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Old 06-23-05, 08:20 PM   #1
Reticsrule
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Question MALE afrock vs MALE burm

right now i have a male BCI. i am looking to get a snake that is going to get somewhere in between like 6 ft (im guessing on how big my boa will be when full grown) and like 15+ ft. i really like the giant pythons and i figure if i can get a MALE burm or a MALE afrock and it will be like 10-12 ft when full grown i would be ok with housing it. now i know i will have a much better chance of finding a tame male burm than i will finding a tame male afrock but i keep hearing that male burms CAN get like 14 or 15 ft and that male afrocks will be smaller than that (like12 ft MAX). so could a male burm be 10-12 ft as an adult? if i could find a tame male afrock i would go for it because it seems like i have a better chance of the afrock staying at 10-12 ft than the burm. is this true? whatever i get (if my mom lets me) will be a captive bred baby and it has to be tame. thanks for any replies
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Old 06-23-05, 08:50 PM   #2
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I think the afrock would be a very bad idea... If you REALLY have to chose between those two, then get a male burm if you want to get into giants so young... I propose you get more experience with large snakes in general before you get a giant snake. Just try to make a reasonnable choice and that your parents are ready to assume the responsibility of keeping one of these...

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Old 06-23-05, 09:04 PM   #3
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well i was thinking of all my options and these two snakes are the only ones that fit the size that i want and have simple care requirements (not arboreal, not aqautic, etc.)

my parents are divorced and the snake will be at my dad's house if my mom lets me get it. my dad and his girlfriend don't seem to care about the size as much as they do the temperment. they have made it clear to me that it cannot be aggressive at all. i realize that i am a little young(14) to be getting a giant snake but i do feel that for my age i know a lot about snakes and their care requirements. my dad's friend will build the cages for me and the only possible problem would be finding rabbits(but im sure if i looked hard enough i could find some)
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Old 06-23-05, 11:01 PM   #4
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I would recommend waiting a few more years before you get a large python . Even if you are very knowledgable with the care and husbandry there is a lot more to think about . Like how are you going to afford to buy food for a large snake , what are you going to do when it is full grown and when you move out I dought it will be easy finding a place that accepts giant snakes . Think about it long and hard and do as much research as you can and try to wait a while so you know you really want it . Good luck with what ever dission you make and hope all goes well for you .
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Old 06-24-05, 12:45 AM   #5
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On a side note.. I dont believe you can truely 'Tame" any reptile...there all wild un-predictable animals that you should definalty be thinking about ALL factors involving YOUR life..and the SNAKES life. It's gonna live for awhile..and you wanna ensure you can properly keep it throughout its life, happily, and healthy.

Big snakes like that require large meals. Definatly finding a reliable source of food for an animal like that should really be thought about upon buying these kinds of snakes. Your budget will reflect on that too, because....your 14, your parents wont feed this thing forever :P

There are many other-snakes that get BIG, and are much better keepers than burms and african rocks. Why not start working your way up?

Just my opinion....

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Old 06-24-05, 02:34 AM   #6
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Get the Burm Son.... when i was 14 i would starve a week before mine would starve a day. By the way my burms what got me delivering papers ...after all your 14 and can actualy breed your own rabbit's outside all spring summer and fall and freeze them (providing you have the space) But remember this is not a toy when your bored of you just put on the shelf and forget as you will have enclosure cleaning as well as water changes daily. As well as possible high vet bills etc what ever happens i wish you all the luck!
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Old 06-24-05, 12:00 PM   #7
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Yes, i would say you are a bit young to get
a giant python, but then again some youngsters out there are keeping pit bulls, so...what the hell. We are too late to start giving those advices, by now.

Well, burms don't have to be more docile than rocks at all. I have a sweet male afrock and also a very mean female burm. Go figure?!? Sometimes burms can be worse than rocks.

As far as size goes, books and caresheets put those 2 in equal positions. But, from my experience, burms seem to grow faster.
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Old 06-24-05, 02:50 PM   #8
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well guys thanks for not attacking me too bad. to be honest with you when i started to get into snakes i never thought that i would be getting a giant as my second snake. but now that i think about it the MALE giants arent really GIANTS. sure theyre big but i wouldnt call them giant. and i can't think of any other species that will get 10-12 ft that don't need special care requirements such as being arboreal(coastal carpets) or aqautic(yellow anacondas). burms and afrocks are nice and simple non-aqautic and terrestrial snakes. and after all the giants are my favorites. if anyone knows of any other snakes that will get 10-12 ft and are simple to care for i would like to hear them because i cant think of any. i really wouldnt get this snake if i didnt think i could give it a good home.

p.s. the reason i keep saying 10-12 ft is because i want a snake that will be inbetween my male boa and a 15+ ft GIANT.
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Old 06-24-05, 03:38 PM   #9
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Dont think because it is MALE that it will deffinetly stay smaller. We have a 16 foot burm, male, at work. Chances are the females will get even bigger, but you never know.

I wish you only truely knew how tough it can be to take care of a 15+ foot snake. Especially being a younger age. I do hope your father is going to be helping you a lot, because a 15 foot snake is not something you want to be handling alone.
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Old 06-24-05, 05:28 PM   #10
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Males definately get large enough to be dangerous. A full grown male (burm or afrock) could easily require 2 or 3 people to handle it. Afrocks are not something the inexperienced should be messing with. You could get an a-hole burm as well, but it's far less likely. If you're dead-set on it, get the burm, not the afrock. Even better, get a female BCC or BCI. She wont likely get 12 feet long but they're pretty heavy-bodied. She'll seem like a monster when full grown.
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Old 06-24-05, 07:15 PM   #11
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I'll tell you what, you have a male boa that you say is not 6ft yet, I have a 5'6" male boa. I also used to have an 8.5ft female boa. Handling her was ALOT different than handling my male. First off, she was MUCH thicker and heavy bodied than he is. He weighs about 6lbs, she weighed about 35lbs. Also, she had an extra 3ft in length, and was 3-4times as thick as the male at mid-body. I'll tell you I had full respect for her, and although she never even hissed, I was very careful not to get her annoyed. She was VERY strong, and considering male burms can and will weigh in excess of 100lbs, and can potentially get 16ft(or 7.5ft longer than my female boa), thats 3times the muscle on that snake, and 3 times the strenth.

I've had snakes for 5 years, and for the past 3 years, I've only kept blood pythons and boas, and although I'd like a giant, they are restricted here. I'd reccomend you get more experience with larger snakes before you get into giants. One smaller boa, that is also your first and only snake, is not going to give you the understanding and knowledge it takes to deal with a giant, IMO. A female macklotts(which has the potential for 9ft, and the fact that they are sometimes a little on the agressive side IMO is a good starting point), or a female BCC(potential for 7+ft), or other large snakes that get in that size range are good to try and get a better understanding of the animals. Im sure other keepers will agree that after being around these animals for awhile and working with them and experiencing different situations, you almost get a 6th sense of what the animal is saying or what its going to do. Im not saying im psycic, you just get a better feel and understanding of the animals your working with more easily. I know with my first and second snake, it was not like that.

BTW, Im 15.

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Old 06-24-05, 07:23 PM   #12
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I couldnt agree more Chris. About a year ago I was dying to get the 'big stuff' too. I then got a job that dealt with larger snakes and it gave me an understanding to how tough it is to keep these animals. I was putting back a maybe 10 foot albino burm back into her enclosure today, and I couldnt do it myself. Shes a sweetheart but shes damn strong and damn heavy for one person.

The guy who helped me out was telling me about this LARGE female boa we have upstairs. Shes about 9 feet and thicker then a 2L coke bottle. He had her out and she was wrapping around him once and he couldnt do a THING, until one of the volunteers heard him calling for a hand. Imagine that happened while you were alone.

I just hope you realise it honestly is not as easy as you may think.

Hope you make the right decision, good luck to you.
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Old 06-24-05, 07:50 PM   #13
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I could'nt agree more Adam. I wouldnt recommend either of these snakes. I have worked with both species and although Burms can be very calm, they can also be very aggressive. I have two very aggressive 8 +foot burms that I take care of at my worplace and believe me when it comes time to move them (as was the case today!), if you dont know what your doing, your in trouble!!! We also have a VERY agressive Afroc, we tried "taming" it when it was smaller but it never did and now at 10 feet we need at least two to three people to control it!!! There are alot of other species of snakes to choose from . I would strongly reccommend getting some more experience before buying any Giant snake.
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Old 06-24-05, 08:34 PM   #14
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i would get a female BCI or BCC but i dont want another snake of the same species unless i plan to breed them(which was what i was origionally going to do but then my dad said he didnt want the babies at his house). im not saying that a male burm or afrock cant get to be 15 ft but from all the things ive read so far it seems to be 10-12 ft average. im also not going to powerfeed it(OR UNDERFEED IT). ive really thought about this and to be honest with you if i could think of another snake that would get to be 10-12 ft and had simple care requirements i would consider it but i cant find any that i like. ive also heard nothing but good things about burms and i have heard very few negative things about afrocks. im also looking for it to be at my local reptile show and not too expensive(over$200). if you have any other ideas please throw them at me and ill think about them.
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Old 06-24-05, 10:57 PM   #15
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If you have heard very few bad things about afrocks, you haven't done your research. There are tame ones, but there are a great many totally agro afrocks. They are notoriously grumpy. On top of that they are one of the very few species that have been documented to kill and eat humans. They are extremely strong for their length. African rock pythons make VERY poor pets. If you cant be talked out of this, please get the burm and not the afrock. I have worked with both. Even friendly afrocks are a challenge to work with as they are very strong and much more active than burms.
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