New little girl! :-D

[Will0W783]

Well I never thought this day would come....I am the proud new owner of a baby supertiger reticulated python female. My fiance went with me to the Hamburg reptile show yesterday, and we both fell in love with this little beauty. I sold two boas, so I have more than enough cage room, time and money for her care as she grows, and I may eventually try to breed her to my Burm to get bateaters. She's one of the cleanest, most vibrant supertigers I've seen in a long time, and very calm and curious to boot.
I am so ecstatic to have her and cant' wait to watch her grow. She's about 2 feet long right now, maybe 2.5, but I know it wont' be long until she's longer than I am tall!

I'm batting around name ideas. I want something pretty and unique, perhaps a bit mystical. The only ideas I have so far as "Calypso" and "Calliope". Any ideas anyone?

Well, here she is: enjoy!

[LLinz]

What a beauty!!! Calypso is a great name.

[Will0W783]

Thanks Llinz!

[Jay]

What about... Monty ?

[Will0W783]

Monty's a guy's name, and she's a girl. Plus, I already have a Monty- an IJ carpet. Thanks though.

[Lankyrob]

Wow!!!!!!!

[stephanbakir]

Awesome looking girl :)

[Jay]

Montana lol

[Aaran]

Lacy ?....

[ilovemypets1988]

lovelly looking retic, as for the name, calypso is certainly a winner :)

[TeaNinja]

love the bright yellow. looks great.

[Will0W783]

Thanks guys, I was completely taken with her colors, and her eyes. I'm used to retics having either silver eyes or bright orange eyes. Hers....well they are silver-ish around the edges but fade to an orange-y gold in the center. The only other snake I ever saw with eyes like that was a Selayar dwarf retic. And even most of them have plainer eyes. Maybe it's the tiger gene in her that made them so neat, but I can't stop staring at her eyes.

She snarfed down two f/t rat weanlings last night...lol, gotta love retic feeding response. ;)

[Will0W783]

A friend mentioned "Persephone" as a name....Persephone or Calypso....hmmm......

[ilovemypets1988]

try to keep the name simple, its easier to remember lol

[Will0W783]

Lol, I have so many snakes that I'm running out of simple names...

[ilovemypets1988]

Delilah is a nice name and simple lol

[Will0W783]

Here she is enjoying her first meal in her new home! (She's in quarantine, hence the simple cage).

[stephanbakir]

Rabbit pinkey?? Wish we got those here!!!

[Ch^4]

Congrats, she is GORGEOUS! Keep those pictures coming! :D

[Will0W783]

Haha, no she ate two rat weanlings for me. She is nowhere near big enough for rabbits. She's only 2.5 feet long or so and about as thick as a kielbasa.

[stephanbakir]

Thought it was a rabbit pinkey lol:P they are smaller then you think.

[marvelfreak]

She beautiful Kim. I love the yellow with black striping. It reminds me of a Cab. Could call her Cabbie or Taxi. lol

[Freebody]

Very Nice!! she is stunning! Grats :)

[Will0W783]

Thanks everyone! I am loving all the name suggestions...I just keep coming back to Calypso...Caly for short. I guess that's her name.

[Xochiquetzal]

I love the name Calypso ! Thanks so much for sharing , Retics are not allowed here so I am constantly surprised by all these different colors and patterns! She really is gorgeous!

[Will0W783]

I'd hate it if retics werent' allowed where I live. They are one of my favorite species- so alert, curious and intelligent (for pythons). Whenever I come into the quarantine room, Calypso cruises up to the front of her cage and watches me.

[stephanbakir]

When she gets bigger I'd advise taking her to parks, try to keep her in a fenced yard when you take them out.

Took one of my old ones to a park a few years back and a lady walking her dog came into the park, the snake saw it and went into feeding mode. The dog wasn't at risk cuz they were like 30 feet away and left immediately but it was fun getting the snake back into the car:P

[Coffee Black]

Gorgeous! I want

[Will0W783]

When she gets bigger I'd advise taking her to parks,

Why would you take a dangerous snake out in public??? ANything could happen, and exposing your snake to people and their pets puts you, the public, and your snake at a very unnecessary risk. That's also a good way to get a police citation and your snake taken away. Sorry, but IMO that is a really really bad, bad idea.

I take my larger snakes out into my back yard to exercise. Only one snake at a time, and I am never more than 6 inches away from the animal at any time. I bring my big tongs, my giant hook and gloves out with me, so that I am prepared for any emergency. Before I come out with a snake, I also check that no neighbors have their dogs or cats outside. To not take these steps just seems irresponsible to me.

[stephanbakir]

I didn't mean parks with kids and stuff, I'm talking about large fields where people go for walks. Most of them in my area get almost no foot trafic and when you have a small backyard they look like a better option. Especially for people in appartments.

[Aaron_S]

I still don't agree with taking large predatory animals ANYWHERE in public. Very irresponsible. YOU know the animal may not harm someone but other people who are afraid of them doesn't and you'll soon see more bans in place.


Also, congrats Kim. I would have picked "Misty" as a name if you wanted something mystical.

[stephanbakir]

I can appreciate that, from now on its back yard or nothing.

[Slayer awaits]

awesome looking retic

[Will0W783]

Thanks guys, and stephan- I still wouldn't take the snake anywhere that is not your property. It's a dangerous, wild animal, and if, God forbid, some accident or attack were to happen you'd be facing very stiff fines and probably a lawsuit. But most importantly, it'd be your snake that would suffer. It would be confiscated and possibly euthanized. It's just not a risk worth taking.

[stephanbakir]

Backyard for me from now on! :)

[Will0W783]

Good! :)
Sorry to come across so harsh, but I take the safety of animals and the reptile hobby very seriously. I've seen and heard too much bad not to.

[ilovemypets1988]

snakes that attack people for any reason will come under the same laws as dogs as there all 1 category: animals, and then the animal will be in the news ans tabloids, then ur local animal welfare agency will get involved.
having the snake euthanized would be the start of it, as theres more than likely gunna be the following proceedings will take place;

1.) the animal in question will be put down.
2.) a house visit by the police and animal welfare agency will follow.
3.) all of your animals will be taken off you.
4.) you will be labelled as an irresponsible owner.
5.) you will be given a notice to say that you wont be able to keep anymore animals.
6.) if the incident gets into the press, then ur also looking at another reason to ban reptile keeping as a hobby.

all of these plus court cases and fines and citations will be issued to you or you will go to prison.

thats what they do here in the uk, i dont know if its the same in america but i can imagine it will be something similar.

[Will0W783]

It's pretty much the same procedure here in the US. I see all too many news stories of innocent children killed because the parents couldn't bother to give the snake a secure cage, or people arrested for walking around in public with snakes around their necks. I knew someone who used to drive around with his boa on his shoulders...IN HIS CAR! I ripped him a new you-know-what, and threatened to call animal control myself if he didn't wise up and knock it off. Snakes are really fascinating, beautiful and amazing creatures, but they must be understood and respected for what they are- dangerous wild animals, that unfortunately a large percentage of the public are terrified of. It is our responsibility as keepers to be responsible and safe with our pets, and to be considerate of other people as well as the animals. I'm actually kind of glad the thread took this turn- it's nice to see everyone voicing their opinions on safety and keeping of the giants. Calypso is my third "giant" constrictor. I have had a Burmese male (10-footer) since December, and owned an 8-foot SD retic for 3 years (not really a true giant). I also snake-sat for a friend's two retics (10 feet and 15 feet). Working with the giants is truly rewarding, but not to be taken lightly by any means!

[ilovemypets1988]

yh i know what you mean, i love burms, there my fav python and thas 1 of the reasons why i got a royal to start from, as ive been told that there similar in personality without the size.
i totally agree with you, snakes are wonderful creatures to be around and to understand them, you have to respect them, after all, would you be around someone if they didnt respect you, i wouldnt. i mean, im even using my boa to educate a 4 yr old about respecting animals as shes showing an amazing amount of interest and the boas so easy going, he puts up with her lol.
but back to the snake out in the open thing, the only snake that should be out in the open are wild snakes and not our pets, we love them and would love to keep them but if narrow minded and selfish people (not calling stephan this by any means) is hurting the pet trade by doing these stupid thing and getting bans put on keeping them.

[Will0W783]

My neighbor has two sons: 2 and 4 years old. They love to see my snakes, but I only allow them to see one or two of my tamest animals. It's wonderful to introduce kids to the beauty and majesty of snakes, so that they'll grow up unafraid. As long as you're careful about it, I applaud helping kids get used to snakes! :)