Longest snake in captivity-world record set
by Fluffy
COLUMBUSZ, Ohio, USA -- Fluffy, a
24-foot python at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is
measuring more than 24 feet long and weighed more than 300
pounds-which sets the new world record for the Longest
snake in captivity.
Photo: This photo from Jan. 11, 2008,
shows Ian Stewart, left, and Carrie Hoover visit the Columbus
Zoo and Aquarium, for the first time, and saw Fluffy, a Reticulated
Python, the Longest
snake in captivity/ Photo by Tom Dodge/AP (enlarge
photo)
It was sold to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
by Oklahoma snake breeder and herpetologist Bob Clark. Fluffy, a reticulated python, the Longest
snake in captivity, was loaned to the Columbus Zoo
and Aquarium in 2007, and they paid Clark $35,000 to put the
python on permanent display.
"It isn’t even my snake anymore, but I’ve still
got a relationship with it. I’m still proud,” he said.
The Columbus Dispatch reported the first
season Fluffy, the Longest
snake in captivity was at the zoo, attendance reached
1.53 million people, second highest on record.
Clark credits Fluffy’s genes and the amount
he fed her for her enormous size. But unlike some larger snakes,
"She’s easygoing, very tolerant of people touching her. Very
tame. Just a good, friendly animal.”
Clark said Fluffy, the Longest
snake in captivity was hatched in June 1992 and he
was feeding her one large meal a week, usually a pig or rabbits,
at the time she was sold.
Reticulated pythons have the ability to
grow continuously throughout their lives if they are fed frequently,
but can survive extended periods without eating, Clark said.
