Guess that Retic

[singer_snakes]

I bought a baby male retic from a guy who bought it from Slither Inc at the Knoxville repticon. It was sold to him as a normal dwarf. They were selling it for $650 and he talked them down to $400. He had no idea what percentage of dwarf it was so I messaged Slither and asked them. They told me he is not a dwarf but a normal het orange ghost stripe but that orange ghost stripes are arguably dwarf. This is my first retic so I'm not sure how to tell if he's a dwarf or not; I saw someone said he can tell if a retic is a dwarf by the head scales. Any input would be appreciated.

[phenyx]

I don't know anything about retics, dwarf or otherwise, but that is a gorgeous animal.

[TeamSlitherin]

I am interested to hear the opinions of some retic keepers here. I am not very versed in designer morphology...but something about this seems off. I would be inclined to say that passing an animal off as a "dwarf" pre-supposes that you are able and, in fact, eager to provide specific information about lineage.

The bottom line is, the only way to even guess how large a retic might be is to see the parents. And, as with most "dwarf" species, their size is related to the locality from which their bloodline originates. Dwarf and superdwarf retics originate from island nations in the Indonesian archipelago and because of isolation, evolved distinct populations that stayed smaller than their mainland cousins due to lack of available food.

Again, there is ALOT I don't know about genetics/morphs, but what I do know is...if I were you, I'd be prepared for that beautiful baby to get really big really fast ;)

[trailblazer295]

My extremely limited knowledge of retics says that unless you know the genetics of his parents there is no way to know what his blood holds. He could be a pure mainland, pure dwarf or a mix of the two. Even among the broad category "dwarf" you've got a wide range of sizes from barely over 10ft to 15, 16'. My advice would be unless you're ready and capable of having a giant on your hands it would be best to rehome him to someone more experienced with retics. Retics are great snakes but if you want one I'd buy direct from an experienced breeder with a good reputation so you can be confident in what you're actually getting with a good idea what the adult size will be.