Tiger Retic

Doug & Deb · 08-06-03, 08:48 AM

Hi all. We have just been given a 12' Tiger Retic female. She is a beaut but we have never dealt with Retics and were wondering if anyone could fill us in on the temperment. We deal with Burms all the time and have 7 in our collection. We now the temperment and the moods. This is all new with the Retic. Please feel free to email us with your comments and/or suggestions.

Thanks,
Doug & Deb

ddgrills@rogers.com
www.junglebabies.com

ReptiZone · 08-06-03, 09:08 AM

Alwase be on your guard a retic hase a verry wide range disposition they can be verry cool calm and colected one minute and then bam the bigest S.O.B in history but consedering you have a rather larg one you should be safe if it hasent tryed to bite you yet chances are he or she was handeld alot when it was a baby.

I would definatly advise you get your 2-3 hours of handeling a week put in just so you learn how to read your snake and so you can work with it when it realy counts (vet trip,removing eggs...) that sort of stuff.

Get sweet display up a retic is useles if you can not see it, they make real good show animals. I rather watch my retic all day then handel any of my animals but that is just me.

Have fun with your new herp!!!

burmer · 08-06-03, 10:23 AM

It is a big difference from burms to retics. They can be Jeckyl and Hyde sometimes. Also they are way more active and more on the move than a burm. Once she settles in you'll be able to tell what kind of attitude she has if any. Good luck with her.

wyz · 08-06-03, 10:30 AM

I maybe am asking a dumb question, but if you have allready 7 burms in your collection you must be someone with some experience ?

You should know better than to take up a snake you know nothing about.. especialy a retic...

This said, I heard alot of experience herpers that said that one of the only snake they couldn't trust were retics.

Even with a 6 feet long specimen they were never alone with them in the same room.

Please be very carefull guys.

WYZ

note: this post was edited, following a PM with Doug and Deb, I don't wanna bash anybody, I'm just a bit affraid for fellow herpers.

ReptiZone · 08-06-03, 11:00 AM

I have a 6 foot retic he can give a good go at constricting my arm but that is as far as that gos nothing to be afraid of there.

any one that can handel a 12 foot burm can handel a 6 foot retic with ease.

But you have a 12 footer so dont try to be a hero(just kidding) but seriously take your precautions when handeling. this is a animal that can and will kill you just for snezzing.( figue of speach)

Doug & Deb · 08-06-03, 11:25 AM

Just to clarify things. We know how to handle large snakes and have 18 years experience with reptiles. I do not have experience with Retics and this is why we asked the question. We only took her because we do not want to see her go to someone who really does not know what they are doing and ends up dead or seriously injured. This would again give a beautiful animal a bad rap. We also do not want to see the animal treated poorly. There is very mixed information on the internet about Retics so we thought we would ask information from people who have them and get their feed back. Just for the information of beginners we would like to point out some very important rules of thumb.
1. NEVER HANDLE A SNAKE OVER 4' ALONE ALWAYS MAKE SURE SOMEONE ELSE IS IN THE ROOM WITH YOU
2. NEVER HANDLE A SNAKE THAT HAS NOT EATEN FOR QUITE SOME TIME
3. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU FEED THE SNAKE THE AMOUNT OF FOOD REQUIRED FOR THE APPETITE. BIG SNAKES EAT BIG RABBITS EVERY 7 TO 14 DAYS!!!!!!! NOT 2 LARGE RATS EVERY 2 WEEKS!!!!!!!
4. GET TO KNOW YOUR ANIMAL AND ITS BEHAVOUR, IT WILL LET YOU KNOW IF IT WANTS TO BE TOUCHED OR NOT
5. HOOK TRAIN YOUR SNAKE THEY WILL LEARN THE FOOD TOUCH OR THE PICK ME UP TOUCH
6. ALWAYS WASH BEFORE GOING IN WITH A SNAKE. THEY HAVE EXCELLENT SENSES AND POOR EYE SITE AND WILL PICK UP ON THAT SENSE. MOST BITES ARE FEEDING RESPONSE BITES NOT AGGRESSIVE ONES
7. NEVER NEVER NEVER HANDLE A SNAKE THAT IS GOING INTO A SHED UNLESS ABSOLUTLY NECESSARY AS AT THIS POINT THEY HAVE ZERO SITE AND LOOK AT EVERYTHING AS A THREAT.

Thanks,
Doug & Deb

Invictus · 08-06-03, 12:02 PM

Over 4' ?!?!!?!?! A little on the paranoid side, isn't that? I have a 6' corn snake, and you know, if he gave me his all, I'm pretty sure I could still win the fight.

I'd say nothing over 6' alone, but that's just me.

ReptiZone · 08-06-03, 12:13 PM

well you look like you have a good hold on things and have the knowleg to back it up with.

I forgot to mention a 10 retic is 5 times if not 10 times stronger then any burm in your collection in other words a 10 foot retic mesured up to your 10, 12, 15 foot burm NO CONTEST.

I have singel handedly restrain a 12 foot burm for a worming treatment then I tried to just move a 10 foot retic me and my boss had a good go at it B4 it was all under control.

Retic's are primaraly arboreal and have a better grip so to say.
burm will stay on the ground more as adults. But retic's never realy grow out of the whole tree thing. So in consequence a generaly stronger snake.

Doug & Deb · 08-06-03, 12:18 PM

Sorry, I will change my comment. You should not handle a 6 - 8 foot snake on your own you should always have someone else in the room. (I thought this was a forum for large snakes not corn snakes)

ReptiZone · 08-06-03, 12:27 PM

Large snake or not my 4 foot female boa is still harmles but get I your point I once read that with large snake you should have a person for every 4 feet of snake so a 12 foot snake= 3 ppl.

Invictus · 08-06-03, 05:56 PM

Yes, it is for large snakes. But I handle my 4' BCI alone all the time. I guess it comes down to which level of caution you feel is necessary for which species. I guess for retics, you'd probably want to be a bit more cautious than you would with a BCI. Nothing wrong with caution!

Jungle Jen · 08-06-03, 06:08 PM

I personally feel totally comfortable handling my 4.5 & 8 foot Columbian Boas by myself. However, when I used to breed Burms, they ranged from 12-19 feet and some weighed 200 lbs easy. There were always at least 2-3 extra people in the room. I also agree that you need to use more caution with Retics. My friend's Retic measured 12 feet last I saw, and would knock my 6'6" build like a brick s***house friend with a riot shield between him and the snake, across the room!

NewLineReptile · 08-06-03, 06:09 PM

Good luck with your new retic Doug & Deb i think you guy's will do just fine with it

Brandon

T.O-SK8TER · 08-12-03, 10:55 PM

I would not want a Retic. I own a burm but burms do not hunt fror there food, they lay there and wait. I have a movie and it shows a retic chasing a monkey up a tree and it moved like lighting. I think one could chase down a human easily!

bebo · 08-13-03, 04:14 AM

Also, Tiger retics tend to have a better than average disposition than most retics. No it's not documented, but on average. I've only been around one yhat was aggressive, and that was do too lack of interaction. You should be fine, with ya'lls experience. Already having big snakes should enable you to enjoy this one. Even though they've been around a while, retics are still getting a somewhat bad rap. And out of all our retics, I can't say they are any worse to handle than some of our burms. Hope you enjoy your new addition.