questions about retics

[Reticsrule]

as you can see from my name i love retics!!!! i think they are the smartest and best looking of all the giant snakes and i have a few questions about them.

are they really as aggressive as everyone says they are? i believe if you handle any snake enough it will calm down. is this true?

also i read something that said that you should get a burm before getting a retic just for the experience. wat is ur opinion on this?

im only in high school but i hope to own a few retics when i get a little older so any info is appreciated thx

[Shad0w]

Some are tame.. others are not.. some will NEVER tame...

[Bartman]

Id just say understand what your getting into before buying anything. Ive seen some nasty babies, and really only heard of calm adults. I know of an adult male burm that is supposed to be a sweat heart and I also know of one that is a monstor, so as shadow said you cant really ever know.

They are beutiful snakes though and personally one of my favourite, if they just didnt get so big! :D

[Reticsrule]

i like their size i just don't want a 25 foot monster lol

[Shad0w]

LOL... even if its not a monster.. accidents happen...

Think about the worst possible situation before you jump in... What if you make a mistake and yer 15 foot retic mistakens you for food?

Even a nip from one of these babies does ALLOT of damage...

[Reticsrule]

ya i guess a bite from a retic would be a lot worse than 1 from a boa constrictor even tho mine has never bitten me lol

[Big_V]

If your worried about size check out dwarfs. They are a much more managable size. Though their colours arent always as beautiful they still make great captives I hear.
You just have to read read and read some more to make sure your 100% invested in it for the long haul. To many people get into large constrictors and want to pawn them off later.

[Reticsrule]

i just think that retics are better how they are normally rather than being dwarfed. but i do realize wat i would be getting into.
.

[Shad0w]

Keep in mind what you would be feeding a full grown retic...

Soon enough you will be feeding it 6 chickens a week... or a pig...etc...

[Bartman]

Where I work they have a 19+ foot retic that feeds on rabits. They give her like 4 12 pound rabbits in a sitting and she is in perfect health. I dont really think you need to feed pigs/chickens/etc.

[Shad0w]

Oh no doubt.. U dont need to do the whole pig thing... but still... feeding a large retic becomes a costly affair relative to smaller snakes

[Ryan Pye]

I have 3 adult burms, now these are great animals, but as tame as they are, they all feed just as aggressively as retics, I have been struck at several times in a feeding response, and it does take expereince to handle a truely big snake striking at you. Just make sure you really research and commit to your projects, cause in some cases with snakes that big without true knowledge you could really get hurt..or worse.

[Reticsrule]

thx for the info

[ydnic]

yeah..thats cute 'i`m in high school and i like big snakes'

Reticsrule - I agree with you these are beautiful animals I think the least of your concerns right now is if it will bite you. You need to be thinking about what type of home you can provide for a possible 25ft eating machine. Most younger people don`t realise that these animals aren`t just cool. Can you picture dragging around a 200+ pound snake on all the things your going to do in your late teens early 20`s? College, travel....ect

I can tell you that you really need to evaluate what 'when I get a little older' means

I was very influenced by my father to get into reptiles at the young age of 9. However I did leave the hobbie from the age of 18 to the age of 23 because I had other things to do.

Just some friendly advice reticsrule...

[bistrobob85]

ydnic is right. You could consider getting a Super Dwarf Retic, which is much smaller and less dangerous for you and everybody around...

[Reticsrule]

i understand wat you guys are saying and like i said i no wat i would be getting into and it will be at leat a few years before i get 1

[daiyoukai]

Originally posted by ydnic
yeah..thats cute 'i`m in high school and i like big snakes'

Reticsrule - I agree with you these are beautiful animals I think the least of your concerns right now is if it will bite you. You need to be thinking about what type of home you can provide for a possible 25ft eating machine. Most younger people don`t realise that these animals aren`t just cool. Can you picture dragging around a 200+ pound snake on all the things your going to do in your late teens early 20`s? College, travel....ect

I can tell you that you really need to evaluate what 'when I get a little older' means

I was very influenced by my father to get into reptiles at the young age of 9. However I did leave the hobbie from the age of 18 to the age of 23 because I had other things to do.

Just some friendly advice reticsrule...

All which can be taken care of if you have some sort of inteligence. you say possible 25 foot eating machine. Even if he gets one NOW it wouldnt be 25 feet by the time he is out of college. I read for a month befor getting my retic and threw my knowledge I have no fear in the safety of my self or the well being of my snake. And when owning a snake froma young age you can somewhat go by trial and error. A snake isnt going to grow 10 feet overnight, as long as it's handled everyday you can adapt to the changes in it's size easily. Just as you do with ANY snake. The only difference is the outcome of that strike.

[Reticsrule]

thanks for backing me up daiyoukai. thats wat i was saying. they dont grow 10 feet over night thats for sure. i also have been researching retics for months so that i can hopefully get one in a couple of years. thanks for the advice though

[daiyoukai]

Originally posted by Reticsrule
thanks for backing me up daiyoukai. thats wat i was saying. they dont grow 10 feet over night thats for sure. i also have been researching retics for months so that i can hopefully get one in a couple of years. thanks for the advice though

No problem, some people ar just bitter about the cases of neglect and oweners not know what theya re getting into. These people are not the one's who sign up to forums and ask questions, they are the one's who see a cute 2 1/2 foot neonate at a reptile show and buy on impulse.

Retics get bad names because of what has been shown in this thread. If you have the knowledge nothing is out of reach.

[Reticsrule]

thats absolutely right. by the way do you have any retics and how are their temperments? (post pics if you have them)

[Reticsrule]

now that i think about it post their sizes too (if you have any:))

[daiyoukai]

I have a ~3 foot female yellow head. Though Im having my doubts on it's authinticity lol. It's only a month old and so far so good besides a ruff eating start and the peeing mentioned in another thread. Iv worked with other large retics from up to roughly 15 feet and like someone said there are more captive "tame" retics then agressive one's. But I dont realy liek using tame to discribe a snake because lets face it, it will never bond with you and isnt not going to become domesticated. I guess a more reasonible way to describe them is being docile.

But who know's my retic may deside one day to realise the hell that it has the potintual to be, but I'll still keep it and learn threw it's growth how to handle it's temperment. These animal are far inferior to our inteligence and thats our deffence and responsibilty to understand. That your snake will never out smart you and being the more inteligent animal you can always have the upper hand if you have proper knowledge of a species.

Sorry no pics yet.

[Reticsrule]

ok lol post them if you get them:)

[daiyoukai]

oh and one last thing, I personaly would not suggest gettinga burm befor a retic. Think about it, thats one more massive snake to worry about. (I say worry as in take care of, if youa re worried about a snake you shouldnt own it)


Anyways burms are stupid, all they do is lay around, eat and get fat. :p look at the two animals side by side and you'll see what Im saying, the retic is like that hot girl only a few dare veture to approach while the burm is the obese girl that give's it up to who ever gives her attention.

My analogy's own.

[Reticsrule]

i agrre with you lol:) i did read something once that said you should get a burm before getting a retic but i just thought that that would be a waste of time. and i guess i was right. its not that i dont like burms but they do seem pretty lazy compared to retics.

[CamHanna]

What about the lesser African rock python (Python sabae natalensis)? This is a subspecies that I looked into for a little while because it stays relatively small (10-15 feet) and still has that 'wild' aura about it.

Ultimately, I've decided to wait until I leave high-school and settle into University before I get any larger snakes (larger than macklot's that is). The reason for this is that I have no idea what my living arrangement will be next year, who my friends will be and who will help me handle a 15' snake. Perhaps that is something you should consider as well.

Research is a necessity before getting into any new species but you also need to be absolutely sure that you will be able to care for your new acquisition, as a neonate AND as an adult. With larger pythons this can be quite a burden (so I hear).

Good Luck
Cam

[Reticsrule]

i haved looked into african rock pythons and i really like them but i just have to have a retic i may also get an african rock too. i dont know yet. thx for the info

[labenad]

biggest problem I had with my retic was finding any food big enough to feed him, here in NB the pet stores sell rabbits for $30 or 40 dollars and you will need at least 2 of these every 2 to 3 weeks dependin on size ,my advise is unless you can find a really good suppler or breed them yourself which is a lot of work dont get a retic or any other giant,there lots of small easier to care for snakes out there . If you want a good size snake get a boa ,there still small enough that you can keep them on large rats.Of coarse this is just my opion right or wrong

[Reticsrule]

ill find somewhere that sells rabbits cheap. even if i have to buy them online. i should be able to find them somewhere though.

[CamHanna]

What about pigs? I work at a couple pig barns and we get atleast 2 die offs a week at each. We normally just give them to dead stock for 'gator food, because they'll pick them up off the farm free of charge. Perhaps you could find a couple local pig farmers and make arrangements with them? Though I'm not sure if it's legal for them to release die off pigs to the public. It may be something to look into though?

Cam

[Reticsrule]

thats a great idea if i could find a few pig farmers somewhere but i dont no where lol

[daiyoukai]

There is a goat farm by my house that only breeds goats now for large snake owners and a local zoo. I could look into shipping frozen one's if anyone would like?

[Reticsrule]

thx for the offer but i dont have anything big yet but i will in the future

[Bloodman6]

Hey Reticsrule, do you have any other snakes right now? It's probably not a good idea for anyone to jump right into something like a retic. I'm still learning the behavior of my Balls. If I screw up with of my Balls, I have a funny story to tell to my friends. If I screw up with a large retic, I'm going to make new friends with the doctors at the nearest hospital.

[Reticsrule]

i have a red tail boa that is still a baby but im still researching everything about retics. i know that they are supposed to be really nasty but i dont believe it. however i am definetly not goint to jump into getting one

[Princesssss]

Originally posted by Shad0w
Keep in mind what you would be feeding a full grown retic...

Soon enough you will be feeding it 6 chickens a week... or a pig...etc...
Not to be rude but I dont think you really relize how you go about feeding a full grown snake. When your snake is full grown you only need to be feeding it one appropriatly sized meal a month. Feeding it once a week isnt healthy for the snake seeing that they wouldnt be eating that way in the wild. Your snake will end up becomming over weight.
Reticsrule- Im glad to hear that your reading up and asking questions before you go out and buy one...caz it is a big commitment and you can be sure that if your on here in a year from now trying to get rid of a retic that you dont want any more....youll have ALOT of people on here giving you a hard time. So good luck and keep asking around for advice!

[Reticsrule]

i sure will. i wont get one for a few years anyway