Is it natural..

[TheLionsShare]

Just a question out of curiosity, is it natural for large snakes (more specifically,burmese pythons) to grow so large in such short periods of time? I read about snburmese being a year old and being like 9 feet long.. Would they grow this large this quickly in the wild, or is it just from people more or less over feeding? I've also seen people bash others on the net for having a 6 foot snake that's a year and half old, people believe they SHOULD be larger.. I don't really have much of an opinion on the subject, but I do know that wild reptiles grow slower in the wild.. Anyone else have input? Thanks!

[BoidsUnlimited]

I can't answser your question about them in the wild. But people bashing others for 6ft snakes in a year is pretty obsurd.

My last burmese python was 7ft at one year of age, and I fed him STRICTLY one appropriate sized meal a week.

But, there are some people that DO overfeed and get a snake that is 10ft in one year.

[JAdkins2451]

And for most snakes they tend to grow the most in the first year to year and a half.. Then they start to slow down after that.

Jamie

[pollywog]

I agree, they do grow very fast for the first 18 months or so, then slow down and fill out more. My female albino is 9'4" and 19 months old, she was over 7 feet at a year old, but only added 2 feet in the past 6 months. I suppose this is survival of the fittest. When babies, all snakes are prey to larger animals and the faster they grow, the faster they become top of the food chain. As with all animals, there are some who develop more quickly and grow larger, despite having the same opportunities to feed.

[T.O-SK8TER]

My burm grew too 9 feet in the first year and has put on 7 feet since then, and yes it is a male.
Adam

[herpetologist12]

Hello, i have a 6 foot 8 inch burm i just recently bought. It is a male and i was not told how old it is. By the size and weight i estimate that it is about 1 year old. What do you guys think.