Burmese Python

[Jay]

I'm looking into getting a burm I love the way normals get, also granites. Just looking for some tips and pictures from people on here who keep them.

[stephanbakir]

Besides the basics, they don't have overly crazy feeding responses but I def wouldn't advise hand feeding them, even as babies. They are very susceptible to RI's so keep that in mind.
They will climb if given the option, even as adults as long as they aren't overweight.

[Jay]

Well I would NEVER hand feed any snake. I'm just have not decided sd retic or burm?

[Aaran]

Retic all the way !:)

[stephanbakir]

SDs are MUCH more active with a stronger feeding response, grow smaller and slower but make fantastic pets if you are ready for them. They also come in many more color combinations.

[Lankyrob]

I know i am biased and all that but how could you not choose something with a face like this?

http://i375.photobucket.com/albums/oo200/Lankyrob1975/Photo0314.jpg

[stephanbakir]

I couldn't :P

[Jay]

For some reason I hate there face. And Stephan I really like the "natural colors" I'm not a fan of morphs.

[TeaNinja]

For some reason I hate there face. And Stephan I really like the "natural colors" I'm not a fan of morphs.

i had to laugh lol.

[Will0W783]

Lol, you hate reticulated pythons' faces? They do have a naturally fierce-looking expression, but something about those orange eyes just gets to me- I LOVE them. But to each their own. Retics also get a good bit longer than Burmese pythons, and if not carefully raised, retics can be aggressive. They are also more intelligent and alert than Burms, so they tend to be a bit more unpredictable. The average male retic will get 14-16 feet long, while the average female is more like 18-20. I have heard of retics weighing several hundred pounds. Retics also have insane feeding responses- they are known to fly several feet out of their cages when the door is opened, and will ravenously devour anything in their paths if they are in feed mode.

For male Burmese pythons, expect a 12-15 foot snake, with females getting a bit longer: 14-16 from the averages I've tabulated from my research. Burms are much heavier in their body structure, so a healthy Burm will weigh more than a retic of the same length. For example, a 15-foot female I know owned by a friend weighs 98 pounds and is healthy and firm. Burms are very lazy snakes- they love water and will spend a fair amount of time in their dishes if given the opportunity. They are far less active than a retic, and are generally more docile. Burms tend to be good eaters, but have a less violent feeding response than retics...my Burm will come to the front of his cage and strike his food, but he doesn't fly out...too much effort for him, lol. However, any retic (dwarf or not) that I've had has struck out of the cage and nailed anythign and everything in front of it. Feeding a hungry retic requires a good degree of planning and precision.
I personally would recommend a Burmese python as a first giant, over a retic. That is, of course, unless you went with a dwarf species of retic, in which case you could end up with a much smaller snake.

[Jay]

Thanks for the info can you share some pictures of your burm?

[stephanbakir]

What I meant jay. Because you did say a while back that you like normals. There are lots of different SD locales, 3 i believe? Each with their own twist on the normal look.

[lpbldg18]

Go big or go home!

[Aaron_S]

I believe in keeping what is legal within the bylaws of your city.

I know in Canada there's a lot of large reptile bylaws so maybe the SD retic is way to go.

[stephanbakir]

The problem is that most provinces with bylaws against it follow the potential 3 meter law, and SD have a chance to grow larger which makes them illegal :( If he lives in Quebec he should be ok though.

[Jay]

I believe in keeping what is legal within the bylaws of your city.

I know in Canada there's a lot of large reptile bylaws so maybe the SD retic is way to go.
My bylaws are out of whack. Aaron what species do you keep?

[Will0W783]

Yes, always check with your local laws. There's no reason to put yourself and your animals at risk by keeping illegally. SD retics should max out at 6-8 feet long, and as such should be ok with a 3-meter limit. However, a lot of municipalities do not recognize dwarfs or subspecies, so anything that is reticulated python will be classified as the regular retic, which can reach sizes upwards of 16-20 feet.

Also keep in mind that, while beautiful and awesome, these giant constrictors are no joke. A well-raised, cared for Burm or retic can make a wonderful scaly pet, but they are wild animals and always will be. You can never really "tame" a snake...you can only condition them to realize you don't mean harm and you're not food. But when you are dealing with an animal that is over 10 feet long, often over 15 feet....you could potentially be food for it. Most captive bred and raised giant snakes will never try to kill their owners, but accidents can and do happen...all too frequently.

I would again stress that, if it is legal where you live, a Burmese python would, in my opinion, be a much safer first giant. They get a big smaller than retics, and are often more predictable, lazier, and more docile in nature. However, one must still exercise extreme caution when dealing with one. NEVER enter the cage when you are alone, remove the snake from its cage, or try to handle it while you're alone. Always have at least one other person in the room, and a phone handy for them to call emergency services should the worst happen. NEVER let the snake get a coil around you, especially not around your chest or neck. In most cases, a full-grown Burm or retic will be too large for you to support its weight on your shoulders, so keeping it away from your neck shouldn't be too hard. Invest in a good quality python hook (usually very large, rubber coated hook), a secure tote for the snake to go into when its cage is being cleaned. I like the big Rubbermaid bins with wheels and handles! And finally, understand the commitment you are setting yourself up for. The animal WILL reach sizes of 15-20 feet, and 100-300 pounds of solid muscle, it will potentially live for 25 years or longer, and need to be fed rabbits, and/or pigs when it's an adult. Full-grown retics and Burms are next to impossible to find homes for, and most zoos are overloaded as it is, so they won't take "donations".

Case in point: last night I got a frantic call from a "friend" of mine. He's 19 and doesn't ever think anything through. He already owns a reticulated python female (who he continues to keep way way too dry- her scales are wrinkly). He lives with his dad and stepmom, so it's their house. Anyway, he had tried to bring in a 15-foot albino Burmese female, and his stepmom threw him and the snake out of the house. No one else he knew had any ability to handle a snake that size, so my fiance and I were called to the rescue. "Precious" (ugh, that is the worst name ever and NEEDS to be changed ASAP) is now in residence in quarantine in my spare bedroom. I pulled my back out trying to get her tub out of my car....serious, massive snake. How the kid thought he could slip her in unnoticed is beyond me. But it's a sad story of a snake being carted around and passed person-to-person because its care was not carefully thought of. I have recently greatly downsized my collection, so I should be able to handle her care and feeding. However, it's a big commitment, and nothing to take lightly. Here are some pictures of her, so you can get an idea of how large these guys get:

[Lankyrob]

She is a beauty and if anyone can give her the best home its you Willow = keep the pics coming!!

[Aaron_S]

Jay, I purely keep ball pythons now. Well within my local bylaws :)

Before that I kept a few vary species of small pythons or small colubrids.

[Will0W783]

You've got some ridiculously cool BP morphs though!

[Aaron_S]

Thanks Kim!

That's a really nice albino burm right there! If they weren't so big and scary at feeding time and then if it didn't take a shovel to clean up after them I'd move somewhere I could keep one!

[Will0W783]

Haha...oh God, the poop is the worst! It's like cleaning up after a meat-eating horse. This girl is especially massive- she's probably the largest Burm I've ever personally handled. And to think the idiot kid that had her figured he could get away with just slipping her into the house......

My male isn't bad at feeding time at all. He will eat whatever I put in front of him, but as long as I control where his face is when the door opens, he doesn't frighten me. My 7-foot SD retic was a LOT scarier at feeding time...she'd fly out of her cage, mouth wide open and just nail whatever she hit first (heater, bucket of rats, carpeted floor, occasionally the rat she was supposed to actually eat.....). It was an interesting, two-person, job to feed her and control where the strike went. lol.

[stephanbakir]

Their feeding response is insane, I almost wanted to make a trap door for feeding so there was no risk of that face coming out of the viv during feed mode.

[bighog85]

Kim you summed it up nicely so I won't type a whole book here. The biggest point to get across to people is that you HAVE to be ready and completely aware of what you are getting in to. They are no joke.

Also, that is a big burm. Don't see them that large very often. Mine is still bigger though ;)

[Will0W783]

bighog85, post some pics of your Burm!!! I'd love to see...I weighed Trogdor the Burminator the other night and it was actually only 75 pounds...feels heavier than that.

[Jay]

Jay, I purely keep ball pythons now. Well within my local bylaws :)

Before that I kept a few vary species of small pythons or small colubrids.
Wouldn't even a Ball Python fall under class E, which is prohibited. I was talking to a breeder who was telling me that the Reptile bylaws are complaint driven and would most likely have no major penalty. The local bylaws list class E animals as prohibited which include Crocodylia, alligators, crocodiles, gavials and caymans;
Squamata, lizards and snakes, except non-venomous snakes that do not exceed
60 centimetres in length at maturity and non-venomous lizards that do not
exceed 30 centimetres from nose to vent at maturity pandas, otters, wolves, bears, seals, walruses, coyotes,
foxes, wolves, tigers, leopards, cougars, lions, lynx, hyaenas, skunks, weasels,
badgers, mongooses, civets, genets, coatimundi, cacomistles and racoons),
except dogs and cats
It sucks but that's life. I am slowly focusing more on my career and I'm in the proses of doing a major down size. I just don't understand how I can go to my local Reptile store and purchase Retics, burms, and other large species of reptiles?

[Freebody]

not sure if i read it or if i was just told, but i heard the max penalty for owning anything on the ban list is a 5 year prison sentance or somthing like a 250k fine and they may confiscate you other pets, keep in mind this is max and i would think it would be rarely given, unless the govt was making an example out of you, i could be wrong. i could see keeping a prohibited animal if you already had it and didnt make the april deadline for registry of said animall last year, but i dont think i will get anything just incase one day bylaw swings by my place and decides they are going to do just that.

[bighog85]

bighog85, post some pics of your Burm!!! I'd love to see...I weighed Trogdor the Burminator the other night and it was actually only 75 pounds...feels heavier than that.

This is Tiny. This picture is over a year old so she is bigger now. She is currently just over 17 1/2 feet long and weighs 215 pounds. Oh, and she is only five years old :)

[Will0W783]

Brian, she is awesome!!! She's huge...215 pounds...wow!!!!

[Aaron_S]

You obviously don't know exactly where I live Jay. Which I'm glad you don't. No one should or will. I'm private when it comes that.

I live in a place where they bylaw is a 3 metre rule and a 2 metre rule for lizards. Since my pythons are well within 3 metres so I'm ok. Thanks for your concern though.

I'd also like to point out just because your local pet shop disobeys local bylaws doesn't mean it's ok for you to as well.

When I was 16, many moons ago, I worked in a pet store. One afternoon we had an influx of reptiles because another store in the chain had an officer walk in and they had to get rid of all animals not within the bylaws. I just like to stay on the proper side of things without risk of a complaint or otherwise.

[Jay]

You obviously don't know exactly where I live Jay. Which I'm glad you don't. No one should or will. I'm private when it comes that.

I live in a place where they bylaw is a 3 metre rule and a 2 metre rule for lizards. Since my pythons are well within 3 metres so I'm ok. Thanks for your concern though.

I'd also like to point out just because your local pet shop disobeys local bylaws doesn't mean it's ok for you to as well.

When I was 16, many moons ago, I worked in a pet store. One afternoon we had an influx of reptiles because another store in the chain had an officer walk in and they had to get rid of all animals not within the bylaws. I just like to stay on the proper side of things without risk of a complaint or otherwise.
Closer then you think, I'm not going to disclose exactly where. Remember where you got that burm?

[Aaron_S]

I don't own a burmese python. Nor have I since I was a teen, which came from a pet store.

[Jay]

Trust me you would get a kick out of it. Knowing the type of person you are Im not telling you. Pm if you want to continue.