Cool story!

The longest-lived snakes I know of among local hobbyists in my area were all wild-caught as either adults or subadults.

One person I know has wonderful rosyboas. One pair came from an area in Riverside (now under concrete) and were captured as adults, but young adults. They made it 23 and 25 yrs in captivity. Their age at capture could be as much as 5 yrs, not sure of course, but they were sizeable snakes at capture.

What is noteworthy is that their offspring, kept in identical conditions as the parents, never made it past 16 yrs. I thought that was interesting.

Another guy I knew had a wild Cal king, found as an adult, but not an old adult. Again, could be 3-5 yrs old or older, not sure. It was kept outside on a porch (protected from sun and rain) for 22 yrs after capture. Many CB kings do not make 22 yrs, let alone possibly 25 plus.

So what are we doing that kills them earlier? It's not the caging, and I doubt it is food. I think that wild snakes may be inherently tougher.

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