To clairfy, the oldest ball python I know of in captivity was at the St. Louis zoo. I saw the animal several times in the back and the data card said the animal was imported as an adult either in 1954 or 1956. The last time I saw it was 2008, which would have made it a 52-54 year captive at the time. Given it was an adult when acquired one could estimate the age would be at least 54 years old but likely much older. I don’t remember the sex of the snake, just that it was sitting on a shelf in a 3’ neodesha.
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I’m aware of that ball python.
But does that have any connection to consecutive years of it being bred or breeding females early? And because it was at a zoo, it would have had immediate vet care if needed and a very good food supply, making it one of the better looked after balls in captivity.
Didn’t mean to ruffle feathers. Just posting the info I know of.
Peace everyone. I’m out.
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If you wish for your BP to live to be 50, don’t breed it. Pretty simple.
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Don’t worry about it man. some people just get mad that you don’t agree with them but it does necessarily mean you are wrong. i appreciate seeing your insight since you are one of the great veterans of this industry.
I hope I didn’t come across as mad.
I was more wondering how @osbornereptiles connected the lifespan of that particular snake to the topic.
And also in this topic, I didn’t mention anything about how old a ball can live till, I believe that was someone else’s post previous to mine.
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oh no i didnt take it like you were mad at all. i just didnt want @osbornereptiles to feel like he said something wrong.
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If People want the wealth of experience from folks who have been at the top of the game for 20-30 years Here show some respect. They don’t have to be here and have very little to gain in the first place it’s out of kindness.
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That’s amazing! Just wondering, what’s a neodesha? I used to love visiting the snakes at our local zoo growing up, and it seemed the same snakes were there through my childhood into adulthood. They also had excellent vets.
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Neodesha was a brand of cages from the 80s and early 90s. They were very minimal in design and cleaning them was usually very easy.
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I plan on buying a female who is 2300g. How should I go about feeding her since she is already up to weight. Should I just follow the normal eating chart for such weight or should it be changed since I want to breed her.
Feed them normally
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Feed her normally just keep in mind most adult females will probably take some time to adjust to being in your collection. It may take some time before she will breed for you.
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That’s a good point. I plan on getting her probably within the next few weeks and will try to breed her by late spring or early fall. Depends when my male gets up to weight.
Can you tell me the schedule in which you feed babies you intend on keeping?
Do you do rat pups right away or 4 hopper mice a month (one a week) then switch to rats as soon as they’ll start taking them?