Burminating the countryside...

[Will0W783]

My fiance and I took Trogdor the Burminator out into the yard yesterday evening for some exercise and photos. Trog was a wonderfully well-behaved snake, but it was back-breaking getting her back up the stairs when it was time to go back inside. We put her in a tote for moving her around, as it's really hard to control 13+ feet of squirming snake when you're walking up and down 2 flights of stairs, lol.
The camera washed Trog's colors out a bit, so there are a few shots where she looks almost completely white, but you can still see the sheer massiveness!

[Will0W783]

And some more....

[stephanbakir]

Looks like he wants to go back in the tub:P
Great pics.

[Gungirl]

wow.. that's one big baby!! I don't know if I will ever own one that large but I am amazed by their beauty and sheer size... I'm so happy you where able to rescue this gentle giant!!

[Will0W783]

Thanks...she is MASSIVE. But so very sweet...she kept going back to the bin we brought her out in, like she wanted back in. She's so heavy though, that she just tips things over if she tries to get into them.

It was a very neat feeling let her crawl across my legs and back...sooo very heavy. I'd never have her out like that without another person right there. As friendly and docile as she may be, you never know when something could startle her or trigger a feeding response. So any time I work with Trog, I make sure my fiance John is available to be there with me.

[stephanbakir]

I'd never have her out like that without another person right there. As friendly and docile as she may be, you never know when something could startle her or trigger a feeding response. So any time I work with Trog, I make sure my fiance John is available to be there with me.

As long as you keep it up we should have you on the forums for a long time to come :)

[Will0W783]

:) Burms can make wonderful captives...you just have to be careful.

[Gungirl]

what size viv do you keep her in?

[Ch^4]

Trogdor cannot be conquered by two mortals and a mere tub! Great pics, thanks for sharing! Trogdor looks amazing!

[Wolfus_305]

Really nice pictures!!

[Will0W783]

Trogdor cannot be conquered by two mortals and a mere tub!

ROFL!!! Trogdor cannot be conquered by much of anything.

Gungirl, since Trog just arrived a week ago, she is being housed in a quarantine enclosure. It's a Vision 5.5' x 3'.
Her permanent home is being assembled and cleaned. I picked up a used Boamaster 8'x3' melamine enclosure. That should give her plenty of room. The Vision she's in right now is rated for a 15-foot snake, but it just doesn't seem like enough space to me. She mostly just sits coiled in a corner though.

[Gungirl]

Ahh I kinda figured it would be something about that size... thanks for the info Kim

[Xochiquetzal]

wow what a beauty!

[Will0W783]

No problem- I was fortunate to get the cage used, otherwise my fiance and I were planning to custom build an enclosure for her. A brand-new Boamaster 8' cage is like $550...waaay more than I could afford!

[stephanbakir]

What did you get the used one for if you don't mind my asking. And what condition was it in?

[Will0W783]

I don't mind.
The cage had been used to house tegus for about a year and then sat, disassembled, for another year. It's dusty and could use a cleaning, but it's solid and all the pieces are there. The plexi windows aren't scratched up, the wood is in good shape with no warping, and the only flaw I could find was where one of the slots a tab fits into is broken...not a weight-bearing tab so it wont' cause a problem. I got the cage for $150. I scour Fauna and craigslist for used cages...sometimes you find amazing deals if you're patient enough and not afraid to do a bit of driving to go get them.

[stephanbakir]

:) Wish I drove lol.

[Will0W783]

I couldn't live without my car. I'm kind of a gearhead. Cars and snakes. Those are two definite requirements to my happiness, lol.

[Lankyrob]

I couldn't live without my car. I'm kind of a gearhead. Cars and snakes. Those are two definite requirements to my happiness, lol.

My kind of woman!! :)

[stephanbakir]

I wouldn't make a responsible driver, so I made the choice never to drive unless someone was in trouble. (I am a good driver:P)

[Will0W783]

Well that's the right thing to do.

[Aaran]

I wouldn't make a responsible driver, so I made the choice never to drive unless someone was in trouble. (I am a good driver:P)
Lol , I dont have to drive . I travel by plane :)

[Coffee Black]

Gorgeous snake. I showed my fiance the pics and she says "You aren't going to get one of those, right?" Haha.

[stephanbakir]

What he meant to say was "Please don't get one, because then I will need to think of a new birthday idea!".
I know thats what he meant to say.

[presspirate]

Awesome Pics Kim! Thanks for sharing them.

[Necrias]

BEAUTIFUL snake, I'm very picky about albinos, but he is perfect! Congrats!

What do you feed it at this point? My concern would be locating/affording the right food for such an enormous creature.

[marvelfreak]

Sweet pics and dam he a monster.

[Will0W783]

Trogdor is eating rabbits. I will be stocking up on frozen ones at the reptile show near my house this Saturday. I can usually find frozen rabbits or very large rats at the shows...I'd obviously prefer rabbits, as Trog would require 5-6 jumbo rats versus 1 good sized rabbit.

[stephanbakir]

Have you looked at farms in your area? Some of them breed rabbits for meat and sell them quite cheaply if you tell them they don't need to skin/gut them.

Say something like "I'm looking for some rabbits, just kill them and toss em in the freezer and gime' a call!"

[sephinflames]

Awesome Pics Kim! Thanks for sharing them.


Uhm...is that how big Ghost will get???

[Will0W783]

What kind of snake is Ghost?

Trogdor shed a hemipenis last night, so I'm going to say the person who probed him didn't know what they were doing. Trogdor is a he, and that means he's a very big male!

[shaunyboy]

he's a lovely looking big guy kimberley

in those pic's would he be doing the urban myth of sizing up his owner to see if she could be his next meal:yes::yes:

he's looking really health a credit to you pal

how are his eyes ? (it was him who had the swollen look to them ? )

^^^^^
apologys for my bad memory

cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

Thanks for the kind words Shaunyboy...actually this is another Burm. The one with the poppy eyes is still with me and doing wonderfully (that one is Silas). His buggy eyes appear to be due to a huge scar on his head- it is healing well but the eyes are still buggy. Silas has put on about 15 pounds and 2 feet since I got him in December.

This fellow came to me a week and a half ago- a kid I know was keeping him under his bed in a bin. This snake is about time and a half Silas's size- Trogdor is 75 pounds and well over 13 feet in length. He was supposedly probed as a she, but has shed a hemipenal skin and has huge spurs, so I'm thinking it's a safe bet Trogdor is male.

[Will0W783]

Oh, you can find Trogdor's story on my thread "Kids who live with their parents..."

[Will0W783]

,.....and yet another Trogdor picture. He just gets into the funniest poses.

[shaunyboy]

Oh, you can find Trogdor's story on my thread "Kids who live with their parents..."


just read the thread

wow man poor parents

i dread to think what my old mum would think had she found a snake that size under my bed when i was a kid

its crazy to think someone handed over a snake of that size and power to a kid

i'm scared to ask but how many snakes do you have now kimberley ?

you seem to have turned into a one woman (and fiancie) rescue centre:yes:

kudo's for all your hard work and caring nature pal

cheers shaun

[Will0W783]

Right now I have 22 snakes. I had 36 at one point about six months ago, and had a run of financial problems- I had lost my favorite snake (SD retic) to a freak neurological issue that the vets could not figure out. I had every test they recommended run- for BOID, Paramyxovirus, ophidian virus, and a culture. Nothing came up, although the vet still felt it was something viral. I also lost a huge female ETB to cancer. We tried surgery to remove what we thought was an abscess and it turned out to be malignant cancer that had eaten away most of her stomach and large intestine.
After these vet bills, and with my schooling requiring more and more time, I felt it best to narrow the focus of my collection and sell some of my animals, so that I could know that I could provide care for the remaining ones, should it be necessary.
I had sold a bunch, then Trogdor came along, lol. Oh well...it's always two steps forward, one back in life, huh?

I really am becoming quite attached to the big old snake....I found out yesterday from the kid (ran into him at the pet store and had to restrain from smacking him), that Trogdor is 10 years old. That would explain the massive size for a male. I simply couldn't let the kid pawn him off on another of his inexperienced friends, or worse. At least with me and my fiance, Trogdor can get proper care.

He is a very powerful snake though- all solid muscle. I am very grateful that he is generally cooperative. He doesn't fight me when we get him out of the cage, nor does he really try to get away. He's been very good-natured about everything....so far.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Willow these pictures are amazing. I own two of them myself and love every minute of it, Burms are by far my favorite snake. Id love an Albino Granite.. you like those?

[Will0W783]

Honestly KD35, I'm not a huge fan of the granite morph. I just don't care for the speckling, but it's my personal opinion- they are nice snakes, just not a morph I would pay extra to have. I love the pattern of the normals, and the color of the albinos, so just regular albino is my favorite Burmese python. The two albino males I have now fell into my lap and I love them both as much as one can love a snake. They really are a joy to work with- so docile and curious, yet so very powerful.
I would really really love to one day have a blue-eyed leucistic (ivory) Burm..do you like those ones?

[Will0W783]

Ooops, forgot to say thank you for the compliments on the pics, KD35...lol. Thank you very much! :)

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Honestly KD35, I'm not a huge fan of the granite morph. I just don't care for the speckling, but it's my personal opinion- they are nice snakes, just not a morph I would pay extra to have. I love the pattern of the normals, and the color of the albinos, so just regular albino is my favorite Burmese python. The two albino males I have now fell into my lap and I love them both as much as one can love a snake. They really are a joy to work with- so docile and curious, yet so very powerful.
I would really really love to one day have a blue-eyed leucistic (ivory) Burm..do you like those ones?

With Burms im a fan of every morph that doesnt mean im going to pay $600 for one though atleast not right now. But i am going to have to agree with you theres nothing like a Albino Burm. My female when out of its cage will sit on the bed with out an attempt to move for +5 hours lol. A leucistic has always been at the top of my list, i cant even imagine what one would look like in person. Im unaware of anywhere to purchase one though, even the bigger breeders (clark, tom, ect.) dont even sell the Hets for them, even though i know they got them lol. Anyone that takes in a Burm from a less qualified person gets mad respect from me.

[Will0W783]

I see the ivory (blue-eyed leucistic) Burms at the Hamburg, PA reptile show all the time...they are truly a sight to behold...stunning creamy white with ice blue eyes.

Here's a sampling of some up on Fauna that I found. They can also be had from Prehistoric Pets as well as a few exclusive breeders if you keep your eyes open.
For Sale 2 FEMALE IVORY BURMESE (BLUE EYED LUCYS) - FaunaClassifieds (http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=250171&highlight=ivory)

I can't remember who I see with them all teh time at Hamburg. I will note the name next time I am there. I think he prices them at around $4-6k

[stephanbakir]

Looks awesome!

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

I can't remember who I see with them all teh time at Hamburg. I will note the name next time I am there. I think he prices them at around $4-6k

That is to much money for a snake. IMO. There amazing though.

[stephanbakir]

Look at the pied retics, going for 25k but the colours are amazing!!!

http://bobclark.com/images/animals/piedfemale02.jpg

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

WOW... That is just amazing. Stephan how are Retics pet wise? Are the as lazy as some Burms or more on the go?

[stephanbakir]

They are like the energiser bunny for the most part when they are out of their enclosures, they just keep going... REALLY active. Some are mellow but they are mostly active.
They can be aggressive but after about a year of hook training (tops) they tend to be pretty "tame" and as they put on size they mellow out of you treat them right, they are still active but are pretty gentle.

[Gungirl]

Look at the pied retics, going for 25k but the colours are amazing!!!

http://bobclark.com/images/animals/piedfemale02.jpg


That pic made me drool....:Wow:

[Lankyrob]

They are like the energiser bunny for the most part when they are out of their enclosures, they just keep going... REALLY active. Some are mellow but they are mostly active.
They can be aggressive but after about a year of hook training (tops) they tend to be pretty "tame" and as they put on size they mellow out of you treat them right, they are still active but are pretty gentle.

.......until there is food about!!! ;)

[stephanbakir]

When there is food about you keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, toss on the protective gear and make sure you don't blink and aren't in the line of fire.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

When there is food about you keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, toss on the protective gear and make sure you don't blink and aren't in the line of fire.


Im guessing they have a massive feeding response? My burm just takes stuff off the tongs real easy lol. but my Carpet she will rip it in a blink of an eye there is alot of times blood lol.

[Lankyrob]

We have an excitable carpet who pounds his food every time - multiply it by about 50 and oyu have the response of our SD Retic!! ITs pretty awesome but also pretty scary when he strikes ANYTHING warm - his heatbulb guard, the log under the bulb, the rat, the plate we put in to feed him on, your body through the glass lol anything with any sort of heat signature gets pounded "just incase its food"! ;)

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

We have an excitable carpet who pounds his food every time - multiply it by about 50 and oyu have the response of our SD Retic!! ITs pretty awesome but also pretty scary when he strikes ANYTHING warm - his heatbulb guard, the log under the bulb, the rat, the plate we put in to feed him on, your body through the glass lol anything with any sort of heat signature gets pounded "just incase its food"! ;)

hahah im trying to picture this, it sounds very entertaining to watch though lol. whats a SD Retic?

[TeaNinja]

super dwarf, they don't get nearly as large as normal retics.
i kind of want to get a SD retic one day. i love the way retics look but would never really want to own a MONSTER lol.

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

super dwarf, they don't get nearly as large as normal retics.
i kind of want to get a SD retic one day. i love the way retics look but would never really want to own a MONSTER lol.


Oh ok ive heard of those, there not very common though are they? Yea im not sure if i could own a full sized retic either they seem so much different then Burms. I feel like Retics are truly the snake for people that want to get there hands dirty working with Non-Venomous snakes, that and the Rock Python. (so ive heard)



@Rob A Dwarf though that sounds pretty cool... Id like to see a picture of yours.

[Lankyrob]

Oh ok ive heard of those, there not very common though are they? Yea im not sure if i could own a full sized retic either they seem so much different then Burms. I feel like Retics are truly the snake for people that want to get there hands dirty working with Non-Venomous snakes, that and the Rock Python. (so ive heard)



@Rob A Dwarf though that sounds pretty cool... Id like to see a picture of yours.


Search for Profile : Doc - lots of pics on there - he really is my baby i am TOTALLY in love with him.

[presspirate]

What kind of snake is Ghost?

Ghost is a yearling albino burm that was a birthday/anniversary present. Here is is thread. http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/giant-python-discussion/86209-we-got-burm.html

[KD35WIN.AS.ONE]

Search for Profile : Doc - lots of pics on there - he really is my baby i am TOTALLY in love with him.


couldnt find it... maybe a link?

[Lankyrob]

Try this http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/giant-python-discussion/85911-profile-doc.html

[stephanbakir]

besides the feeding response the only real difference between a retic and a burm is pattern and energy level+movement speed. They are just more energetic for the most part. They still make fantastic animals to own. You just need to stay aware.

[Will0W783]

Trogdor is really laid back about food. He wants food and he drools like a St. Bernard when he smells food. He'll strike it, but he figured out pretty quickly that he doesn't have to kill f/t, so he takes it and calmly sucks it down.

I had an SD retic for years...Baby. She was insane when food was around. We had to stand to the side of her cage and open the door with a hook, while trying to have the rat dangling dead in front of the door. She would fly out and nail the first thing she came into contact with...a few times she slammed into the bucket of rats, the heater, the door of her own cage... Once she even nailed the carpet (it'd had rat water dripped on it) and tried to actually wrap the carpet...lol! It was interesting getting her off.
My two babies that I have now- Calypso (supertiger female) and Mojo (50% dwarf lavender albino tiger) are much more mellow. Calypso is very polite and will wait for me to lower the rat into her cage to take it. Mojo is just a month old, so he hasn't yet developed the insane food response. I'm hoping that, with work and raising him on f/t, he will stay calm. But I"m fully prepared and wouldn't be at all surprised if some day I have two 15+-foot snakes flying out in typical retic feeding fashion, lol.