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Longest Snake Living in Captivity Dies in Zoo

SamanthaJane13

SamanthaJane13

Gecko Wrangler
An Ohio zoo says the longest snake living in captivity has died.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium says workers found the 24-foot python Wednesday morning dead from an apparent tumor.

The snake was named Fluffy. It held the Guinness World Record as the longest snake living in captivity. It was about as long as a moving van and as thick as a telephone pole. It weighed 300 pounds.

The 18-year-old reticulated python had drawn large crowds since the zoo got it in 2007.

Reticulated pythons are named for the cross-hatching patterns on their skin and average 10 to 20 feet long. The largest recorded one was 32 feet, 9 1/2 inches long when it was killed in 1912 in Indonesia.


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/28/ap/strange/main6998427.shtml


RIP, Fluffy!!
 
That's sad! I wonder what the natural life expectancy is. RIP Fluffy...Hopefully she will be preserved so people will be able to see what a magnificent animal she was, forever.
 
Ah...Fluffy. She was certainly a big snake....I got to mess with her years ago when she used to live in Oklahoma.
 
Hmm...I just saw Fluffy last summer. :awcrap:

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That picture doesn't do justice to her size I think. She looks tiny to me! Are there any pictures that show her size better?
 
Nanci said:
That's sad! I wonder what the natural life expectancy is. RIP Fluffy...Hopefully she will be preserved so people will be able to see what a magnificent animal she was, forever.
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25-30 years according to the first picture in the link tsst posted.. So Fluffy fell way short, sadly. RIP big gal.
 
The owners of the captives will often tell you that the animals live shorter lives than they actually would do in reality (i.e. not in captivity). SeaWorld will tell you that orcas live for a far shorter time than they actually should do, for example. Or perhaps the 42 year old BP you heard about was just extraordinary..?
 
In all honesty, while Fluffy is definitely a nice looker, I don't think she needed 10lb of rabbits every week. Looking at all the pictures everyone has, she looks fat to me; not very toned. I know pythons are heavy bodied, but 3000gram BPs look firmer than she does. It might just be me, but I'm willing to say I think she was probably over fed in frequency.

Twinkie looks AMAZING, especially in DaGiant's picture.
 
Uh, that's not true. Animals in captivity generally live longer than those in the wild. Perhaps sea animals are different but for most species captive live longer due to lack of predation and disease. Horses in the wild generally live into their teens. In captivity 30's are the norm these days. Snakes live well into their 20's. My friend had a rattlesnake that was over 25 years old when he died. Dr. Mader had a snake that was over 30 years old. Dogs that are left to themselves generally live short lives. So I guess they are talking about zoo captivity not captivity with the general public.
 
ShenziSixaxis, you hit the nail on the head. I feel sorry for the snake, it was completely overweight and I'm not surprised she died at 18. I'm actually surprised she didn't develop health problems sooner.

Seriously. I am absolutely appalled that a zoo of all places would have such an overweight animal. Aren't there herpetologists working there? Surely they would know that's just never an appropriate amount of food/frequency for an adult retic.
 
MegF. said:
Uh, that's not true. Animals in captivity generally live longer than those in the wild. Perhaps sea animals are different but for most species captive live longer due to lack of predation and disease. Horses in the wild generally live into their teens. In captivity 30's are the norm these days. Snakes live well into their 20's. My friend had a rattlesnake that was over 25 years old when he died. Dr. Mader had a snake that was over 30 years old. Dogs that are left to themselves generally live short lives. So I guess they are talking about zoo captivity not captivity with the general public.
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right

Jdog3131
 
A snake of that size shouldn't have been fed more than once a month, not 10# a week. It's no wonder the snake was obese as all get out! I don't even feed my cornsnakes weekly and they aren't a large, low metabolism boid. The zoo should be ashamed of themselves for overfeeding an animal. I'm certain that it lead to it's untimely death.
 
An anaconda might get longer, but that doesn't mean there is currently a longer one in captivity...

The lifespan thing is tricky - seems like so often there is a question as to whether the death was old age/natural causes or a illness, disease, or something that caused them to die before their time. Since old age often causes organ failures and disease can also cause this, it can be very tricky to determine if some of these animals actually hit 'old age' or had some other problem.

Our vet, who works with some zoos and exotics, is always shocked to hear our red tailed boas are still alive. They are 28 and 30 years old, and he has never encountered ones that old, even working with zoos and such. Most research I've found puts their lifespan at around 25 ish year (give or take a few), but, while they've slowed down quite a bit, ours still seem to be doing well at the moment.

As far as zoos not taking care of their animals right - some zoos are better than others. Some places out there that are called zoos (and even some that call themselves sanctuaries and rescues) are no more than a place using animals on display to make a profit, and don't really have any good idea about the needs of their animals. Some zoos are AMAZINGLY good with their animals and are leaders in the field for taking care of them. Many zoos are in between these extremes, they may be good with some and not with others. And of course there are various 'experts' out there with wildly different opinions about what is right and what isn't - if a zoo gets the wrong expert with some sort of credentials behind them, they may have horribly wrong information despite the best of intentions on their part. I hope that this zoo is in that category, the snake did look incredibly obese. There are places where causing an animal to be morbidly obese like that (without some sort of medical condition, or seeking medical care for the weight) can be considered a form of animal cruelty. Depends on various state and local laws and precedents. (I was a state licensed humane investigator for a few years)

Sad that she died, sad that she was kept so overweight. She looks like she was a pretty snake.
 
MegF. said:
A snake of that size shouldn't have been fed more than once a month, not 10# a week. It's no wonder the snake was obese as all get out! I don't even feed my cornsnakes weekly and they aren't a large, low metabolism boid. The zoo should be ashamed of themselves for overfeeding an animal. I'm certain that it lead to it's untimely death.
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I know I give my 4 month olds once a week and I'll evetaly give them food 8-10 days ...It'sa really crazy
 
I've seen a Corn's average lifespan in the wild quoted as 10 years. As they hit their breeding peak around 6-8 years of age, it doesn't make evolutionary sense for them to be "viable" much beyond that.

In captivity we give them optimum conditions (hopefully); guaranteed good quality food, no predators, no exposure to disease and pests, a very low likelihood of injury and prompt veterinary attention & treatment for health problems. No wonder the average lifespan in captivity is accepted as 15 - and seems (just a gut feel) to be rising.
 
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