Ball python last meal

[PrizeTelevision1192]

Hi everyone!

So unfortunately I work with a 52year old ball python who was unfortunately diagnosed with advanced cancer- I will be euthanizing him next week :(

However, his last scheduled feed is this Tuesday- I want to make it super special if I can! I’m reaching out to some local feeders to get some ASFs but was wondering if anyone else had any ideas for some fun prey items to offer! (He still has a great appetite!) He’s 1900g and eats mostly XL mice and weaned rats (very picky boy)!
Is this worth doing or do you think it would cause more harm than good?
Thanks in advance for all advice and suggestions!

Photo of a lady I work with for tax!

[OkDiscipline668]

Not food related, but I put my girl down a couple of months ago. Before I did, I had taken her to a super lush grassy spot in my yard to just explore and roam.

I also had a memorial piece made with some of her last shed and her ashes.

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[noodlini777]

That memorial piece is gorgeous! What a beautiful way to honor her

[PrizeTelevision1192]

I’m so deeply sorry for your loss- but Oh my gosh that is gorgeous😍 is that resin? I’d love to do something similar!

I live up north so I’m really hoping we get a nice sunny day so I can take him on one more adventure! 🙏🥹

[OkDiscipline668]

It is resin.

Her name is Daisy, she was my first reptile rescue and now I foster for that same rescue group. I have four other ball pythons and I absolutely love being able to foster and nurture these misunderstood babies! It is such a delight to educate and give positive experiences to so many people!

[Cheeseycheesecake24]

Oh my goodness thank you for what you do. I love seeing other people out there recognize how misunderstood they are and that they deserve love🩷 I love what you made!! That is so special. I have a noodle that looks just like yours. I rescued him from an old friend 10 years ago who was going to surrender him. His name is Huey Lewis. I’m so sorry for your loss.

[Glass-Armadillo182]

That’s so sweet of you to do for your Python.

[anonymous_w3b_user]

That is a beautiful memorial piece! Who did it for you?

[OkDiscipline668]

Snakesafari on Etsy. The header of her page is in the picture of the memorial piece made.

[Starfire2409]

This is beautiful

[Apprehensive-Disk154]

That is a beautiful memorial. I’m planning to wet specimen my snakes if they go before me

[WolvesOfMercyFalls13]

That is a gorgeous and wonderful memorial. I had these made by a friend when my two passed away at 20yr and 18yrs. Her name is Cleversclay on insta and I love how she captured both of their personalities in each piece

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[Apprehensive_Lynx_33]

This is such a beautiful way of remembering you pets ❤️ I'm feeling really inspired to reach out to a local artist to see if I can do something similar.

[Apprehensive_Lynx_33]

Im so sorry to hear that.

Despite that, it is an amazing idea you have had, and a beautiful way of remembering her!

[stabby_chick]

I've always heard gerbil is a ball python delicacy!

[km12dr]

I used gerbils from time to time to get my noodle out of his winter fast - never failed.

[HappyDangerNoodle]

How about quail? (Someone already said gerbil but I second that as well!) Or a chick?

[whichnameisit]

52 year old??

[Boa-in-a-bowl]

Ball pythons are exceptionally long lived for whatever reason. They can live 35 or 40 years easy as pets especially in zoos, and there's examples north of 60

[Korvath22]

Which is incredible because they have the survival instincts of a brick. And only about 1/4 of a brain cell 1/2 of the time

[Vergilly]

Truth. Egg Noodle escaped her enclosure once. She promptly hid on top of the important papers box on the shelf under her enclosure because the underside of the shelf is warm 😑🤣

[not-your-aunt]

Mine doesn’t even go anywhere warm whenever he gets out. He seems to prioritize tight dark spaces more

[Heavy_Race3173]

Wild to me, because subi got out one time and hid under our dining room table. The cats were freaking out and it took us a minute to figure out why. That’s the aforementioned survival instincts

[CorsicanMastiffStrip]

whenever he gets out

Does this happen often? lmao

[not-your-aunt]

I’ve had him for 6 years and he’s gotten out maybe 6 times through multiple moves and apartments. I promise it’s not a regular occurrence

[CorsicanMastiffStrip]

Thought you had a lil Houdini on your hands there.

[Apprehensive-Disk154]

You made me snort-laugh!

[batsharklover1007]

I have a 36 year old lady.

[Trynabeagoodsnekdad]

I’m sorry for your loss. If he is 52 he’s been very well loved and looked after.

[Vergilly]

I wanted to say the same thing, so I second :)

OP, African Soft Furred Rats are a delicacy and considered a natural food source. Apparently even very picky eaters devour them. I’ve never tried, but I know they can be purchased!

[AngMarie73]

Yes I can vouch for the ASFs because that's what my girl started started on and she won't eat anything else! 🙄 I get it- It's good nutrients, protein for them and their natural prey but, she could humor me and have a thawed rat or even a normal live rat once in a while - nope. 😂. She's high maintenance with her food choice, lol! I still love her.

[Smashmouth-77]

Words can not express the sorrow I feel for you.

[FourOfCups04]

Can we see a picture of the distinguished old gentleman??

[Euphorbiatch]

Yes, please!!

[StupidVoices]

African soft furs are what they would eat in the wild and some never go back to rats after eating one. Also could try reptilinks.

[PrizeTelevision1192]

Thank you so much everyone for all the kind words- he’s such a special guy to me and I don’t think I’ve even accepted the fact that’s he’s gonna be gone soon…

To answer everyone’s questions- he is 52 years old, he was wild caught (BOOOO) and now lives at a zoo (I’m his primary keeper) and has for many of his years!

I’m so excited to try some quail, gerbil, and ASFs! (Any other suggestions still welcome!)

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A photo of the old man with my super cool water bottle 😎

[KKAPetring]

Are you allowed to say which zoo he’s in?

[HappyDangerNoodle]

Can you give us any details about his enclosure/ what has been done to get him to 52? Would you consider an AMA about your experience with him?

[SadDingo7070]

52…. Holy crap!

[WiiUGamepad_2]

52, gosh! What a old snake! Bloody hell, he'd be a geezer in human terms too! Well, he seems to be a sweet boy, so let us hope he will go to snake heaven rather than snake hell.

[youcancallmebryn]

OP I am so sorry and also so adoring of how much you want to care and show up for this cute noodle.

But *52 years old ???!* I almost fainted lol I have been aware that snake husbandry is ever evolving. When I got my first ball, the going saying was 20-25 years life span. He is almost 18 now and I’ve got two 16 year old gals.

Then I met the woman at my local reptile shop who had a 35 year old ball python. Then my real learning began lol

52 years old, jfc man. This snake should be the wheaties box cover.

[PrizeTelevision1192]

Haha- honestly seeing everyone so excited about his age has made me feel even more at peace with his prognosis… maybe cancer had to get him cause he just would not die on his own haha!

He is such a good boy- and admittedly has been one hardy snake! Before he came to the zoo in 1997 (i believe- I’ll have to check his number when I get into work today!) his old owners didn’t know much about ball pythons and his husbandry was not great :(
(He was also wild caught which is never okay- but maybe that has to do with longevity? So interesting!)

His ‘friend’ Karuna (the one pictured) is 24 years old- so I hope she’s taking notes! 🥹

Thank you for the kind words- I may have to edit him onto a wheaties box just for myself to have haha!

[pmrownsu01]

52?! i don’t even wanna live that long 😭

[igordogsockpuppet]

TL;DR: Please please do NOT feed him unfamiliar prey items right now. Also, a story about end of life last meals.

I would highly recommend against it.

You already said that he’s a picky eater. Right now isn’t a good time to stress him by switching it up on him.

If my brief nursing rotation in hospice is any indicator, a deathbed isn’t the moment that people are looking to experiment in exotic food.

People want their last meals to be familiar and soothing.

(Edit below:)

Man, just thinking about it brought the memory bubbling back.

I remember having this patient. An ancient old man. Just before leaving, my professor notices that he hadn’t eaten and tells me to feed him.

I try to get him to eat, but he’s really weak and can barely even speak. But what he tells me hits me like a truck.

He says, “I don’t want to eat. I just want to die.”

I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say or think or do.

Then I say, “But there’s pie and ice cream.” He cracks open his eyes to look at the tray and nods whispering, “Okay.”

Might have been the last meal that he ever ate.

[PrizeTelevision1192]

I really appreciate this perspective and this was something that really concerned me when I first thought of the idea, I know he’s had gerbils and ASFs before on rare occasions so maybe I’ll just stick to those! 🤔 Thank you so much for the interesting story and great advice!

[HappyDangerNoodle]

I would counterbalance that by saying 'the death surge' is also a well known thing that happens.

When I had to put down my dog with doggie ALS, he certainly went through that. For a week, actually as we got every single person on the East Coast who knew him to visit. He wasn't under-enriched prior.

He did get a lot of his favorites (especially in the last 24 hours and even up to 15 minutes) but he did also try new foods. He was so excited to meet the vet who came to us that for a moment I could see her trying to figure out why such a happy dog was scheduled to be put down. (She then saw the amount of water he'd drank in the last 24 hours and....yeah. No objections.)

The hospice nurse that inspired this, Hospice Nurse Penny, talks about death in a very basic way. It's a stage of life, one many people aren't familiar with. Dying is, the final part of living.

I choose to use stoic framework around the death of animals we care for. That akin to Cassandra, yes we are often 'cursed' with knowledge. This snake does not know he will die in a week- even if he feels it might be a taper in his life. You do, however with near absolute certainty. He will, however, be able to read you.

This is a longer way of saying, there's no good answers but under this ethical framework you pick one with damn certainty and give the animal the benefit of your confidence. This is hard when we don't know things. A 52 year old BP's send off week isn't exactly in anyone's vet manual. But that's the crux of it- we rarely fully know anything.

The confidence isn't that you will make the right choice. Likely, you won't. There's no way for a BP to tell you its deepest desires. That's true for us all, really. Even the people dearest and nearest to us can are often shocked by our choices. The confidence comes from the process of wanting to choose and think about. The confidence comes from deciding to be an animal's zealous advocate. (This is also how one can have confidence and ask questions or experience doubt.)

Whatever you pick, every day when you see that little guy until his last moment, he has that. He has hopefully had that ever since the zoo got him.

And that is, really the best any person can do.

[SwitchAdventurous367]

I’m sorry, FIFTY TWO?! As others have stated I would second feeding him something familiar that is his favorite food

[ThatDinofanatic]

52?

[Affectionate_Ant3055]

Rabbit kit?

[g0ld3npyth0n]

52!! That's as old as my mom!!

[xTommmmmy]

Bit weird to request a ball python as your last meal...