Old Age in Reptiles

[Nero Egernia]

Today was a rare sunny day, but it was still rather chilly. Somehow the Netted Dragons knew this and this morning after almost two months of brumating they were waiting on their basking rock for me to turn the lights on. The female looked alright but the male looked a little worse for wear. They both entered brumation in good condition as far as I could tell, the male especially was well fed and a bit plump, so I thought it was rather strange that he was pretty skinny today. After they warmed up they were eagerly waiting for a feed. I'm still trying to figure out why his condition has dropped off, whether it's because he may be getting old or if it's something else. It's got me thinking that they may not last much longer, as they both were wild caught as adults, and have been in captivity for almost 4 years. I will be very sad for when that day comes.

I was wondering what is everyone's experiences when it comes to elderly reptiles and how do they differ from juveniles and reptiles that are in their prime? How exactly does old age take a reptile's life?

 

[Ekans]

Interesting question. I have no idea as my reptiles are still quite young, hopefully the reptile keepers with older animals can provide some info

 

[CaitlinK]

I hope he recovers, quickly!
My jungle carpet python (my first and only python) is only 1 year 04 months! She seems to know its winter and has gone off her food... she's nice size I believe, and she was sexed by the Vet at 1 year. She has a decent sized enclosure (converted corner cabinet) and is not losing weight. She still moves about, is heated & still responds very well to handling. She's alert and inquisitive as usual!
I don't have any idea about what to do with an aging lizard... but you could ask the Vet for advice? Otherwise, I cannot suggest anything more useful...
Thanks for your post... makes me think of the future of my python - Dreamsss - she's still growing (aside from her winter brumation break) and she's very beautiful. Sadly, she's been diagnosed with anaemia - nothing else in the world wrong with her, just a low blood count. As its winter its awkward because she's not eating, so we have to wait it out!
I'd love to share a picture - I took it, I'm improving all the time!
Thanks again, and all the best with your lizards!
From, Caitlin.

 

[GBWhite]

Hi Oshkii,

Rather than go through a long winded post I've provided a link that I found that might help with your question.

All the best with your critter.

George.

http://www.petplace.com/article/reptiles/general/general-reptile-care/care-of-the-elderly-reptile

 

[Bluetongue1]

Central Netted Dragons are unusual for a medium sized dragon because in nature they are essentially annuals. The young grow rapidly and reach sexual maturity in 9 or 10 months. Very few individuals survive for a second breeding season. In captivity, with appropriate husbandry, they can be expected to live 5, maybe 6 years. The Alice Springs Reptile Park recorded one exceptional individual that survived to 9.

The writers of the article George linked to are well known and respected US authors of field guides and husbandry books, as well as long established specialist breeders and keepers. So they know what they are talking about.

 

[Nero Egernia]

Hi George, I don't mind long winded posts. Thanks for all the information so far. It's very disheartening that they don't live very long. At the moment both of the Netted Dragons don't seem particularly keen to return to brumation, which I find odd. I thought they wouldn't become active again until sometime like late August or September. They're eating well at least.

 

[GBWhite]

Hi again Oshkii,

Here's a little something else regarding the husbandry of Central Netted Dragons that makes reference to longevity and some other facts about them that you might find interesting.

Cheers,

George.

http://nswfmpa.org/Husbandry Manuals/Published Manuals/Reptilia/Central Netted Dragon.pdf

 

[pinefamily]

A lot of the smaller species of dragons have similar lifespans, as far as I know. Beardies being the one exception (they are a bit bigger too).

 

[Sdaji]

People haven't been keeping reptiles for all that long. Only 20-30 years ago it was very unusual for anyone to breed snakes in captivity or even keep them, most of the early specimens were wild collected as adults with no known age. We know that pythons can live longer than tham people have been keeping them, so we don't yet have a very good idea of how long many species can live, and I expect pythons in particular will live longer than people are currently thinking.

Many of the smaller lizards have short lifespans, dragons in particular, but I expect some of the larger lizards will also turn out to have longer lifespans than most people currently expect.

 

[Dino2444]

have you tried vegemite on the rear of the mouse or rat you feed Dreamsss works a treat for providing a source of much need b12 and wont harm snakes. by the time they get to the vegemite 3/4 of the feed is down so they don't regurgitate. just a thin smear is needed every 4 or 5 feeds

 

[eipper]

Most of my snakes have reached their twenties, I have one in its thirties, two blue tongues over thirty. If you house reptiles correctly- allow them to cool over winter, feed and house appropriately they live for a long time. Generally overfed, over bred, under cooled equals shorter lifespan.

Many snakes and lizards start getting infections, tumors and cancers as a result of lowering of immune system efficacy leading to anorexia/ sporadic feeding response- this in turn leads to decreased vitamin/mineral uptake which compounds problems causing MBD etc.

Old reptiles certainly get an old look to them....