reticulated python size

[kevyn]

I'll second that. There's alot to know, when it comes to staying safe with giants. I

[VooDooMafia]

Another thing you also want to consider is the availability of large food items. The last thing your wallet would want is a very large snake feeding on rats lol

[weinerboy12]

I hope you have had experience with HUGE snakes before.. A friend of mine has a 17' retic.. It scares the **** out of me! So much more agressive and aware then any burms i've seen. mehh.. dont get eaten!!

[KarlSnake]

Although I am the keeper / owner of "Little Snooky", a truly GIGANTIC male retic - there is some question as to just who owns/keeps who - I would NEVER recommend one of these to anyone who is even a little bit uncommitted to what is by no means a small undertaking or apropos for the inexperienced casual herper. Way beyond the book-learning & discussions with others who are WAY into keeping the truly giant snakes, experience acquired with species that cannot kill you has obvious advantages. During our "traveling salvation show" presentations, we get a lot of inquiries about the keeping of a retic, many of them because of some misconception that it would be "kewl" to have one on these giants. "Little Snooky" is very docile, tractable, & easily handled. Fortunately for us here at Snake's Pit, he is the complete diametrical opposite of the other end of the retic spectrum. But, I was the unintentional target in a SFA - Stupid Feeding Accident - over 18 years ago & still to this day have the broken-off remains of teeth embedded in both hands. I learned the HARD WAY that taking your eyes off of the snake (I was distracted by one of our daughters & one of our cats) for even a µsecond is 990 nanoseconds too long at feeding time when you are holding the food / prey (a 10# rabbit) in your hands.

Start off with corns or kings - maybe ratsnakes (these are typically nippy) , bullsnakes, or gophersnakes, even an indigo if legal where you live.

If you've just GOTTA have a "python", start out with a ball.

Plan ahead - "Little Snooky" is >28¾ years old now & will in all likelihood outlive ME.

Giant snakes need huge cages / enclosures, big water tanks, & the ability to deal with 200-pound turds. Just the logistics of buying "feeder pigs" (this term has a different meaning in the swine-farming business) at livestock auctions, deworming them, ad nauseam, etc., are just the tip of the iceberg regarding the commitment one makes with the decision to keep a giant snake.

I knew "Colossus" - a WC - quite well & "he" (she at necropsy) was very nasty-tempered & a completely intractable / unhandlable WILD animal. At least "Little Snooky", a CH, has been handled & messed with ever since he was an 18" hatchling. Nevertheless, we ALWAYS use the (both are adults) "Buddy System" & keep the 1-oz bottle of whiskey or vodka available at all times.

Keeping (or being kept by) a giant snake that will outlive you & could easily kill you is no small undertaking & cannot be rationally approached like something as trivial as having & raising children to adulthood.

Unless you are fully ready to commit rather significant money & a significant chunk of the next 50 years of your life, pass on a retic.