World's Longest Zoo Snake Dies

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snakeguy101;4591931; said:
The snake had a very large enclosure though. Certainly much larger than the one that your anacondas will eventually have (no offense, its just too big for most private keepers considering it is about the size of 2 of my kitchens)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28582422@N04/2666198313

The snake was also constantly being dragged around to different shows and events for publicity so the feeding schedule was very strict so as not to interrupt the shows with problems such as regurgitation and defecation.

I dont think there was really anything one could do other than change the diet to an impossible one in captivity. Most of the animals they eat in the wild are going to be quite lean where as in captivity, they are all usually fatty. It was not the zoos fault and I think that this will be a recurring incident with all massive snakes.
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From that picture, that snake is very, very fat. I do take everything you have into consideration. I do think the fat will be shortning these animals lives though.
 
its not that fat considering and it died of a mass, or am i wrong?
 
Z Trip;4591916; said:
What caused this? Un naturtal environment. As we all know in the wild, nothing is for certain. These snakes are known to eat large meals, a few times out of the year and not multyple meals a month. I'm sure it had a large enclosure, I'm not sure the dimension so I'm not sure if lack of excersize is another factor.

Well to fix it, you would end up with a more dangerous snake but, well, feed it less. Make sure it needs food. Just cause a snake eats deosn't mean it needs it. They are opportunistic feeders, eating when they can because they don't know when the next meal is comming.

I don't know, I don't have any of my snakes on a feeding schedule. I pick them p, feel around, look at them and judge if they should eat that day. The biggest thing I look for is to see the "muscle line" going all the way down the snake. If I see that I wait a few days then feed it. I'm not sure if it's the "right" way but it works for me.
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+1
 
I got to meet and greet Fluffy a few times when Bob still owned her. She was a good snake. I will always remember a statement Bob told me one day about having her around, "You know you have a big snake when your feeders have hooves." At the time he was feeding her a young goat.
 
Miguel;4594116; said:
+1
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I also agree with the feeding schedule opinion. I know and understand once they are big enough to take down a person that its hard to not want to keep it full and happy. Thats the touchy part of using one so big to take around and show off though, as good as it was for the public to see, maybe just use a different large snake that wouldn't be such a danger if it were to really really decide it wants a hot dog, or child. Awesome animal, sad loss, do think less feeding is key to snakes with slower metabolisms. I dont know the travel habits of a retic in the wild so I cant give an opinion on excersise. I would think its enclosure was fine, I do feel strong though about the feeding. Also, does anyone know what the tumor could have been causing, could weight gain have been a part of it?
 
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