Looking into a burm.

[Skits]

I've wanted a burm for a few months now, and after seeing some on this forum, I've decided I need one in my life. :)

We're going to start building a whole rack unit in two weeks, and I thought we could leave the bottom empty and I'll eventually get a burm. The enclosure would be 10x2x2 feet, which I'm hoping would be enough for an albino burm.

I want to get an enclosure done and everything settled in, and have done months of research before getting one of course, but wanted to ask a few questions.

Where would be the best place to get one if I'm in Canada? And at full grown, what do they eat? (I'm guessing rabbits?) My dad gets a little freaked out by rats and mice thawing out on the counter already. :P

If anyone has any comments to add, please go for it. I'm hoping to learn as much as I can about them. I might also be going to a reptile shop downtown tomorrow, so I would want to check out if they have any small burms I could handle to see how it's like. :)

[Rogue628]

That inclosure is going to be way too big for a baby. You can keep a baby in a tub with no problem....just be prepared to buy several tubs in a year as mine are in their third tubs and they're not even a year old (And from the looks of it, I'm going to need bigger ones for them in the next month or so.

I'm not from Canada but I'm sure a few people here can point you in the right direction.

Even before they're full grown, they should be on rabbits. I'm giving one of my burms rabbit pinks right now and she should be on a larger size rabbit. These guys do grow extremely fast and it's amazing to literally watch them grow before your eyes. Even being properly fed, females have the potential to reach 7' or more within the first year. Mine are about 8 months old and one is getting really close to 5' now. Burms can be easy to overfeed and make fat so you kind of have to watch their intake. One of mine will eat anything, anywhere, anytime, while the other is almost the exact polar opposite. They also have a pretty high feed mode.

Their husbandry is pretty simple, but you should be careful to keep it constantly maintained as they can be susceptible to RI's.

For the most part they can be a lap snake. They're curious but slow and kinda lazy, unless they're hungry and they're all over the place. Mine usually stays wherever I put them. About a day or so before feed day, mine start to get a little antsy in their tubs.

Hook training of some sort should be done. Even if it's nothing more than tapping their head before you reach in so they'll know it's you and everything's cool. I have a paper towel insert from work I use especially for one of them. She thinks anytime her tub is opened she's supposed to eat. lol After I touch her with the insert, she's all cool (except during shed...then she doesn't want ANY interaction at all, not even to clean her cage.

They're pretty gentle, especially for such a large animal. I handle mine on a pretty regular daily basis with no issues. They're easy to handle while small (need another person when they are about 8' or more). Both of mine have their own unique personalities which make them fascinating to interact with. I hate to be partial but they are my favorite so far in my collection. I love my burms :D

[millertime89]

Make sure you check your city and provincial laws to make sure you are allowed to keep them. I'll read the rest of your post later, but I say GO FOR IT!

[millertime89]

I guess I don't need to Rogue pretty much covered everything already.

[Skits]

Would it be ok to use a separator for the enclosure and move it more as the burm grows?

And thanks for the rest of the information, it helped a lot. :D I'm more excited to get one now, haha.

Also millertime, I'll check them. I tried looking for anything but there's not really any rules over here about animals or reptiles really.

[CDN_Blood]

Also millertime, I'll check them. I tried looking for anything but there's not really any rules over here about animals or reptiles really.

I don't know of anywhere left in Canada where they're legal, so you might want to really do some digging first.

Some places like Quebec have really interesting laws where very few animals are specifically listed as being prohibited, but the way they've written their laws leaves the decision up to the enforcement officer's discretion as to what is dangerous or not and gives them unquestionable authority to destroy animals they deem as dangerous on the spot.

Some municipalities which do not have their own specific laws on exotics fall under someone else's jurisdiction, so you *really* need to do your homework ;)

[JustBitten]

They are on the recent banned list in BC, so you should check what the rules are for sure. Lots of unhappy people over here, one issue even made the news. Someone surrendered their burm to a reptile vet because he couldn't get a permit. Gubmint decided that even the vet couldn't have a permit(not sure if anyone got one) and the snake ended up on the destruction list along with everything else. The BC Reptile Club fought the ban and worked it down to the more exotic exotics that don't make good pets, unfortunately, a few like the burms just couldn't be kept off. Lots of people kept theirs, but I would assume the first complaint from a neighbour and they would be confiscated and destroyed. Might make vet treatment complicated too.
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlifeactreview/cas/pdf/common-prohibited-reptiles.pdf

[millertime89]

Divider will work just fine, I've recommended that to people before, just make sure its secure.

[Rogue628]

Would it be ok to use a separator for the enclosure and move it more as the burm grows?

And thanks for the rest of the information, it helped a lot. :D I'm more excited to get one now, haha.

Also millertime, I'll check them. I tried looking for anything but there's not really any rules over here about animals or reptiles really.


I've never used a separator with any of my animals, but baby burms (as most hatchlings) seem to like small areas so I'm constantly moving mine into bigger tubs as they grow. They've been through about 3 each now (or something like that...I've lost count lol). When they outgrow one, it just gives me an excuse to get another animal lol

As JustBitten suggested, I would double check all laws and regulations concerning any reptile or exotic you plan to purchase in your area.

[millertime89]

I've never used a separator with any of my animals, but baby burms (as most hatchlings) seem to like small areas so I'm constantly moving mine into bigger tubs as they grow.

The separator was an idea to shrink the enclosure size until the burm was big enough to adjust it to a larger size.

[Rogue628]

The separator was an idea to shrink the enclosure size until the burm was big enough to adjust it to a larger size.


I got that. I've heard of people using a way to separate one half of an enclosure until the animal got big enough to need the whole thing. I've just never used the idea myself ;)

[millertime89]

I gotcha, I would be too tempted to put something in the other half...

[Rogue628]

I gotcha, I would be too tempted to put something in the other half...

lol I filled my empty burm tubs. It was too tempting to pass up :p lol

[Ivan_The_Titan]

Ivan is still in his baby cage... 6feet long x 2feet deep x 4feet tall... Only now is he outgrowing it though. He started in there and grew up real well for the first year, no problem. Then he was stubborn for a year, and now he's eaten for 2 years straight and is mowing on 3 pound rabbits... Not all babies need small cages, especially when they are known predators like the burmese python... Just make sure the temperature and humidity is right, and they seem to thrive anywhere... Husbandry is your main concern, food is theirs. As an adult I plan on getting Ivan piglets and possibly fetal goats as well, these are much more economical then rabbits sometimes. Big snakes, need big meals, be sure you are up for that. If I had that cage available to me, I would start full size, and work the divider down... I'd also recommend two large water bowls for humidity... a cage that size isn't going to keep ambient humidity high enough on it's own for a young burmese. Or perhaps a large bin of water instead of a water dish... They like to swim anyway... Just keep it clean. Do check your laws though, as stated in BC we can no longer keep our burmese without permits. Yes people did receive them, I did my home check and received mine. We do have burmese pythons in bc being surrendered to vets from time to time, one was recently adopted out to Thunderbay Ontario... there was a reticulated python rescued by a man in Vernon BC, and he was able to receive a permit after the ban came into place because of the situation.... Though these laws are very restrictive, they are not by any means the end all of these snakes... they are very unfortunate, but those willing to go above and beyond, and wait patiently, can still possibly have a giant someday.... hopefully you live somewhere without any restrictions on what you can keep, and even more, hope it stays that way....

[JustBitten]

That's great that you got a permit! Happy that things turned out a bit better than I had heard. Sometimes it's awesome to be wrong :D

[Skits]

I would be tempted to fill the other half of the tank too :p

And Ivan, I'll look into it. I'm really hoping that there isn't a ban, I haven't found any so far. I've seen a couple a few months back online in quebec but now I'm having a harder time finding them. I would love being able to own a burm.

And for a water dish, I was thinking of using the bottom of a rabbit cage. They are pretty big in size and a little deep to hold quite a bit of water. :D

[CDN_Blood]

Montreal? Oh yeah, you'll have a problem with Burmese there. They wouldn't only destroy your Burm, but they'd destroy anything else they found, too. You might want to think about that risk and how that would not only impact you, but the rest of us as well.

Do some research. You'll find *all* pythons and boas are banned in Montreal.

[millertime89]

Well that's stupid.
I was just going to say that if you want to use the entire thing for a baby Burm make sure you provide loads of hiding places so he/she will feel secure. Shame you can't keep one.

[CDN_Blood]

Well that's stupid...

Think what you will, but there are good reasons why laws like this come into effect. Personally, I'm glad to see them - there are very few people who are dedicated enough to take-on a giant like a Burmese for it's entire life. If people were more inclined to be dedicated to their snakes in the past, we wouldn't be having these issues today, it's just that simple.

[millertime89]

Go post that in one of the ban discussion threads, we can talk about it there, I'm not going to muck up this thread.