4 ft is the upper value for a male. Females are quite a bit bigger than males. And even if you were right, 4 ft is still pretty big, yo.
Regarding meat, the argument's already been made.
I have seen plenty of snakes--I've lived in various places around the world. xd
Many don't realize that these snakes live for 30-40 years. That's a lot of commitment for a "pet," which people usually don't fulfill. One can bring up many points on why snakes make questionable pets.
I know that this is a snake appreciation thread, and I do like snakes as stated in my first post. I just think people shouldn't have them as pets. As someone who has been/is involved in breeding and selling them to anyone who orders em online, I'm not surprised of your dislike for this opinion.
We could argue about this all day but what I do agree with is not everyone should own them, because they are very sensitive animals they die very easily. People usually set them up in big fancy aquariums where their humidity needs aren't met and they end up having skin problems. They require a static air temperature and temp fluxes will kill them. Even experienced handlers make mistakes that end up killing not one but sometimes their entire collection. I think a major problem with exotic pets is how people don't research what they're getting into, like you mentioned they live a good 20-30 years if housed properly, they're escape artists, and their needs are fairly simple but pet stores often give your wrong information about them. I think they're good pets, but like fish there is too much misinformation floating around about them which causes them to either escape, be released, or die prematurely.
One we had a while ago.
[Image: http://puu.sh/ayqKH/59e2a8e0aa.jpg]
Sorry if it's sideways. And for poor quality/lightning.
Beautiful