Just Wondering...

exwizard · 10-03-12, 09:05 AM

...how big my Burms will get and how quickly will they pass up Black Betty? She is currently 9 1/2' long and 24 lbs. Medusa was 3' long 2 months ago and is now at 1 year of age, 4' long; still a runt but growing, now that she's fed regularly. Poseidon, I will pick up this weekend and he is about 6 weeks old. He will be switched to rats ASAP. Time will tell I suppose but how big will they get all things considered?

StudentoReptile · 10-03-12, 09:08 AM

I would say within 2 yrs. I've seen burms grow pretty quick.

Necrias · 10-03-12, 12:16 PM

Gary my female has gone from 3' to 7'+ in 6 months, and I fully expect her to be 11-12' by this time next year. However, one of my males underwent that same growth but in twice the time, he is only 7' at 2 years old. I think it is pretty safe to say burms will average 3-6' of growth per year for the first two years before slowing down. Fed on a "normal" schedule, males will top out at 10-12' and females 12-15' around their 4th year, though of course there is huge variability.

Rogue628 · 10-03-12, 12:29 PM

Being a male, I think he'll pass Black Betty in two years. Even though you have a male, don't be surprised if he grows 6-7' in the first year. They usually slow down a bit in the second year. However, I've heard from reliable burm breeders that there's a huge variability like Necrias said. So don't be surprised or overly worried about huge growth spurts or a lack of.

exwizard · 10-03-12, 12:37 PM

Thanks guys. I wasn't worried, just curious, that's all. A follow up concerning Medusa...

Will her "Craigslist" type of history and her suspected underfeeding that resulted in her small size continue to be evident as she grows or will she catch up to the normal size? Once again just curious.

**millertime89** · 10-03-12, 02:38 PM

Any idea how old Medusa is? Norm's albino was seriously underfeed for many years and as such seems to have stopped growing, but he's older, I think he said 7. If she's still relatively young I would think you won't have any problems getting her up to size.

dave himself · 10-03-12, 02:42 PM

I can only talk of my own experience our biggest girl is around thev10 foot mark and the first time we were going to buy her we held back and missed the chance the next week she was gone but then around 4 to 5 months later she turns up at the reptile shop. This burm and been severely under feed and had only gained roughly 1 foot in length so we bought her and feed her the way she should have. Now this is just my opinion but I often wonder what size she would have reached if she had been fed right from the start she is now around 5 years old and quite small for a female burm

exwizard · 10-03-12, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

Any idea how old Medusa is? Norm's albino was seriously underfeed for many years and as such seems to have stopped growing, but he's older, I think he said 7. If she's still relatively young I would think you won't have any problems getting her up to size.

Medusa is cbb 8/2011 so that makes her just over a year. When I first got her 2 months ago, she was 3' long and now, just 2 months later, she is 4' long. It does look hopeful that she would catch up to her normal size but time will tell I guess.

Rogue628 · 10-03-12, 10:13 PM

I think she will eventually catch up with proper feeding. My burms are the same age as Medusa. Remember Allie had a slow start. She did not start truly getting any size to her until April....when she finally started eating right. She has almost caught up to Baby Girl. She's still a few inches shorter and a little thinner, but the huge size gap between them isn't near what it used to be. I'm positive Medusa will eventually become more of what's considered average size for a female burm. I doubt she will be stunted like Norm's burm, who I think is still quite a handsome boy. IIRC Norm said he has gained some weight and a few inches since he's taken over care of Malaki, but he will never be an average sized male burm.

**millertime89** · 10-03-12, 11:15 PM

They'll probably catch up. Stephan Bakir has a female '10 retic that he go last year around this time, she was 4 ft, now 12ish. I feel pretty confident in saying Medusa will catch up since she's still young.

exwizard · 10-04-12, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by millertime89

They'll probably catch up. Stephan Bakir has a female '10 retic that he go last year around this time, she was 4 ft, now 12ish. I feel pretty confident in saying Medusa will catch up since she's still young.

That's good to know. Ty.

exwizard · 10-04-12, 02:54 AM

I also want to thank you Rogue. Your relay of your experience is also very encouraging to me.

Rogue628 · 10-04-12, 04:13 PM

Anytime