Okay, Brian, you have made me feel guilty for not coming here more often so I will see if I can entice you to keep coming (and I will try harder to frequent here more often).

To answer your question, those numbers sound somewhat accurate, however, I always question various websites when they are based on word of mouth rather than "real" experience (that is, working with burms on a LONG term basis; keeping burms for 5 years doesn't come close to keeping them on a long term basis) in working with burmese pythons. You won't find too many "experts" (anyone claiming to be an expert, doesn't know squat) who have truly kept a burm (or several burms) on a long term basis. It wouldn't surprise me if you found that male burms reached average lengths surpassing 14-15' if given the proper environment and enough time. I have two males that are already over 13' at 6 years of age and they will continue to grow for many years to come. One of the largest burms I have ever seen was a huge male over 17'...absolutely massive girth. My young adult females (6-30 years of age) range from 14' to 19' and weights reaching 250 pounds....give them enough time and the proper environment, they will continue to grow until they die.

But, to make a long answer short, those numbers you mentioned are probably decent "average" numbers but I have found that when it comes to burmese pythons, "average" is all relative...an average sized adult burm is still one big pickin' snake!

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation (IL)

[ Hide Replies ]

• Growth in males vs. females - question: - Antegy, Tue Jul 1 11:03:30 2003
• Hey Brian, will this keep you coming back... - Carmichael, Tue Jul 1 15:46:43 2003
• Heck yes it will,... - BrianSmith, Tue Jul 1 17:15:33 2003
• RE: Heck yes it will,... - Carmichael, Wed Jul 2 20:24:35 2003
• What about growth rate? - neogeo, Tue Jul 1 21:01:04 2003
• My burm doesn't have that rate either... - Antegy, Wed Jul 2 07:46:41 2003
• Rats, not mice - JDP, Wed Jul 2 09:33:22 2003
• RE: Growth in males vs. females - question: - JDP, Wed Jul 2 09:36:11 2003