How Long Do Snakes Live? A Detailed Explanation of the Average Lifespan of Snakes

Snakes are the general name for reptiles with degenerated limbs, and they are also known by alternative names such as she, hui, teng, ran, li, and lun; depending on the species, there are also near-synonymous names such as fu, ran, python, and kui. Most are terrestrial, while some are semi-arboreal, semi-aquatic, or aquatic. They are distributed across the world except Antarctica and islands such as New Zealand and Ireland, feeding on mice, frogs, insects, and so on. Let us take a look below at how long snakes live!

How long do snakes live?

Different snakes have different lifespans, mainly related to species or living conditions. In general, small snakes live about 2 to 5 years, medium-sized snakes about 5 to 12 years, and large snakes 10 to 20 years, while pythons can live 30 to 40 years or even longer. However, in the wild, because their habitat is relatively unstable, food is sometimes scarce, and they face serious threats from natural enemies and disease, snakes do not live as long as those kept under artificial breeding conditions. Many scientists' experiments have also confirmed this.

Which live longer, venomous snakes or non-venomous snakes?

Venomous snakes grow and develop more slowly than non-venomous snakes, so venomous snakes live longer than non-venomous snakes (except pythons). For example, among non-venomous snakes, the Chinese cobra is not the case; the Oriental rat snake, although relatively stout, lives only half as long as the pit viper. Under artificial breeding conditions, the pit viper lives 7 to 12 years, with the highest record exceeding 15 years, and the king cobra can generally live up to 25 years. Another example is the large-bodied and large-sized Oriental rat snake and the dhaman; their lifespans are much shorter than that of the Trimeresurus stejnegeri.

Are snakes viviparous or oviparous?

Snakes are both oviparous and ovoviviparous. Snakes in the Colubridae are all oviparous, while some snakes in the Pythonidae, blind snake family, and Elapidae are oviparous and some are ovoviviparous. Snakes usually living in cold regions and high mountains are mostly ovoviviparous, such as the anaconda. This mode of reproduction allows the eggs to remain in the mother's oviduct, enabling the developing embryo to maintain the temperature it needs and not be affected by the changing external environment. Almost all sea snakes are also ovoviviparous.