Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know the average life span of the African house snake? My female just died; she was only 2 years old. She had laid five clutches of eggs but none were fertile. After her last clutch I fed her up for about a month and then put the male in her cage (she always laid eggs, even if the male had not paid her a visit)but this time the male was more excited than before. For three days I kept checking to see if I could return the male to his cage but every time they were hooked-up.
Day four, female is belly up. Who did it? Was it the male? Was it just her time to go? Should I be looking at some other cause?
Any advice would be great.

Know of anyone with a lone female house snake for sale?

To begin, I should say that my experience with African house snakes is zero so take my opinion openly.

To respond to your first question about lifespan, I would say that 2 years is very short for the typical snake. Unless the AHS is an exception, you should be seeing a minimum 10 years in captivity. I might suggest browsing through the other forums for specific AHS husbandry and care facts.

As to what was the cause for your snake's demise, it could be anything on a long list of possibilities. My first impression though is that your female was exhausted. It sounds like she's already laid many clutches at an age when I just like to begin breeding my females. Her infertile clutches may be indicating this as well. Combine that with an unrelenting male and the mental and physical stresses upon her may have been just to much.

I hope my perspective on things has helped you for your future African house snake success.