Is Reticulated Phyton that devil many describe?

[Niten]

It looks like I'm quite talented in building relationships with snakes actually, my Boa (first snake!) just loves me, does the Retic have such a different temperament as i could read in many places?
And... is Green Anaconda legal? I guess it's not, such a pity, such a noble animal...

[SSSSnakes]

Retics and Anacondas are nothing like a boa. In my opinion neither are good for a beginner.

[sharthun]

Oh btw, snakes don't love anyone, they just tolerate us.

[MDT]

my experience has been that captive bred animals are much more tolerant than wild caught. i have 3 retics. none of which have ever struck at me, let alone bitten me out of aggression. one of my relics (ironically the smallest of the trio) has a crazy hair trigger feeding response. walking by his enclosure after feeding even up to a week later will often elicit a strike. but i can handle each one (with respect) and not worry about aggression.

every snake is different. sometimes you get a pussycat. sometimes you get a butthole. just like people :) some are merely cage defensive and once you remove them from the enclosure, they will settle down for handling. some never will. "hook training" and patience, working w your snake will go a long way, but sometimes, you just end up with a grumpy snake.

and, sharthun is right....your dog loves you. your snake couldn't care less who you are.

[Niten]

She'd better love me and all the money I spent to provide her with a slice of jungle, only beautiful spot in my gara... room o.o
Besides jokes, her behaviour has improved a lot since the first days (taking her out was a fight against the enclosure decorations), that's enough for me. ^^
So it looks like it's true what they say about the great reticulated. I want one now. o.o My room could even get decent at that point, mmh...

[CosmicOwl]

Snakes aren't capable of building emotional bonds with people. You can develop a trust but, I believe that is it.

[millertime89]

MOST captive bred retics aren't bad at all and some are an absolute delight to work with. Wild caught animals can be a real pain though.

[Cmwells90]

ya know what I've never understood, why people feel a NEED to tell others that there snakes don't really love them. If he wants to believe that his connection with his snake is love, then let him. But when the post was about a retic, and he mentions love, we immediatly tell him they don't love him, and ignore the question, in fact it's happened twice on this thread alone, and I've seen it countless other places.

Bottom line is, who cares if it's love or trust. To some people they're the same thing. I'm not trying to be rude, but when it's already been said once in a thread, and then someone else brings it up, it's a little crazy, and clearly Niten doesn't care, plus I'm sure someone has said it to him in another post. -_-

[Minkness]

Yup. People have told him multiple times.

As for retics, while beautiful, I don't know that they would be great for a beginner handler if only due to their size and unpredictability of their individual personality.

I would say the same for anacondas as well.

Just my 2 cents on it.

[Kuamata]

I think people feel a need to mention that truth because some people may become of the mindset,"My reptile loves me, therefore would never hurt me." No matter how much you want to sugarcoat it, they are still wild animals with very strong instincts. If you held a retic when it hasn't eaten in a while, chances are you're probably going to get attacked. This is where it becomes very dangerous to think these kinds of things. They don't love you, the best you will ever get is that they become accustomed and tolerate your presence, but if they happen to be starving and you make the mistake of trying to cuddle that giant snake that 'loves' you, that snake isn't going to think twice about eating you, assuming you've made the even worse mistake of handling a giant alone. You should always have someone with you when holding giant snakes like retics, rock pythons, burmese, etc.

Additionally, I also agree they certainly aren't for beginners. A lot of time, care, and maintenance goes into them, not to mention they are very large, overpowering snakes(why backup is needed).

[FWK]

I think people feel a need to mention that truth because some people may become of the mindset,"My reptile loves me, therefore would never hurt me." No matter how much you want to sugarcoat it, they are still wild animals with very strong instincts. If you held a retic when it hasn't eaten in a while, chances are you're probably going to get attacked. This is where it becomes very dangerous to think these kinds of things. They don't love you, the best you will ever get is that they become accustomed and tolerate your presence, but if they happen to be starving and you make the mistake of trying to cuddle that giant snake that 'loves' you, that snake isn't going to think twice about eating you, assuming you've made the even worse mistake of handling a giant alone. You should always have someone with you when holding giant snakes like retics, rock pythons, burmese, etc.

Additionally, I also agree they certainly aren't for beginners. A lot of time, care, and maintenance goes into them, not to mention they are very large, overpowering snakes(why backup is needed).

While I agree with your first sentence I honestly had no idea Reticulated Pythons readily killed and ate humans. I had some thought of keeping a Retic one day (albeit a Super Dwarf) but with that kind of knowledge I may steer clear altogether. You must have access to information I do not, would you care to elaborate on the subject a bit and educate me? Provide evidence to corroborate these claims and what not. Your personal experience with these animals would be interesting as well. Since you seem to be interested in the truth and all.

[Kuamata]

All I was saying is they are big enough to, at adult size, and they can definitely overpower a lone human. I don't know of any retic keeper that maintains them by themselves without anyone assisting them. There are plenty of stories online of people making the mistake of, say, leaving the retic alone with their child, their wife, and well, other household pets are just a given. You may not like it, but they are wild animals, captive born or not, though captive born is usually more tolerant than a wild born, the bottom line is they're no where near domesticated.

No need to be rude about it.

[Minkness]

I cannot pin point specific documentation, however I have watched many documentaries about reptiles and it came out in a study on wild retics and anacondas that while an anaconda may attack a human with the intent of food, they do not go out of their way to hunt us down. However, the retic showed signs of actively hunting humans by following and 'stalking' it's prey.

I believe that the numbers of retic related human deaths were higher than anacondas as well.

Again, this was a documentary, not Internet research, so please take this information with a grain of salt.

Edit: oh yeah, and several years ago there was a big deal about a retic that was in a zoo. Attacked the keeper when the guy was cleaning the large enclosure and nearly killed him but another keeper heard the struggle and jumped in to help. The victim lived, but had broken rips, dislocated shoulder, cracked sternum, and lacerations on his face and scalp from the bite. O.o

[Kuamata]

^ and that is why no one should ever maintain these animals alone. It has happened many many times before, you can find stories all day online of these kinds of mistakes.

[Niten]

Well, I don't know if it can be called "love"... but when I see a child with a python 4 times his size cuddling him, riding him, massaging him, sleeping with him etc well.... I think there is something, he's just a prey's size after all.
A dog considers you the god of his universe while a cat dominates you as an inferior being, but he still shows true love. (I owned both)
A snake should be presented to people with method, giving him the time to get used to them one by one, and he's got all that he needs to distinguish them in a 10 square km crowd. I don't think that's just for him to say "Uhmmm this one has been tasted already, let's try this other one...".

ps: they can eat an adult human for sure, plenty of space for it...

[Kuamata]

Well I have a differing opinion but I'm just gonna walk away from that one. Good luck.

[dave himself]

It's just my view on this but owning one of these amazing snakes is an awful lot of responsibility. First off is the size, if you go for a mainland and it's female you can end up with a snake that is 16 to 20 long, are you prepared for this ?. The second thing is another person to help out when things go wrong,and they do. My wife and I never handle any of our larger snake alone IMO its just not worth the risk. The third thing would be space and cost, we don't know what size our female retic will end up, but we're prepared to give her a 9x3x3 viv at the very least. Then there's the cost of feeding, when we brought our girl home she was eating small weaner rats ( I think ) now she's eating medium rabbit's, and she will only be two years old this May coming. And finally are you ready to deal with your normal placid large snake if things go wrong ?. We've had Daisy, who is normally so laidback and good natured that we've had the neighborhood children in stroking her and getting their pictures took with her, turn on us in seconds and it really is no fun trying to deal with a snake her size who does not want to go back in her viv. I have posted many times that our retic is the calmest snake that we have and she is. But does that I mean that I trust her or don't give her the respect she deserves not at all, and the bigger she gets the more respect she will be given. I'm not trying to put you off owning or caring for one of these amazing snakes, it's just I've seen it time time again, people get a large snake and once it grows they realize what they have done and want to move it on. I'm not saying you would do that I'm just saying it does happen. I hope anything thing I've written helps, and if you do decide to buy there are plenty of people on here to help you out :)

[shaunyboy]

It's just my view on this but owning one of these amazing snakes is an awful lot of responsibility. First off is the size, if you go for a mainland and it's female you can end up with a snake that is 16 to 20 long, are you prepared for this ?. The second thing is another person to help out when things go wrong,and they do. My wife and I never handle any of our larger snake alone IMO its just not worth the risk. The third thing would be space and cost, we don't know what size our female retic will end up, but we're prepared to give her a 9x3x3 viv at the very least. Then there's the cost of feeding, when we brought our girl home she was eating small weaner rats ( I think ) now she's eating medium rabbit's, and she will only be two years old this May coming. And finally are you ready to deal with your normal placid large snake if things go wrong ?. We've had Daisy, who is normally so laidback and good natured that we've had the neighborhood children in stroking her and getting their pictures took with her, turn on us in seconds and it really is no fun trying to deal with a snake her size who does not want to go back in her viv. I have posted many times that our retic is the calmest snake that we have and she is. But does that I mean that I trust her or don't give her the respect she deserves not at all, and the bigger she gets the more respect she will be given. I'm not trying to put you off owning or caring for one of these amazing snakes, it's just I've seen it time time again, people get a large snake and once it grows they realize what they have done and want to move it on. I'm not saying you would do that I'm just saying it does happen. I hope anything thing I've written helps, and if you do decide to buy there are plenty of people on here to help you out :)

^^^^^
very well put Dave,i agree with everything you said mate

my wife helps me with my Carpets when required

one day i got a feeding response from a female Jungle that had NEVER struck before in the 3 years i had her,when i went to take her teeth off my right wrist,she wrapped up my left wrist and constricted...

i sat for 3 hours blood dripping from me,until my wife came home and unwrapped my Carpet Python handcuffs...

i felt like a right idiot,it went as follows...

" is that you honey ? " any chance you could pop up stairs and give me a hand "

she walks in the room and i'm sitting on the end of the bed,handcuffed in snake and a pool of blood at my feet..

i was embarrassed to say the least :hmm::laugh:

after my wife had a good laugh,she removed the Jungle

cheers shaun

[SSSSnakes]

The second thing is another person to help out when things go wrong,and they do.

General rule is to have 1 person for every 4 feet of snake, with a snake over 8 feet.

[SSSSnakes]

^^^^^
very well put Dave,i agree with everything you said mate

my wife helps me with my Carpets when required

one day i got a feeding response from a female Jungle that had NEVER struck before in the 3 years i had her,when i went to take her teeth off my right wrist,she wrapped up my left wrist and constricted...

i sat for 3 hours blood dripping from me,until my wife came home and unwrapped my Carpet Python handcuffs...

i felt like a right idiot,it went as follows...

" is that you honey ? " any chance you could pop up stairs and give me a hand "

she walks in the room and i'm sitting on the end of the bed,handcuffed in snake and a pool of blood at my feet..

i was embarrassed to say the least :hmm::laugh:

after my wife had a good laugh,she removed the Jungle

cheers shaun

Gotta Love a wife that does not panic and laughs at the stupid things her husband does. I've been there too. Snake cuffs are better than any police handcuffs. LOL

[metalcopper]

There are plenty of captive bred Retic videos on youtube to watch with large (not dwarfs or SD) Retics moving around and doing what they want and going where they want, regardless of who is trying to control them; they are extremely strong, curious, and active. Before you get one, watch some of the videos, you will see the true size and strength, and then decide if you really want one.

[dave himself]

^^^^^
very well put Dave,i agree with everything you said mate

my wife helps me with my Carpets when required

one day i got a feeding response from a female Jungle that had NEVER struck before in the 3 years i had her,when i went to take her teeth off my right wrist,she wrapped up my left wrist and constricted...

i sat for 3 hours blood dripping from me,until my wife came home and unwrapped my Carpet Python handcuffs...

i felt like a right idiot,it went as follows...

" is that you honey ? " any chance you could pop up stairs and give me a hand "

she walks in the room and i'm sitting on the end of the bed,handcuffed in snake and a pool of blood at my feet..

i was embarrassed to say the least :hmm::laugh:

after my wife had a good laugh,she removed the Jungle

cheers shaun


Thanks mate, and I have to admit your little mishap did make me spit coffee :yes:

[CosmicOwl]

^^^^^
very well put Dave,i agree with everything you said mate

my wife helps me with my Carpets when required

one day i got a feeding response from a female Jungle that had NEVER struck before in the 3 years i had her,when i went to take her teeth off my right wrist,she wrapped up my left wrist and constricted...

i sat for 3 hours blood dripping from me,until my wife came home and unwrapped my Carpet Python handcuffs...

i felt like a right idiot,it went as follows...

" is that you honey ? " any chance you could pop up stairs and give me a hand "

she walks in the room and i'm sitting on the end of the bed,handcuffed in snake and a pool of blood at my feet..

i was embarrassed to say the least :hmm::laugh:

after my wife had a good laugh,she removed the Jungle

cheers shaun

Honestly, even a rat snake can tie you up pretty well. Constrictors of any size are stronger than we give them credit for.

[Niten]

I think I've seen any available documentary/homemade guide on constrictors on the net in Italian, English and Indian 4 times now. ^^"
Plus some on the King Cobra, you never know. And Dwarf Caiman. And scorpions. And desert lizards, monitors and iguanas. Chameleons. I want them all.
The hardest part is finding the buddies for maneuvering...

[KSTAR]

Just like MillerTime89 said.....captive Bred Retics aren't bad at all I've never had problems with any of my snakes and I have a few buddies that keep WC retics too and they're not so bad either it's all about what you put in so even thought Retics are a whole different ball game from Boas I think if you put in the same amount of time and effort into your retic you did your other snakes you'll be super happy with how everything will turn out for you. My snakes are awesome and I only have to worry about them when I go into they're cage without a snake hook since they are hook trained other then that they are awesome but keep in mind there is also Dwarf and Super Dwarf retics that are smaller then mainlands so you can get a retic that is smaller in size like a super dwarf. Dwarf retics still get fairly large and it's always best to handle big snakes with someone else with you for security and safety. But I say go for it! Good luck

[Tsubaki]

I'm a sucker for any snake with a mean streak, as anyone who has ever visited my collection live would agree. (Past and Current) Usually the baby that tries hardest to kill me, wins my heart the quickest. Because of this i have had my fair share of no-so-nice retics.

My past collection was a mixture of capture bred and wild caught animals, there was a clear difference between their temperaments, but it did not decide whether or not the animal would calm down in the long run. The capture bred animals were already more accustomed to humans, even the nippy ones, so if they calmed down they would generally calm down sooner. However my wild caught retics i got at a very young age would also calm down to a degree, it just took a bit longer, the older they were when i got them the longer it generally took. And i only handle my retics for check-ups or moving them to clean. Did not make any difference.

There was one wild-caught animal that was an estimated 2 years old when i got him, he never calmed down. However he was nothing compared to my meanest animal which was a capture bred retic, my friends used to call her the devil reincarnated. Always going straight for the face as soon as she saw you, at one point she rammed into the glass so hard she tore the tissue holding her teeth together. She had one tooth stuck up her upper lip. That was a fun veterinarian trip we all still talk about! If i call my vet she still asks if its not about 'that one yellow headed giant' (Holding down a big retic while the vet pulls out a tooth, 3 adults getting slammed against a wall by a panicking retic, pee spraying everywhere, poop all over the floor, vet assistants afraid for their lives... Oh and after that, i had to rinse out her mouth and squirt in antibiotics every day for a week, so much fun)

Basically, retics are smart snakes... Capture breds are usually easier to calm down, wild caughts are best to get as young as possible as well.. However, if it's a mean one.. you're just out of luck, capture bred or wild caught doesn't matter anymore. There is nothing like a mean retic, that intelligence really works against you. If you want to be slightly more sure you don't get satans spawn, you'd be best off getting an animal with a well known temperament. But to my honest opinion, if you're not willing to own one that's at the worst you can possibly get, you shouldn't get one period. Even the kindest retic is in no way comparable to a boa or whatever, their feeding response is through the roof and they usually bite first and check if its edible later :D

[eminart]

ya know what I've never understood, why people feel a NEED to tell others that there snakes don't really love them.

Because it's a red flag that a person doesn't have any true understanding of the animal they're keeping/talking about. The first thing a person should understand when dealing with animals, is that they think like whichever animal they are. Applying human rationale to the behaviors of other animals is a recipe for failure.

[Minkness]

Because it's a red flag that a person doesn't have any true understanding of the animal they're keeping/talking about. The first thing a person should understand when dealing with animals, is that they think like whichever animal they are. Applying human rationale to the behaviors of other animals is a recipe for failure.

+1!

Also, to me, it worries me o disrespecting the true needs of the animal. "Dogs have fur so what if it's chained up outside all winter with no shelter" is just as serious a declaration to me as stating that a reptile has feelings. Someone who thinks this way may put the animal or others around them at risk. It shows a level of ignorance about the animal in that person's care. Not all care is physical after all. Some dogs or cats are clingy and 'need' a more attentive owner. Some snakes may stress out over things that another of their same breed may not. Knowing that a well bred work horse needs to work and knowing this type of l need and respecting the animal enough to make sure they have it is just as important as temps and humidity, ect.

I like to relate things to myself as a way to understand better, so I'll share a non reptile related story of how I learned this.

I looove horses. Draft horses in particular. So, when I could afford one, I got a wonderful percheron stallion, who i later gelded. He was big and sweet, and wonderful in every way. However, I am an animal hobbyist. And while he was in training at another location I rode another horse that was sweet and smart, and perhaps even a little loyal (that's another story) I was thrown and broke my back because I dint think she would hurt me and didn't respect she wasn't well trained. Then, my big draft gelding came home from training. He sat in the pasture for 6 months without being ridden...a friend of mine encouraged me to start riding him because he needed it and so did I since I was then too scared to ride. He helped me get back on by being calm, slow, and perfect. Without him, I may have never ridden again. However, he was a work horse, and only being lightly ridden on weekends. He was not happy. He lost weight, turned into an escape artist, and showed signs of depression. He had everything that he needed...space, grass, hay, grain, suppliments, vet visits, regular ferrier visits, ect. But, he got worse...and worse....It took me a year before I had to male the choice to rehome him. I didn't respect his emotional needs sooner. However, he went to a woman that provided him everything I did...but also, who put him to work. Ridden every day, pulling carriages, competing in shows and events. After only 3 months with her, he looked and acted like a whole different horse! I am blessed that she keeps in touch and kept me updated on him, and has offered to give him back to me should anything happen to her. It's a kind gesture. But, through this I learned the needs if animals beyond the physical, and to respect that as much as I would what to feed them.

So, to me, saying a snake 'loves' could be just as bad a situation I was in when I thought work horses were the same as any other horse. Boils down to respecting the individual animal.

I may feel more strongly about this than than others, so please excuse my extreme cases and long-winded examples.

[CosmicOwl]

Because it's a red flag that a person doesn't have any true understanding of the animal they're keeping/talking about. The first thing a person should understand when dealing with animals, is that they think like whichever animal they are. Applying human rationale to the behaviors of other animals is a recipe for failure.

While I believe this is true of reptiles, many mammals and birds are capable of building strong emotional bonds with humans.

[Minkness]

While I believe this is true of reptiles, many mammals and birds are capable of building strong emotional bonds with humans.

Agreed! Howeber he did state that animals think like the animal they are. Aka, dogs more loyal, cats more independent, ect. They definitely can bond closely with humans, but snakes do not, and I think that's what they were trying to say =)

[CosmicOwl]

Agreed! Howeber he did state that animals think like the animal they are. Aka, dogs more loyal, cats more independent, ect. They definitely can bond closely with humans, but snakes do not, and I think that's what they were trying to say =)

I know, I just felt like adding a bit more. Also, I've always found cat personalities to be similar to human personalities. Independent but social. We enjoy company and affection but also like our personal space. With the exception of my old cat of course. He is and always has been extremely affectionate. All he wants is to be loved and cuddled every second of his life.

[Kuamata]

In regards to parrots, they often form mate bonds, whether you know it or not. I constantly have to turn down my teen's regurg, because I'm not interested in being his mate, and he needs to know that. I'm just a friend.

He is a 15 year old Greenwing Macaw who was a rescue. I love him with all my heart (he's secretly my favorite, lol) but it's a motherly thing. We sing together, we laugh together, he'll try to copy me talking to someone else(which is often something you can't do with a bird that thinks you are a mate, as they can get highly possessive). He's a great boy, but is very hormonal, and as a responsible owner, I need to recognize that and shut him down, as a human and an avian mate bond causes a lot of frustration for both parties. Avian because they don't understand why you aren't following through (as most owners are unaware things like touching anywhere but the head and feet is a mate thing and produces hormones), and on the human's part because most of them don't realize they're triggering it and think,"Oh, my bird has turned aggressive for no reason. Why is he chasing me around the house and viciously seeking out my significant other?"

[Minkness]

Lol! I have to agree with you there! I too have an anomaly cat. He wants to be with someone 24/7 pretty much, is puddy in my hands, and demanding for food and attention lol. Sweetest cat I have ever had the pleasure to know, and I'm glad he's mine. Well, really he's my mom's per his preference, but I'm the one that saved him...twice...once by rescuing him, then again when he had a nerve sheath tumor on his lower front leg that resulted in removing the leg and shoulderblade. X.x

The missing limb is sad, but kinda funny...he wasn't graceful when he had all 4...and now, he randomly slides off of things if he's not careful lol.

[Niten]

I've heard so many times about cats loving just their couch and food..........!!!

[Minkness]

Omg Kuamatra lol. That is so funny because of just how true that is!

When I was a kid I had a neighbor with a cockateil and love bird, and the lovebird was a boy.

Every time he was let out of his cage he'd fly into her hair and do naughty things. He also would attack her husband and bit others as well. Quite the tiny terror really.