Riverrun (Poss Temp Name)

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-05-15, 01:31 AM

I just picked up a poss het purple albino female reticulated python at the local reptile show yesterday, I've been wanting one of these for 3-4 years now! The person who bred her wasn't there, but one of the vendors said that she may have been born around October. If I had to guess, she's probably right around 3.5', somewhere around 3'-3.5' at least, and she weighs 150 grams. So far she's been very laid back, inquisitive, and on the go. She seems to be just as aware and interested in her surroundings as Draco is, and crawled right up to me when I came to check up on her (just stood outside the tank, didn't bother her). I've got her set up in a temporary tank set up while I wait for her heat tape to ship in so I can get her set up in her tub, that way she'll have heat until the tape gets here.

She'll be in a tub until she gets some size to her, and then I'll move her into Bud's old 6' enclosure until she outgrows that. I'm thinking of naming her Riverrun unless I get a better name suggestion. Now to resist the temptation to handle her!

Here are some photos!

Ballchris · 04-05-15, 01:58 AM

great looking retic, I love mine best decision i have ever made lord voldemort is also very laid back sleeps a lot comes out goes around his tank and then goes back into his hide. I am really hoping for this extension on the ruling so I can get him a girlfriend and eventually get the whole thing overturned. Congrats on her though riverrun is a great name.

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-05-15, 02:20 AM

Thanks! She's very lovely so far, but it will take a few months to get to know her.

I'm glad I was able to find her in town so I wouldn't have to worry about that, but it's a huge shame they were added and I'm also hoping it will get overturned. I'll be donating a bit and I've been trying to get my family members to donate, too. haha

**Tsubaki** · 04-05-15, 04:59 AM

Beautiful! love her pattern!! looks a lot like a beautiful lady i used to own

Albert Clark · 04-05-15, 10:35 AM

Fantastic! Wonderful pick up. bigsnakegirl number 2! Lol!

dave himself · 04-06-15, 04:57 AM

Beautiful retic congratulations on your new pick up

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-06-15, 08:30 AM

Thanks everyone! It all still feels like a dream, I've wanted one for awhile. I can't stop looking at her. haha Luckily I've got a lot of work this week so I should be distracted enough to leave her be. :P

I went ahead and fed her today, I figured she's a retic she's gonna love her food, and it's been about a week since she ate. If she refused, I'd just offer again next week. I gave her two of Sanji's small fuzzy mice, which she'll get until next week when I will order the next shipment of rodents for everyone.

**Tsubaki** · 04-06-15, 01:10 PM

Fuzzy mice are way to small for this snake, even as a small meal. Even adult mice would be too small.

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-06-15, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tsubaki

Fuzzy mice are way to small for this snake, even as a small meal. Even adult mice would be too small.

Well, going off weight 14-17 grams is what she should be getting (which is right around 10% or so of her weight, giving a bit on each side of the spectrum - the fuzzies were 7-8 grams each so combined they were within that range), which is either a large fuzzy mouse or small adult mouse, depending on the source. The two fuzzies left a small, barely noticeable bulge.

IW17 · 04-07-15, 06:13 AM

Retics are one snake that can take more. Based on the size she looks in the pic I'd say small rats would be fine. They can handle way more than you'd think. Retics metabolism at that age is insane.

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-07-15, 02:23 PM

I'd always heard 10-15% of weight, and some went as large as 15-20%. I'm not wanting to overfeed her, so I'd rather not go with the absolute largest meal she can take. I'd like to grow her at a reasonable pace, feeding slightly conservatively, so I guess I'll stick to 15% then, which will put her at jumbo mice. I believe small rats are the equivalent?

I thought the jumbos would be too large for her. lol I have some stocked up for the bp, but they were 3x her girth so I didn't feel comfortable feeding them to her.

**millertime89** · 04-07-15, 03:47 PM

Retics can take 25% of their body weight without much trouble. 30% is the max I've fed but that was only when I didn't have anything smaller. 15-20% is a weekly or biweekly meal for my snakes. Furthermore, the last thing you want is a retic that's hooked on mice (you would need to feed dozens each week as they get bigger) so you want to at least get her on rats as fast as possible. Myself and many other people feel that a retic should never be offered a mouse period unless it's a baby that hasn't started eating and you've tried everything else. At that size I would be feeding pups or weaned rats if not a very small small if nothing else is around.

prairiepanda · 04-07-15, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

I'd always heard 10-15% of weight, and some went as large as 15-20%. I'm not wanting to overfeed her, so I'd rather not go with the absolute largest meal she can take. I'd like to grow her at a reasonable pace, feeding slightly conservatively, so I guess I'll stick to 15% then, which will put her at jumbo mice. I believe small rats are the equivalent?

I thought the jumbos would be too large for her. lol I have some stocked up for the bp, but they were 3x her girth so I didn't feel comfortable feeding them to her.

Looking at the girth of the snake next to your thumb, I would think rat pups would be plenty big enough. I can't imagine trying to cram a small rat in there

I've never seen a jumbo mouse in person, but 3x her size would be quite a stretch. The rat pups I get are 21-30g, so 15 to 20% of your girl's weight. A bit more than you seem to want to do, but she'll catch up quickly in weight and it won't be long before those pups are the 10% you're after! That said, it does seem like with retics people usually feed more than that.

bigsnakegirl785 · 04-07-15, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

Retics can take 25% of their body weight without much trouble. 30% is the max I've fed but that was only when I didn't have anything smaller. 15-20% is a weekly or biweekly meal for my snakes. Furthermore, the last thing you want is a retic that's hooked on mice (you would need to feed dozens each week as they get bigger) so you want to at least get her on rats as fast as possible. Myself and many other people feel that a retic should never be offered a mouse period unless it's a baby that hasn't started eating and you've tried everything else. At that size I would be feeding pups or weaned rats if not a very small small if nothing else is around.

Well all I have right now is pinky, fuzzy, and jumbo mice or 4-8 oz rabbits, which I know for certain she will not be able to get down as those are bigger than she is and is for the 6' boa. I'm getting the next shipment on my paycheck next week, so I was just giving her mice for a couple of feedings until they got here. I don't want to give her too large of meals, so I think I'm going to stick to 15%, which should be plenty for her, and should be rats in the 20-25 gram range, give or take some grams. If getting stuck on mice is a legitimate concern, I can just hold off on her next feeding for a couple of days and feed her next Friday instead of Tuesday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by prairiepanda

Looking at the girth of the snake next to your thumb, I would think rat pups would be plenty big enough. I can't imagine trying to cram a small rat in there

I've never seen a jumbo mouse in person, but 3x her size would be quite a stretch. The rat pups I get are 21-30g, so 15 to 20% of your girl's weight. A bit more than you seem to want to do, but she'll catch up quickly in weight and it won't be long before those pups are the 10% you're after! That said, it does seem like with retics people usually feed more than that.

The jumbo mice I got in the initial shipment were 20-70 grams. I'm not sure what object I could compare them to, but the couple I have left are 4"-4.5" long without the tail.

**millertime89** · 04-10-15, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

If getting stuck on mice is a legitimate concern, I can just hold off on her next feeding for a couple of days and feed her next Friday instead of Tuesday.

It is unfortunately. I know a few people personally that have had it happen I would wait if you haven't already.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigsnakegirl785

The jumbo mice I got in the initial shipment were 20-70 grams. I'm not sure what object I could compare them to, but the couple I have left are 4"-4.5" long without the tail.

That is a huge range in weight! Holy cow!