Retic or Burm....You Pick

[Hillsberry]

Okay so I am wondering...Okay well I am in love with Retics. I find them so amazing. And I know I have heard they are the worst out of the big snakes. But really I want to know if you had to pick one to have or you have one. Which one is the better pick to have and why? Now I am not thinking of getting one now but maybe later. Lol:nerd:

[Hillsberry]

Retics to me are the prettiest snake in the world. Well that I know of. Lol

[mykee]

With the "Big 9" ban on the horizon and very likely to pass in the States, your ability to own either of these animals will be non-existent very soon.

[Hillsberry]

I know!!!! Well maybe I will move out of the states and get one. I really hope this ban doesnt pass

[Hillsberry]

There so amazing
8785

[Good 'N Plenty]

I personally find the Burms more appealing, stemming mostly from the differing head shapes. I prefer stockier looking snakes, and the shape of the noses between the two is markedly different, with the retic being slightly leaner and narrower.

On a side note, my impression (and experience in meeting, as I've never owned a retic, burm, or af rock) is that Af Rocks are typically the most tempermental of the Big 4, though I'm sure theres anecdotal evidence to the contrary

[Hillsberry]

Are the Retics really fast? I hear they are

[Will0W783]

Eh, most snakes are fast when they want to be. My sd retic is no faster than a lot of my other snakes. Retics are just big, and they aren't slowed down by their size so they can seem a lot faster because of their sheer bulk. They are also one of the more intelligent snakes. They can learn to distinguish between individual people and decide they "don't like" a certain person. Other snakes can do this too (my fiance's evil Nic RTB who hates my guts and tries to get me all the time, but is fine with everyone else) but it's been noted more in retics.

[marvelfreak]

I have to pick retic. I use to own both. I had 3 normal, 1 albino, 1 green patternless, and 1 labyrinth. I also had 1 orange head retic that was pure evil. well towards me anyway. Seem to like everyone else but me. I like retics because they seem smarter than most snakes. It like they watch your body language as much as you watch theirs. It like they can read it. If i ever own a retic again it be a Super dwarf. There's a reason i don't own these big snakes anymore. Had a 8 foot burm leave me with temp nerve damage in my left hand and 76 teeth hole with 14 broke of in my hand. The retic bit me on the nose twice. Then i had a 9 foot boa choke me out once. She got wrapped around my neck a started squeezing. I always thought i could pull her off. Well she was stronger than i thought and it's hard to pull a snake off if you can't breath. Luckly my brother an sister law show up just in time to pull her off. I had turn blue an just pass out when they came in. After that i sold off all my big snake and decided i would never have a snake i couldn't easyly handle by myself. I love the big boy ,but never want one again.

[Hillsberry]

I would love a big Retic. But when you think about it they can take your life. Not saying that they are bad snakes just you need to know how to watch them. I love the Dwarfs. Just I like alot of the colors like the Retics that the dwarfs dont have. I like burms but I am more of a Retic fan.

[Feebo]

What are the big nine then? I can think of six or seven off the top of my head and that would be, Retics, African Rock pythons, Berms, Anacondas.... uummmmm..... what else?
That must have been pretty scary Marvel, did you have it around your neck while holding it? Or did it work it`s way there? Retics just plain scare me, not a chance I`d have one of those lol I do have a pair of Boas though, a Dwarf and a Common, I`ll need to be very careful with those guys as they get bigger. You could easily get into trouble with a fully grown Boa, and that`s big enough for me :)
If I were to get one or the other though it would be a Retic, those guys are just beautiful !

[Hillsberry]

Tell me about it Retics are amazing looking. Hey how big do Boas get anyway?

[Feebo]

Well you hear fourteen feet a lot, which some people say is super rare but I had a thirteen foot male, he used to take up my whole flat ! lol My females mother was eleven feet and getting on for as thick as my leg. The power on a Boa over about six feet is just incredible.....

[Hillsberry]

Thats so cool!! I love big snakes!! I think they are so beautiful. But if this law passes in the USA. I wont be able to get one. :( I will move out of the USA and go some where else. Lol

[Hillsberry]

I have been reading alot about Retics and they as they are good pets for experienced owners. They said if they are handled alot and the enclosure is right they can be good pets.

[mykee]

Boa constrictor is also on that list as it stands.

[Geckogal]

Gee that Retic is pretty, id go for that one just dunno what you do when that big thing turns on u.

[Hillsberry]

I wouldnt know what to do either

[Will0W783]

Hopefully it doesn't turn on you. But when you are dealing with any snake over 8 feet long, you should not be taking it out or doing anything in its cage if there isn't another person in the room to help you should something happen.

[Hillsberry]

That is very true

[shaunyboy]

i'd have to pick the retic's.like good n plenty likes the burm's head shape its the head shape of the retic that appeals to me.also they have some amazing morph's going on.the colours are so vivid and their patterns just do it for me.on a safety note its my opinion that when handling big snakes there should be at least 1 other person in the room with you.after all a snake with a good temprement is just putting up with us,that can change for various reasons.if that happens with a big snake the consequences could be fatal.i watched a documentry on discovery channel last year and i'm pretty sure they said up to a dozen people a year loose their lives to big snakes in the states.the most common way being,man has snake round his neck,snake gets startled,snake constricts mans neck,man dies.i used to teach judo and it involved strangulation techniques.you would be surprised at how little time it takes to render someone unconcious.i found once the main arterys either side of the neck have been restricted your head starts going fuzzy and dizzy after as little as 3 or 4 seconds,with total unconciousness after 6 to 10 seconds.so you dont have much time to alert someone that your in need of help.marvelfreak,thats bound to have been a very scary experience you had with your boa.i'm glad you were found in time.i personally wont have anything bigger than a carpet python in my house.i have 2 of my 4 children still living at home and 1 of the big snakes would have no problem making my 9 year old son into a meal.big snakes should be shown big respect...!!!!!

[Hillsberry]

If you dont should your snake respect they wont should you respect. Just like any animal. Retics do come in amazing morph's. I read they can be good pets if you get them as babies and they are handled alot and the are feed right. I think they can make good snakes if you know what you are doing. No Tom, ****, Or Harry can own this snake. They arent toys you cant get hurt by them if they arent properly taken care of. My opinion dont get the snake unless you know that you can have a 20+ snake in your home. ( And if your name is Tom, ****, or Harry please dont take that to effence.) lol

[emseeKAY]

thats so cool!! I love big snakes!! I think they are so beautiful. But if this law passes in the usa. I wont be able to get one. :( i will move out of the usa and go some where else. Lol

ohhhhh caaaaannaaadaaaa!!!! ;) :d

[Hillsberry]

Hahahahaha! Its funny how we Americans think you Canadians are so different from us but you really arent. Lol

[Geckogal]

Doubt one person is enough! I always laugh at the idiots on discovery that go snake hunting in the amazon, takes 5 grown men about 20min to get the snake out the bush its clinging too and when its out the guy in charge puts the snake around his neck? I mean i dont know much about snakes but thats just stupid!

[marvelfreak]

That must have been pretty scary Marvel, did you have it around your neck while holding it? Or did it work it`s way there? I made the mistake of letting her wrap all the way around my neck. When she started tighting up i figure i could pull her off, but before i knew it she gotten to tight. I try pull her off ,but by that time i couldn't breath. A leason learn the hard way. At least she didn't get hurt when i pass out. I didn't blame her ,but i realize i wasn't ready for something bigger than her. I made the mistake of getting in over my head. I started with a ball and 5 month later i had 6 burms, a couple balls, 3 boas and baby retic. I didn't know half as much as i thought. Maybe someday i get one of the big boys, but most likely not. Maybe a nice super dwarf retic.

[Hillsberry]

Doubt one person is enough! I always laugh at the idiots on discovery that go snake hunting in the amazon, takes 5 grown men about 20min to get the snake out the bush its clinging too and when its out the guy in charge puts the snake around his neck? I mean i dont know much about snakes but thats just stupid!


Hahahahahaha! Yeah that is really stupid. My JCP 3 only 3 feet long and one time she wrapped around my neck and I couldnt breath but good thing I got her off.

[emseeKAY]

Hahahahaha! Its funny how we Americans think you Canadians are so different from us but you really arent. Lol

lol were just better at hockey ;) Canada vs. USA hockey on sunday :D hahaha but back on topic i love retics but would have to have some more experience with them before buying one, maybe a SD retic one day lol

[Hillsberry]

Psh your going down!!! USA KICKS ***!!! Lol. Yeah same one day I will have one

[marvelfreak]

I might have to change my vote. I always love Granite burms. Always been my favorite burms. Now they have dwarf Granite burms. How sweet is that? 8793

[Will0W783]

The Big 9:
1. Burmese python
1. African rock python
3. Reticulated python
4. Green Anaconda
5. Yellow Anaconda
6. Deschauense's (Dark-spotted) Anaconda
7. Bolivian Anaconda
8. Boa constrictor
9. Scrub python

[Hillsberry]

I might have to change my vote. I always love Granite burms. Always been my favorite burms. Now they have dwarf Granite burms. How sweet is that? 8793
Omg sick Burm. They are pretty but I love the Retics!

[percey39]

i would proberly pick the burm over a retic, but in saying that if i had my way i would pick the af rock out the big 4. Man i love those snake i held one over seas a while ago i think it was near on 20 feet and it had some power and like to show it off a bit too.

[emseeKAY]

its scary how powerful they really are, i mean, theyre literally designed to squeeze the life out of prey lol

[Geckogal]

Hahahahahaha! Yeah that is really stupid. My JCP 3 only 3 feet long and one time she wrapped around my neck and I couldnt breath but good thing I got her off.

Oops :) didnt mean to step on any toes there, ha ha ha! What i ment was you guys are still understandable coz its ur snake and all but the amazon snakes arent exactly captive bred animals, they are least likely tolerating anything warm and oh so fresh human smelling.

[Flatheadhunter3]

Well you hear fourteen feet a lot, which some people say is super rare but I had a thirteen foot male, he used to take up my whole flat ! lol My females mother was eleven feet and getting on for as thick as my leg. The power on a Boa over about six feet is just incredible.....

Couple years ago there was a boa in the San Diego zoo that was said to be over 15ft. It was just amazing to see one that big!! Its head was as wide as my fist!

[Will0W783]

My cousin has a morbidly obese RTB. She's HUGE- she's got to be at least 12 feet long and fat as well. Her head is like a grapefruit. But she is so fat she has chipmunk cheeks...lol. I told him he has to temper her food.

[Flatheadhunter3]

Not to get off subject here but is there a link that I can go to in order to be a part of petitioning against the big 9 stuff?

[Hillsberry]

Here ya go S373.

USARK - Join Us (http://usark.org/join.php)

[shaunyboy]

the biggest ive seen in the flesh was a normal burmese,it was 18ft with a girth of 30".the shop it was in had one of its complete sheds stuck onto the roof of another part of the shop.the capabilitys of this big dude didnt bare thinking about,he was awsome.....!!!

[marvelfreak]

Me and two of my freinds help a guy we got snakes off of before measure a big retic he had. 22 1/2 feet long and 17 inchs round. The fun part was when it came time to put it in it's cage. It didn't want to go in. Six grown men fighting with it and it kicked our butts. Some how i went from having the tail end to holding the point end. Luckly it was tame an in a good mood. Took us 20 minutes to get it in it's cage. my freind Troy asked him (the owner) how he and his brother get it in the cage without help? Tells us "it the first time she been in her cage sents i got her a month ago. We just kept her in the extra bedroom. We couldn't get her in there by ourselfs." The scarey part was it yawn at one point an my head could have fit in it's mouth. Still it was cool. Not many people can say they held a 22 foot retic.

[Freebody]

if i was you i would go with a dwarf retic, i got a dark lavander dwarf albino retic a few years ago, the mother was 14 feet full grown and they had some full grown super dwarfs as well, which were full grown at 9 feet for the females which is really small,yet they still have the same beutifull colors and looks of a retic at a more managable size.
i was in the same boat when i got mine,I loved the retics, but read burms were much more laid back,yet i was unsure of the 20+ feet they get when i came across my breeder online i was sold with the dwarf. she is like a super smart active kitten, did i mention super smart?, she bit me during a feeding not to long ago and even with the rat out stinking like food she realized in a split second that she had missed the rat and grabbed me instead let me go and grabbed the rat and started squeezing it as it held onto my wrist with very little pressure on my arm.....thats unbelievable for a snake.proof shes smart and loves me :P..this is how it happened.i opened the feeding tank, she had gotten half her body up onto a small lip near the top of the feeder tank so when i cracked the lid open she leaped off from their instead of the bottom of the tank,managed to make a 2-3 foot strike right out of the cage past the clamp i was using and got a coil or 2 around my forearm with my hand in her mouth, felt like my bones were getting squeezed together before she figured it out,opened her mouth and pulled her teeth out of my skin and struck the rat off the claps and coiled that as she did that she released the hold on my arm to just a holding on grip as the rest of her body moved up to sqeeze the hell out of the rat. shes only about 6 feet or so, so i was not in any real danger its just a testimate to how she knew even during her feeding frenzy it was me.

[Hillsberry]

Wow thats such a cool story. I just want to know what is the size tank this snake would need? the dwarf

[Freebody]

I have "Bella" my dark lavander drwaf albino retic in a 6 foot by 3 foot by 7 foot tall cage with a secod level but im sure the second level is overkill so you could house a full groun drwaf at 14 feet which is about max for a female 10 or so for a male depending on where you get your dwarf and how good the bloodline realy is, in a 6x3x3. i could be still saying overkill but i like my animals to have as much space as i can offer.
check out henry piorun.com hes canadas best breeder if your in the states i would recomend checking out bob clark.com hes about the same reputation as far as dwarfs go, as far as i know. i got mine from henry drove out to his home and picked her out myself :) his love for reptiles really shows in his work and his after care to his customers. i hope this helps you choose the best snake for you. Good luck :)

[Hillsberry]

Thanks Freebody. Don't I will get one for awhile want to get more experience on my hands. I the next snake I will be getting is the Green Tree Python. But I am going to get a retic sometime and I know that as a fact. Thanks for the info. I will look into the retics more in a few years. Thanks again! :)