM

Current oldest 16 years old and going strong

bigsnakegirl785 · 07-28-16, 12:55 AM

My oldest is my ball python turning 10 in September. He's a very teeny guy, only 3'7", hasn't grown so much as half an inch since he was ~3 years old, according to a length I took a year or two ago. He's not very cooperative but he doesn't appear any larger. He's also thinned out due to having poor feeding habits since I made my first move in 2012 and I also feed him less. He used to quite chubby and overfed. In the past year, he's become a good feeder, though, only refused one meal so far and that's because I was feeding him medium rats while I was waiting for smalls.

dave himself · 07-28-16, 01:40 AM

Our royal/ball python we've had him around 13 maybe more years, I'm shocking at dates and stuff like that

**Pareeeee** · 07-28-16, 07:11 AM

My oldest, the Rosy Boa (Boaz) should be 8 years old by now (can't be 100% sure; he was purchased at a rescue/pet store that took in unwanted pets and they told me that his owners had told them he was 3 years old at the time).

chairman · 07-28-16, 07:26 AM

My oldest snake is a 6 year old cornsnake. My oldest reptile is a 17 year old K. Homeana (tortoise).

**Aaron_S** · 07-28-16, 01:58 PM

Eight years currently in my house.

I've had a few that were 13 - 16 who were still breeding.

They dramatically slow down around years 2 - 4 depending on species. Then it's like maybe half an inch or less a year.

sattva · 07-30-16, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

Eight years currently in my house.
I've had a few that were 13 - 16 who were still breeding.

They dramatically slow down around years 2 - 4 depending on species. Then it's like maybe half an inch or less a year.

Thanks guys! This is kind of what I was looking for... My retic is only 14 months and I am trying to keep him small, so his growth rate is about anybody's guess.
But my Carpet and Taiwanese beauty snake are both 7 years old and I was trying to gage their growth rate; So I guess I am looking at probably about a half an inch a year.

bigsnakegirl785 · 07-30-16, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sattva

Thanks guys! This is kind of what I was looking for... My retic is only 14 months and I am trying to keep him small, so his growth rate is about anybody's guess.
But my Carpet and Taiwanese beauty snake are both 7 years old and I was trying to gage their growth rate; So I guess I am looking at probably about a half an inch a year.

You won't keep him small, he will eventually get as large as he was meant to, and feeding a snake in a way to try to keep them small is unethical. Conservative feeding is one thing, but don't underfeed them. Conservative feeding will slow their growth rate to close to natural levels but won't keep them small.

Depends. My ball python hasn't grown even half an inch, I'd wager not even a millimeter in 7-8 years, but my 5 year old boa grew 2" in less than 6 months after taking 1-2 years to grow 3 inches. I've seen another person with an older snake somewhere between 6 and 10 years that grew 2' in the matter of a couple years

sattva · 07-30-16, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

You won't keep him small, he will eventually get as large as he was meant to, and feeding a snake in a way to try to keep them small is unethical. Conservative feeding is one thing, but don't underfeed them. Conservative feeding will slow their growth rate to close to natural levels but won't keep them small.

Depends. My ball python hasn't grown even half an inch, I'd wager not even a millimeter in 7-8 years, but my 5 year old boa grew 2" in less than 6 months after taking 1-2 years to grow 3 inches. I've seen another person with an older snake somewhere between 6 and 10 years that grew 2' in the matter of a couple years

.
Hey bigsnakegirl Thanks for the info... I am new at this and I'll take all the advise I can get... According to the breeder I got George from, 50% of his size comes from genetics, and 50% from how you feed him... His Father was only 10 feet so that's kind of what I am hoping to keep George down to... I am watching his weight closely.. Thanks again!

bigsnakegirl785 · 07-31-16, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sattva

.
Hey bigsnakegirl Thanks for the info... I am new at this and I'll take all the advise I can get... According to the breeder I got George from, 50% of his size comes from genetics, and 50% from how you feed him... His Father was only 10 feet so that's kind of what I am hoping to keep George down to... I am watching his weight closely.. Thanks again!

Their final size is mostly determined by their genetics the rate they grow at is determined by feeding size, but not their final potential size, unless they starve to death or don't survive long enough. Even if you underfeed him, he is going to grow way faster than you'll anticipate.

I would really encourage you to feed him normally. Maybe not overfeed him, but he needs to still be provided a good minimum food intake, I'd say no less than 10-20% of his weight every 1-2 weeks. If you weren't prepared for the potential size he could get, it probably would have been best to skip on retics, or have gotten a super dwarf. If his dad was small, there's a good chance he'll stay small, too, but no guarantee. If his mom was small, too, it will be more likely.

serpentgirl123 · 07-28-16, 04:42 PM

My eldest (adult male boa) will be 16.5yrs old in a a few more weeks and going strong.

SnoopySnake · 07-30-16, 10:21 PM

Currently my oldest (confirmed) snakes are my rainbow boas, at just over 3 years old. My white lipped python is a WC import but is pretty much full grown at 6', so really not sure how old he is but I've had him for a year. It's possible he's older than my rainbow boas, but no way to tell. My oldest reptile was our green iguana, he was 10 years old when I had to rehome him over a year ago. As far as I know he's still around