# Other Pythons > Giant Pythons >  Python Reticulatus Wallace Progression!

## Gio

I've been a little lax on posting pictures of this beautiful snake. Wallace is doing very well here and is growing rapidly like most retics. 

I shot these pictures earlier today.



I wish the first couple came out a little sharper.


I learned a little something today about these guys. I had Wallace out and he is always good for me once out of his cage. I let him curl around my wrist and he is pretty chill. Today I let him go to floor. Bad idea! He was off like a shot. I was lucky to have the last bit of him in my hand or he would have been off to the races. This species is one of the, if not the, fastest moving python there is. He is best kept in hand while he is small. He's a few clicks over 4 feet long these days. Maybe 4.5 feet. I am not able to measure this guy.



The species is just sensational, and I love the Tiger pattern, This guy is SD X Dwarf and a small percentage of mainland. 


I really like the last two shots here. He is improving in color with age. Retics are one species that actually always gets better as they age.



Thanks for looking.

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_Artemisace_ (05-02-2017),bigSAK (02-07-2017),_BR8080_ (02-09-2017),C.Marie (12-28-2017),_CloudtheBoa_ (02-10-2017),Eavlynn (02-07-2017),_Fraido_ (04-04-2017),_GoingPostal_ (02-06-2017),_jmcrook_ (02-06-2017),John1982 (02-06-2017),_Kira_ (02-11-2017),_Prognathodon_ (02-07-2017),_Reinz_ (02-07-2017),Reptimom (02-07-2017),_Sauzo_ (02-06-2017),_ShaneSilva_ (02-06-2017),_Slicercrush_ (02-21-2018)

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## Sauzo

Looks good. Was wondering what happened to you. Lol I haven't had the privilege of seeing Caesar take off at top speed. He must be going at half speed haha. The one and only time I've had a snake escape and I was lucky and found Caesar curled up on the floor under a swivel chair by his cage lol. He just looked at me and went back to sleep like nothing had happened.

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C.Marie (04-18-2018),Gio (02-07-2017)

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## jmcrook

Looking great, Gio! Thanks for the updates and the pics. He's quite the stunner! 


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Gio (02-07-2017)

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## ShaneSilva

I really like tigers as well. Glad you're enjoying him! I let my retic on the floor sometimes but only in areas where he can't get away or stuck in anything. Interesting to watch them slither around, climbing etc. And yes, they are very fast lol

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boidavid (02-07-2017),Gio (02-07-2017)

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## Reinz

Wallace looks great Gio, good shots of him. I agree, Tigers are tough to beat, my favorite. 

Though Sauzo's Caesar's color grows on me a bit more every time I see him.

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Gio (02-07-2017)

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## Gio

> Wallace looks great Gio, good shots of him. I agree, Tigers are tough to beat, my favorite. 
> 
> Though Sauzo's Caesar's color grows on me a bit more every time I see him.


Thanks Bud!

I think retics have wonderful morph patterns as well. The Tiger pattern is I guess technically a morph too. Wallace has some other goodies in his genetic package. He is Het Snow (purple albino & anery) to boot. The SD adds some greens to him and his head is starting to go yellow more with each shed.




This particular web site has LOADS of locality retic examples. Most are wild specimens and I can't lie, Mother Nature still makes the best paint jobs. There are some stunners here.

https://localityretics.wordpress.com


Wallace is a fun snake, but he is twitchy coming out of his cage. He'll still musk me now and then and he makes and effort to get away from me. I've only been bitten once which is good. You could drive a truck into his mouth it opens so wide LOL!

I have 4 very different species here and enjoy them all.

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Valyrian (04-04-2018)

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## Reinz

> Thanks Bud!
> 
> I think retics have wonderful morph patterns as well. The Tiger pattern is I guess technically a morph too. Wallace has some other goodies in his genetic package. He is Het Snow (purple albino & anery) to boot. The SD adds some greens to him and his head is starting to go yellow more with each shed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This particular web site has LOADS of locality retic examples. Most are wild specimens and I can't lie, Mother Nature still makes the best paint jobs. There are some stunners here.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I have felt that Nature turns out the prettiest colors/patterns as well,
 with all snakes. 

That's a great link you provided.  Loads of examples is an understatement!  
Can't pick a favorite, it's so hard to narrow it down; Sulawesi, Java, Borneo??

That link is dangerous. It can hook you in in a hurry!  :Smile:

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## Gio

> Yeah, I have felt that Nature turns out the prettiest colors/patterns as well,
>  with all snakes. 
> 
> That's a great link you provided.  Loads of examples is an understatement!  
> Can't pick a favorite, it's so hard to narrow it down; Sulawesi, Java, Borneo??
> 
> That link is dangerous. It can hook you in in a hurry!


YES!

The Java is stunning, then you hit the big yellow heads, there are so many out there. There is a bit of science to retic localities. I wish Cody was still around to comment, but I think his interests/program headed in a different direction.

There certainly is something to be said about where the animals are from and why some grow very large and others don't. They have quite a range and obviously swim quite well.

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## EL-Ziggy

WTG Gio!!! Wallace is one smokin' hot Retic. Great pics too bud!

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Gio (02-07-2017)

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## cletus

Very nice!  Great pics. Retics have the coolest eyes.

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Gio (02-07-2017)

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## EmilyandArlo

Wallace is one beautiful animal. Those eyes are amazing!


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Gio (02-07-2017)

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## Gio

I was able to somewhat measure Wallace this morning.
He's a June 1st 2016 hatchie and that puts him at just over 8 months old now. Its funny how this works, 

I've always wanted my son's royal to grow large and hit the 5 foot mark. She is maybe 4.5 feet and about 6 years old.

I wanted my boa constrictor to get big, he has and is somewhere between 6-6.5 feet long and thick yet very lean and muscular. 
I wanted the carpet python to be large, she is closing in on 7 feet if not already there, but is really slender.

ALL of the already mentioned snakes were constantly over estimated in size when I was "guessing" where they were at throughout their growth stages.

I figured Wallace was about a 4 footer, and he's actually about 5 feet long. Just like Sauzo's Caesar. 
One thing the other snakes I have did do VS. Wallace was stay fairly still and straight for measurements.

Wallace was not easy, and after I laid down the tape, I was able to get him stretched out for a very brief moment before he started climbing upward.

He is 5 feet long, give maybe 1 inch or take maybe 2 inches. I've been underestimating his size which is funny because I want him to stay in the 9 foot range. Funny how that works LOL!

I will say he fits into hides that the 4 plus foot royal could never fit into. 

This just reconfirms that actual size has 2 components. Length alone isn't always something to worry about if you are looking for a manageable pet. The combination of girth/thickness and length is what makes a snake BIG.

Wallace at 6 feet will look tiny compared to a 5 foot blood python.

I guess I'll post one picture. This was one of my "throw aways" from the last session. The same as the others but a bit more blurry. It looks like he's in the jungle, or maybe posing for school pictures.

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_Reinz_ (02-09-2017)

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## Reinz

All of my snakes are in constant motion, even the BP and Boas. Every time I reach for the tape measure they start squirming. 

I can get a very close estimate when they stretch out along the length of the enclosures.

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Gio (02-09-2017)

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## Gio

> All of my snakes are in constant motion, even the BP and Boas. Every time I reach for the tape measure they start squirming. 
> 
> I can get a very close estimate when they stretch out along the length of the enclosures.


I got an almost exact measurement on the boa yesterday. 6' 3". I'm suspect he'll have a little spurt of growth when he resumes his spring/summer feeding schedule, but I'm thinking he's about to slow to maybe an inch or two a year from here on out.

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## Craiga 01453

Wow, Wallace is gorgeous!!

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

I love their derpy baby faces, and you captured a decent few in this thread. lol

Both your's and Gio's SDs are growing a lot faster than I've seen to be expected of SDs, their growth is closely matching a "standard" mainland retic's growth when not power fed.  They're far outstripping River's growth already, and she's now 8' at 2.5 years old.  I'll have to see where she tops out at (around 5-6 years of age), but I'm thinking you guys may have bigger snakes than you planned on your hands if they're already growing faster than my (assumed) mainland.

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## Sauzo

> I love their derpy baby faces, and you captured a decent few in this thread. lol
> 
> Both your's and Gio's SDs are growing a lot faster than I've seen to be expected of SDs, their growth is closely matching a "standard" mainland retic's growth when not power fed.  They're far outstripping River's growth already, and she's now 8' at 2.5 years old.  I'll have to see where she tops out at (around 5-6 years of age), but I'm thinking you guys may have bigger snakes than you planned on your hands if they're already growing faster than my (assumed) mainland.


Lol I'm guessing you mean me? Yeah Caesar is growing like a weed and now he needs large rats to keep him quiet or else he smushes his face up. I'm going to give him a 'toy' and with the paper towels he's on now, he seems to have fun playing around under them and pushing them. I'm hoping maybe he slows down growing once he hits 1 year old. He hasn't shed in about a month or so, so maybe he will slow down on the growth haha. I just hope he doesn't turn into a 14' snake. I wont get rid of him as for the most part, he is a sweetie that hasn't bit me, pee'd on me, or pooped on me.

And maybe your mainland is really a SD!!!!  :Very Happy:

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

> Lol I'm guessing you mean me? Yeah Caesar is growing like a weed and now he needs large rats to keep him quiet or else he smushes his face up. I'm going to give him a 'toy' and with the paper towels he's on now, he seems to have fun playing around under them and pushing them. I'm hoping maybe he slows down growing once he hits 1 year old. He hasn't shed in about a month or so, so maybe he will slow down on the growth haha. I just hope he doesn't turn into a 14' snake. I wont get rid of him as for the most part, he is a sweetie that hasn't bit me, pee'd on me, or pooped on me.
> 
> And maybe your mainland is really a SD!!!!


Yeah both you and Gio's are growing fast. Lol

I'm starting to think she may be, but I've seen similar growth in another keeper's tiger retic but she reached like 15'+ or so at around 5+ years I think it was.  Unfortunately she died from cancer so we won't see how big she'll end up.

I suppose most of the SDs are fed to stay smaller longer but I'd expect yearlings to still only be 3' from what little I've seen discussed.


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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## Sauzo

Well I think Gio feeds his smaller food longer periods where as I feed Caesar big food on a shorter period and both are about 5'. Well Caesar I guess could be bigger but I don't know. I am just guesstimating on his size from when he stretches out lol. And both of ours have the same SD percent but his has more dwarf in it where as mine has more mainland in it.

And Jmcrooks Phyllis is a pure SD and I think she is over 5' and just over a year old. So who knows lol.

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## jmcrook

> Well I think Gio feeds his smaller food longer periods where as I feed Caesar big food on a shorter period and both are about 5'. Well Caesar I guess could be bigger but I don't know. I am just guesstimating on his size from when he stretches out lol. And both of ours have the same SD percent but his has more dwarf in it where as mine has more mainland in it.
> 
> And Jmcrooks Phyllis is a pure SD and I think she is over 5' and just over a year old. So who knows lol.


Yeah, Phyllis turns 1 year old in a couple days and is a solid 6'. 



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Gio (02-11-2017),_Reinz_ (02-11-2017)

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## ShaneSilva

> I love their derpy baby faces, and you captured a decent few in this thread. lol
> 
> Both your's and Gio's SDs are growing a lot faster than I've seen to be expected of SDs, their growth is closely matching a "standard" mainland retic's growth when not power fed.  They're far outstripping River's growth already, and she's now 8' at 2.5 years old.  I'll have to see where she tops out at (around 5-6 years of age), but I'm thinking you guys may have bigger snakes than you planned on your hands if they're already growing faster than my (assumed) mainland.


You know I was thinking the same thing. Levi is a mainland hatched 6/19/16 and he's about 5' just under 2 pounds and eats weekly. His meals average 120-130 grams. Maybe I've been underfeeding him a little? Never had a pushing issue but he is ALWAYS hungry. Thought that was just retics though.

Or maybe they all grow quickly while young regardless of SD/D/Mainland percentage to make them less vulnerable to predators? They all just top out at different sizes due to their natural environment, conditions and resources based on locality? Never owned a SD/D so just throwing thoughts out there. Regardless, you all have some good looking retics :Sweeet:  :Sweeet:  :Sweeet:

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

> You know I was thinking the same thing. Levi is a mainland hatched 6/19/16 and he's about 5' just under 2 pounds and eats weekly. His meals average 120-130 grams. Maybe I've been underfeeding him a little? Never had a pushing issue but he is ALWAYS hungry. Thought that was just retics though.
> 
> Or maybe they all grow quickly while young regardless of SD/D/Mainland percentage to make them less vulnerable to predators? They all just top out at different sizes due to their natural environment, conditions and resources based on locality? Never owned a SD/D so just throwing thoughts out there. Regardless, you all have some good looking retics


There was a small experiment done with different retics, and it showed even when fed as heavily as a mainland SDs simply do not grow as fast.  http://mahn001.tripod.com/id28.html

I was feeding River rat pups and weaned rats every 10-14 days and she went from 3' at 6 months to 4'-4.5' at 1 year.  Now she's ~8' at 2.5.  For a time after that she was eating rats weekly until she got on larges.  She's currently getting colossal rats or .5-1 lb rabbits every 2 weeks.  Eventually I plan on feeding her monthly, most likely when she's eating rabbits only.


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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## ShaneSilva

That was interesting to see. Never looked into it before.

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## Sauzo

> You know I was thinking the same thing. Levi is a mainland hatched 6/19/16 and he's about 5' just under 2 pounds and eats weekly. His meals average 120-130 grams. Maybe I've been underfeeding him a little? Never had a pushing issue but he is ALWAYS hungry. Thought that was just retics though.
> 
> Or maybe they all grow quickly while young regardless of SD/D/Mainland percentage to make them less vulnerable to predators? They all just top out at different sizes due to their natural environment, conditions and resources based on locality? Never owned a SD/D so just throwing thoughts out there. Regardless, you all have some good looking retics


Caesar was the same way about always being hungry but he was more expressive about it by pushing and generally making lots of noise and messes like "look at me!!". Every one the retic boards told me I was seriously underfeeding him was the bottom line.

Caesar is about 5' also and I was feeding him 150g medium rats. I was told to upsize him to 1-2 large rats or a rabbit or gpig as a 5' retic should easily be eating that that. I argued with the guy lol and he said I still had the boa mind thought about small prey. I finally gave him after a few other people backed him and told me the guy really does know his stuff about retics. I gave Caesar his first large rat about 260g and he ate it like a candy bar. It was gone in about 2 mins and Caesar was definitely happier.

Its not been 3 days and Caesar is starting to move around but still pretty calm, doesn't seem like he's starving like on the medium rats.

So bottom line is throw everything boa about these snakes out the window. They eat BIG food and like big food.

And they grow lots too. I mean your is a mainland that was born 6/2016 and is 5'. Caesar is SD/D born 5/2016 and is also 5'. Gio's is SD/D born I believe 6/2016 and is 5' and Jmcrooks is pure SD born 2/2016 and is 6'. So it seems no matter what they are or feeding, they seem to grow at about the same rate. And Gio feeds his less on longer periods and I feed mine more on shorter periods and they are both about 5'

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Gio (02-11-2017),_jmcrook_ (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

I don't really think it's all that necessary to feed them bigger meals.  I can understand it in Caesar's case as he seems like a bottomless pit.  But I wasn't feeding River larges at 5'.  She's not as food driven though.

The other keeper I mentioned with the 15' retic feeds in a way that person would describe as underfeeding and she still reached 15'+ before her death.  Feeding in this way just means they reach adult size at 5-6+ years rather than 2-3.


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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## Sauzo

Yeah each snake is probably different. Like I said, if kept Caesar on medium rats, I would have had to have packed stuff all the way around his doors on his AP cage. Plus he was digging and would strike the glass a couple times if I came by fast. Then once he saw me, he would just follow me and stuff. You clearly tell he was really hungry and that was after only 4 days on medium rats.

But I mean with my 4 day feeding schedules and then trying 7 day feeding schedules using medium rats or quails or chicks and sometimes doubling up, Caesar still only grew to about 5' while Gio feeds his once every 10 days on a small rat. So it's just weird how much of difference that was in food intake but about the same growth.

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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

Yup.  Better to feed him a little more than him mess himself up.  He should calm down about the food as he ages, unless he's like my garter Demigod. >.> No matter how much I feed that little bugger he's like your Caesar.  I finally just cut his food back again, but he doesn't get an increased feeding response with less food luckily.


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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## ShaneSilva

> Caesar was the same way about always being hungry but he was more expressive about it by pushing and generally making lots of noise and messes like "look at me!!". Every one the retic boards told me I was seriously underfeeding him was the bottom line.
> 
> Caesar is about 5' also and I was feeding him 150g medium rats. I was told to upsize him to 1-2 large rats or a rabbit or gpig as a 5' retic should easily be eating that that. I argued with the guy lol and he said I still had the boa mind thought about small prey. I finally gave him after a few other people backed him and told me the guy really does know his stuff about retics. I gave Caesar his first large rat about 260g and he ate it like a candy bar. It was gone in about 2 mins and Caesar was definitely happier.
> 
> Its not been 3 days and Caesar is starting to move around but still pretty calm, doesn't seem like he's starving like on the medium rats.
> 
> So bottom line is throw everything boa about these snakes out the window. They eat BIG food and like big food.
> 
> And they grow lots too. I mean your is a mainland that was born 6/2016 and is 5'. Caesar is SD/D born 5/2016 and is also 5'. Gio's is SD/D born I believe 6/2016 and is 5' and Jmcrooks is pure SD born 2/2016 and is 6'. So it seems no matter what they are or feeding, they seem to grow at about the same rate. And Gio feeds his less on longer periods and I feed mine more on shorter periods and they are both about 5'


That's what made me think I was underfeeding since Levi is a mainland. He can easily take 2 100+ gram rats. I just don't know when it would be considered power feeding with these guys so I've been giving him one. Never tried a large rat but I might up his feeding and see how he does. I'd just hate to take some years off my favorite snakes life :o

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## CloudtheBoa

> That's what made me think I was underfeeding since Levi is a mainland. He can easily take 2 100+ gram rats. I just don't know when it would be considered power feeding with these guys so I've been giving him one. Never tried a large rat but I might up his feeding and see how he does. I'd just hate to take some years off my favorite snakes life :o


If he's taking 2 100 gram rats just bump him to larges.  Even though the rats are equal in weight to a mid-sized large rat, a single large will be less food than 2 100 gram rats.  River grew 1.5' in about 3 weeks eating 2 small rats once every 2 weeks and I haven't seen growth like that before or since that incident, even when she's eating a single rat/rabbit that leaves a bulge twice as large.  I've noticed similar increased growth in my other snakes (not at the same level of course), so nowadays I just avoid feeding multiples completely.

As long as he isn't as hellbent on food as Caesar is, it shouldn't hurt to feed them a little less so long as you're ready to wait a little longer for him to get big


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Gio (02-11-2017)

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## Gio

> I love their derpy baby faces, and you captured a decent few in this thread. lol
> 
> Both your's and Gio's SDs are growing a lot faster than I've seen to be expected of SDs, their growth is closely matching a "standard" mainland retic's growth when not power fed.  They're far outstripping River's growth already, and she's now 8' at 2.5 years old.  I'll have to see where she tops out at (around 5-6 years of age), but I'm thinking you guys may have bigger snakes than you planned on your hands if they're already growing faster than my (assumed) mainland.


Great comments from all. My retic buddy who is as knowledgable as anybody on Retic Nation and has kept and bred everything from mainland retics to king cobras and about everything in between said our SD X Dwarf retics will grow rapidly for the first 2 years and may easily hit 7 feet. Then they will slow DRAMATICALLY after that. He thinks it will be a stretch if Wallace gets close to 10'. At 5' Wallace fits in the palm of my hand.

Caesar may be a tad larger and may end up bigger especially if pushed with food, but Sauzo is sensible and isn't looking for a giant.

River is awesome and looks a lot thicker and much more mature. We are all doing great with these guys.

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## Sauzo

Well from what I was told by some of the retic guys was they really don't have a set schedule. They just feed them something that leave a huge lump and then let the snake go on that until he/she gets hungry again which one guy told me is about every 2 weeks. You will know when they are hungry and need more food. Or at least that's what I was told. So far it seems pretty accurate as like I said, Caesar is the quietest after I fed him the large rat since when I got him. So I'll probably go off what those guys told me and just feed Caesar a large rat whenever he starts pacing around and looking hungry.

I wouldn't call that powerfeeding. I would call that just normal retic feeding. They digest and have a much faster metabolism than boas which is why those guys told me to throw out the mindset of keeping boas. Retics are a whole different beast. Now if you fed him a large rat every 2-3 days, so he had a lump 24/7 365 days a year, yeah you are powerfeeding but it's perfectly normal for them to eat a big meal and then go lazy until they are hungry again which is when they would go looking.

And like Cloud said, I would do 1 large rat over 2 medium rats. Whenever possible, I prefer to feed 1 appropriate sized item than 2 smaller items. At 5', your guy could easily take a large rat. Caesar did it no problem and it was like a 250g rat. The same size rats I feed Rosey who is 7'

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_ShaneSilva_ (02-12-2017)

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## Gio

> Yeah, Phyllis turns 1 year old in a couple days and is a solid 6'. 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Damn brother you are both looking great!

She has one of those Mother Nature patterns that is unbeatable!

Well done sir!

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_jmcrook_ (02-11-2017)

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## CloudtheBoa

Yeah guess it just depends on how you feed them, perhaps the smaller ones I've seen the owners have just been feeding them less from the get-go and that's why they're so much smaller.

River is actually currently in another thin gangly teenager phase as she recently hit another growth spurt.  She'll go months of building nothing but weight and girth and then explode in length and look like a piece of rope for awhile.  I'm feeding her heavier than I do my boas but she still doesn't need all that much food herself.  She doesn't get antsy and grows just fine the way I've been feeding her.  I didn't put her on larges until she was 6'+ but she did quickly make the jump to colossals.  Now, I know she doesn't have a whole lot of girth right now because she's 8' and the colossals leave a gigantic lump for 3-4 days, when they'd probably leave little to no bulge under normal circumstances.  Luckily the rats don't seem to drag her down as much as the rabbits.  A rabbit that size and she starts looking at food with disdain after a couple meals. Lol

She has a truly low feeding response for a retic.


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Gio (02-11-2017),_ShaneSilva_ (02-12-2017)

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## Sauzo

> Yeah guess it just depends on how you feed them, perhaps the smaller ones I've seen the owners have just been feeding them less from the get-go and that's why they're so much smaller.
> 
> River is actually currently in another thin gangly teenager phase as she recently hit another growth spurt.  She'll go months of building nothing but weight and girth and then explode in length and look like a piece of rope for awhile.  I'm feeding her heavier than I do my boas but she still doesn't need all that much food herself.  She doesn't get antsy and grows just fine the way I've been feeding her.  I didn't put her on larges until she was 6'+ but she did quickly make the jump to colossals.  Now, I know she doesn't have a whole lot of girth right now because she's 8' and the colossals leave a gigantic lump for 3-4 days, when they'd probably leave little to no bulge under normal circumstances.  Luckily the rats don't seem to drag her down as much as the rabbits.  A rabbit that size and she starts looking at food with disdain after a couple meals. Lol
> 
> She has a truly low feeding response for a retic.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah rabbits are much more dense so that's to be expected. I'd like to get Caesar on rabbits as that might lower his food drive for longer and maybe I can go a solid 2 weeks for him on rabbits.

And heck, i'd be happy to give River some of Caesar's food drive lol although like I said, I might have been underfeeding him this whole time.

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_ShaneSilva_ (02-12-2017)

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## Gio

> Yeah guess it just depends on how you feed them, perhaps the smaller ones I've seen the owners have just been feeding them less from the get-go and that's why they're so much smaller.
> 
> River is actually currently in another thin gangly teenager phase as she recently hit another growth spurt.  She'll go months of building nothing but weight and girth and then explode in length and look like a piece of rope for awhile.  I'm feeding her heavier than I do my boas but she still doesn't need all that much food herself.  She doesn't get antsy and grows just fine the way I've been feeding her.  I didn't put her on larges until she was 6'+ but she did quickly make the jump to colossals.  Now, I know she doesn't have a whole lot of girth right now because she's 8' and the colossals leave a gigantic lump for 3-4 days, when they'd probably leave little to no bulge under normal circumstances.  Luckily the rats don't seem to drag her down as much as the rabbits.  A rabbit that size and she starts looking at food with disdain after a couple meals. Lol
> 
> She has a truly low feeding response for a retic.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I really dig Cloud because she came here slightly over feeding and then completely went for the Russo, Rentfro approach to feeding snakes.

I don't care what the species is, if you listen to the radio show that Nick Mutton does, you can hear both Nick and Vin say almost ALL snakes in captivity are overfed.

That doesn't mean we are all over feeding. Wild VS captive is a very different ball game for sure, but River seems to have a healthy FEMALE retic that is growing well and slow. 

Reptile Experts (Cody) is an actual schooled biologist/herpetologist if I'm not mistaken and he seems to feed on the conservative side unless he is pushing some growth on purpose.

With all snakes, and for that matter most wild animals, feeding is feast or famine. Their bodies are designed for it and after millions of years, a couple hundred years (if that) of captive breeding and feeding, won't change their habits and genetic patterns.

Thanks to all for the great comments and additions to this thread. I'll keep the Wallace photos coming here like Sauzo does with his Caesar thread.

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_cletus_ (02-22-2017),_CloudtheBoa_ (02-11-2017),_jmcrook_ (02-11-2017),_ShaneSilva_ (02-12-2017)

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## Sauzo

Well I think Cody was feeding some of his retics every 4 days too and some he fed on a longer schedule and they both grew the same. I believe it was on his post about SD retics on this forum. I do agree a lot of people do overfeed but I also think one schedule is not something that should be set in stone as each animal is different and will carry the weight different just like people. Some people have a much faster metabolism and can eat anything and not gain an ounce while others eat a donut and balloon out.

Heck even Kris at Vital said a good starting point is 4-6 days. And again each snake is different. Like River doesn't have a strong feeding response yet Caesar has struck the glass 2 or 3 times now after 4 days with medium rats if I walk by fast or a shadow was cast. He only strikes when he is hungry and the one time I tried to hook train him where he hissed, reared up and opened his mouth at the hook lol.

And again, like I said before and was told by retic people, you cant compare a boa to a retic. They have way different metabolisms and abilities for food. Something a retic can eat easily would cause an instant regurgitation in a boa. Feeding schedule for snakes cant be a blanket time frame. Its like boas eat once every 3-6 weeks. A retic would slowly starve on that kind of a schedule.

Here we go, I found Cody's how to feed section on SD retics. This copy pasted from him exactly on this thread https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...nd-Information

Feeding schedules kind of vary with keepers and even with snakes. Pure SD will come out of the egg and be ready to feed on adult mice right off the bat, 50% SD crosses, will come out and be taking Rat pups readily, and Dwarfs may come out ready to take on Weanling rats. For myself this is the feeding schedule that I used, and it worked VERY well, but it did have varying results across individuals. . . For the first 6-12 months, they were fed once every 4 days until they made it to Medium rats. Once they hit medium rats they were dropped to every 7 days. Once they hit rabbits males were dropped to every 14 days and females every 7-10 days. Many keepers will only feed SD retics mice for the first few months, and try and keep them as small, but as healthy, as they can for extended periods. After all, you are getting an SD retic to be amazed at how small it is. This is fine, and its arguable that this is “healthier” than a 4 day feeding schedule. But my 20 month old who was raised on this schedule did absolutely perfect, and is trim, and now growing very slowly at 8-9’ and eating 1.5lb rabbits every week. Likewise, my two Dwarf Girls, 4 months age difference, had very different results. Both were started on the same feeding schedule and method, but the Purple Albino took off and is sitting around 12-13’ currently, and feeding on 4lb rabbits weekly. Meanwhile, the genetic stripe het purple is still under 5’ and pounding a single Large rat a week and putting on weight slowly. Whatever fits your retic (keeps them trim, not pushing, and giving you regular feces) go with that. Some times you have to test the waters, try feeding every 4 days, try feeding weekly, weigh the pros and cons, and the way your snake will behave. Keep in mind these are not Ball Pythons, they WILL and DO eat always. Most retics are vicious feeders, and will eat any and every time food enters the cage. Most will never need to see live food, but a few will and can be picky eaters.

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_jmcrook_ (02-12-2017),_ShaneSilva_ (02-12-2017)

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## Sauzo

Now Gio and my retic fall kind into a grey area as neither of ours are 50% SD. I believe his is the same as mine at 37.5% SD while his is 43% dwarf and mine is 31.5% dwarf but I consider that a wash as dwarf and mainland seem to be pretty close overall in size potential.

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## Gio

I never started this out properly since I titled it "Progression".

These are going to be repeat pictures, but I feel the need to post them to actually show the progression of Wallace.

Sauzo, Jmcrook and others have 1 solid thread for their retics and I have multiple threads and photos.

I want to package this into a solo thread although other photos are available in different threads.

This is the real progression of Wallace. Not all of his photos, but a nice steady progression.

Before shipping. (_Photo by Kristopher Brown, Vital Exotics_)



Arrival:
27, September, 2016.


First introduction: Complete with the "Acclimation Branch".


The branch was a very gentle way to get him used to handling. It seemed to help him feel secure.


We moved into free handling within a few days and he was pretty mellow.


A trait that retics have that really make them beautiful. Mr. Rainbow Head.
The iridescence of Python Reticulatus.


The first meal:
A small rat taken with no problem.


Posing for "School Pics":


The other side.


Getting more color and once again a taste of the rainbow.



Out of quarantine and into his new/current cage.


No cage stress. He ate immediately.


The Penthouse:


He's whizzed on me a few times, but this was our first and ONLY real disagreement.


He was a brat that day, and he seems to be pouting in the corner here LOL!


Despite some resistance to come out of the cage now and then, he is doing very well. He's close to 5 feet long maybe a tad less, and very lean.


He's been a super captive and an exciting jump into another species.


We should be up to date here:


 Now there is some "progression" to the Wallace thread.

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_cletus_ (02-22-2017),_EL-Ziggy_ (02-22-2017),_jmcrook_ (02-22-2017),_Reinz_ (02-22-2017),_Sauzo_ (02-22-2017)

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## Reinz

Nice photo show Gio!  

I love that photo of him peeking through his coils during the wrap of his "kill".

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Gio (02-22-2017)

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## Gio

I also wanted this thread from another board in my thread.

It's been posted/linked here before. It fits my preference for display caging to a T. Though I could never have an enclosure like the on here.

http://www.reptilescanada.com/showth...thon-behaviour

My favorite snake species are the semi arboreal types.

Boa constrictors, carpets, retics, scrubs,,, and so on.

If you think big retics aren't into climbing and perching, think again.

I will provide Wallace with a much ceiling space as I can.

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_Reinz_ (02-22-2017)

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## Reinz

I'd have to say that I'm in the same camp as Chris as far as enclosures are concerned.

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## Gio

I weighed the small rats Wallace eats. 50 grams.

Now the larges are 250 plus. 

Mediums are 190.

So far he is totally fine with smalls every 7 days. His shed pushed him out to 15 days and that included a refusal so I know he's good to go. I will probably bump him up a size in the spring and push him out 7-10 days.

I see no reason for him to have more than 1 large every 7-10.

That said I will introduce quail and also smallish rabbits that are equal to the large rats.

He should slow in growth rather dramatically after the 2nd year. My bet is an 8-9' snake with similar girth to my coastal carpet python, maybe a tad thicker.

So far so good with this guy.

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_jmcrook_ (02-28-2017),_Sauzo_ (02-28-2017),_Stearns84_ (02-28-2017)

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## Sauzo

Wow your mediums are a lot larger than the ones I get. Mine seem to average around 140-170g. Your larges are a little bigger too. Mine average about 180-220. Now that's for the place close to me. I reptile shop where they have all the quails, rabbits, gpigs and chicks seems to run about the same as yours. No idea on the smalls as I have never weighed those. 

I honestly think your snake is going to smaller than 8-9' with that feeding schedule. I'd guess he tops out at 7' but who knows really as half seems to be food intake and the other half seems to be how the genetics play out.

Problem I see with ours is they aren't full SD. So I personally think it is hard to really put a number on their size. I mean Gene is a perfect example. He's 25% SD, 25% dwarf and 50% mainland and he is like 5'. But anyways, it will be interesting to see how all guys' and gals turn out in 2 years.

You could do quails now. I was feeding Caesar like 3 week old quails I think when he was on small rats. They are about the same size as baby chicks. Last time I looked at the shop, the 7 week old quails were about the size of a large rat but I doubt meatwise, just purely on the thickness of them when I was feeling them up. I'll have to pay more attention to the age when I get there. I usually just look at the bags and say "Yeah, that one there" lol.

The rabbits and gpigs, the smallest ones I saw were way to big for Caesar. I mean he probably could have downed it and I was told by a lot of retic guys on Retic Nation FB that a 5' SD can easily eat 2 large rats or a baby rabbit or gpig but I didn't want to chance it.

Oh and stay away from the Retic Nation FB page. I got scolded for feeding Caesar medium rats when he was 5'. Everyone pretty much said I was underfeeding and starving my retic which was why he was pushing and scraped his chin up. Or he was looking for a girlfriend but since he is only 9 months old, they said I was starving him. With feeding yours smalls, I'm sure they would rip you apart on that.

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Gio (02-28-2017)

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## Gio

> Wow your mediums are a lot larger than the ones I get. Mine seem to average around 140-170g. Your larges are a little bigger too. Mine average about 180-220. Now that's for the place close to me. I reptile shop where they have all the quails, rabbits, gpigs and chicks seems to run about the same as yours. No idea on the smalls as I have never weighed those. 
> 
> I honestly think your snake is going to smaller than 8-9' with that feeding schedule. I'd guess he tops out at 7' but who knows really as half seems to be food intake and the other half seems to be how the genetics play out.
> 
> Problem I see with ours is they aren't full SD. So I personally think it is hard to really put a number on their size. I mean Gene is a perfect example. He's 25% SD, 25% dwarf and 50% mainland and he is like 5'. But anyways, it will be interesting to see how all guys' and gals turn out in 2 years.
> 
> You could do quails now. I was feeding Caesar like 3 week old quails I think when he was on small rats. They are about the same size as baby chicks. Last time I looked at the shop, the 7 week old quails were about the size of a large rat but I doubt meatwise, just purely on the thickness of them when I was feeling them up. I'll have to pay more attention to the age when I get there. I usually just look at the bags and say "Yeah, that one there" lol.
> 
> The rabbits and gpigs, the smallest ones I saw were way to big for Caesar. I mean he probably could have downed it and I was told by a lot of retic guys on Retic Nation FB that a 5' SD can easily eat 2 large rats or a baby rabbit or gpig but I didn't want to chance it.


I want quail now but the shop only has really large quail. Too much for him now. They are harder to eat than rats too LOL. They have quite a time finding that floppy head.

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## Sauzo

> I want quail now but the shop only has really large quail. Too much for him now. They are harder to eat than rats too LOL. They have quite a time finding that floppy head.


Haha not Caesar or Vicky. They are pro poultry eaters. They actually eat them quicker than rats. Now Rosey, she has a heck of a time eating poultry. Like you said, the floppy head throws her off. Last time I gave her one, she kind of folded it and had a wing hanging out. It took her like 45 mins to eat it haha. I quit offering poultry as she has 'failed' on like 3 of them now. I'll just stick to her rats and rabbits as she is pro at eating those.

And yeah, the same here. The shop has pretty big ones. I mean they might be smaller now as Caesar is bigger but back then, they were too big imo for him.

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## Gio

I hate to post without pictures in a progression thread, 

However Wallace has been doing well lately. He's growing, but is lean as can be. He's been MUCH easier to remove from the cage, and he's FULLY utilizing his perches and cage decor. 

I will set his last enclosure up to be the ultimate display cage. I have some ideas and it will be interesting watching him hunt and feed from ambush points and perch areas in the final cage. My joy in the hobby is based more on observing the behaviors of a few animals VS having a large collection that I can't monitor.

If you want to talk about real, wild retics and their behaviors, include Wallace in the conversation. He is perched right above his water bowl. Similar to what the younger retics do when they perch above streams in the wild. When threatened they drop into the water and make a run for it.

Wallace has a different idea though. He poops and pees in his bowl. I just changed it out last night, and low and behold, this morning it was filled again with poop and urates LOL!

He hits several climate zones by being able to perch.

Just an update.

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_jmcrook_ (03-04-2017),_Sauzo_ (03-04-2017),_Stearns84_ (03-05-2017)

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## Sauzo

Nice. At least yours does it in an easy place to see and clean. Mine like to drop deuces behind stuff like their hides or the water bowl so I have to go searching for it. And when I used ReptiChips, the boas loved to bury their tails in the stuff and drop a big urate under the substrate like a cat. Nothing quite like the feeling of a coldish still moist and semi soft urate as you poke it with your finger while digging through substrate  :Sad:

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Gio (03-04-2017),_jmcrook_ (03-04-2017),_Stearns84_ (03-05-2017)

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## Stearns84

> I hate to post without pictures in a progression thread, 
> 
> However Wallace has been doing well lately. He's growing, but is lean as can be. He's been MUCH easier to remove from the cage, and he's FULLY utilizing his perches and cage decor. 
> 
> I will set his last enclosure up to be the ultimate display cage. I have some ideas and it will be interesting watching him hunt and feed from ambush points and perch areas in the final cage. My joy in the hobby is based more on observing the behaviors of a few animals VS having a large collection that I can't monitor.
> 
> If you want to talk about real, wild retics and their behaviors, include Wallace in the conversation. He is perched right above his water bowl. Similar to what the younger retics do when they perch above streams in the wild. When threatened they drop into the water and make a run for it.
> 
> Wallace has a different idea though. He poops and pees in his bowl. I just changed it out last night, and low and behold, this morning it was filled again with poop and urates LOL!
> ...


We definitely need some picture updates!

Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk

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## cletus

Quite the bowl movement right there....

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Gio (04-03-2017)

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## Gio

I said I'd take some outdoor pictures but given the spirit of the day, and my new I-phone 7 plus, I figured I'd pop a quick 3 pictures in different modes.

Wallace on his upside down stool.



The same type of picture pose with some indoor adjusted lighting and zoomed in a bit.


And,,,, Finally a picture with the flash on and zoomed in.

I like the camera on the 7-Plus. It's almost as good as the Sony high end camera we have in certain instances.



The boy is coloring up nicely and you can see a bit of the rainbow toward the back of his head and sides with the flash.

For reference the in the top picture the distance from the crossbar to the tip of the leg on the chair is roughly 9-10 inches.

Thanks for checking in on Wallace.

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_BR8080_ (04-04-2017),_dboeren_ (05-02-2017),_jmcrook_ (04-03-2017),_Sauzo_ (04-03-2017),_Stearns84_ (04-03-2017)

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## Stearns84

Looking good!

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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Gio (04-03-2017)

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## Stearns84

Any updates on your enclosure setup?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

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## Gio

> Any updates on your enclosure setup?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


I'm searching around for my final enclosure options. I'm currently back in discussions with Constrictors NW (Proline Cages).

Matt at Monster Cages never got back to me, and I think he may be a bit busy now with a new baby on the way. I like the enclosures he builds, but they are completely welded and can't be taken apart. I have changed, moved and replaced items within my current cages and I like being able to break them down if needed.

Animal Plastics was high on my list, but the size isn't right, and if I go custom, the price goes way up and shipping puts the price point way over budget. They make beautiful cages, but I want and need a certain size here and AP comes in too high.

Because I've worked with Ed at Pro-Line, I can get a custom cage with the exact dimensions I need, DELIVERED for the price of the smaller AP cage after they charge for shipping. 

After inspecting and cleaning out a couple of my Pro-Line units yesterday, I called Ed and am seriously looking at a 72" x 30" x 24" double cage.


Wallace is currently in this unit.


He fits comfortably in this. He has a few hides, perches and a huge water bowel. 
He is feeding conservatively, and that is pretty much on his own. He has at least a 10 day spread between meals and goes longer on occasion if he decides not to eat.

This is a previously posted picture, however it shows how he fits in this 48" x 24" x 14" cage.


I've got some time and this really works for him.


For a snake that is somewhat difficult to remove from the cage like Wallace, I will certainly need a 24 inch tall unit.


That's my caging at this point, and I have the wheels in motion for the next one.

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_Stearns84_ (04-04-2017)

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## Sauzo

Looks good. You know, sometimes i'm envious of how your snakes aren't garbage cans lol. I tried doing 10 days with Caesar and that went over like a turd in a punchbowl. He started pushing at day 8. Once he got a meal in him, he went back to being an angel.

And yeah if Pro-Line cages are what you like, go for it. I personally didn't care for them as maybe mine was made on a Friday or something but it wasn't very sturdy, the door didn't line up for squat unless I shimmed the back right corner with 3 pieces of cardboard and the ceiling sagged bigtime after about 2 years. And I guess I wasn't the only one. Figment's ceiling sagged so bad that he had to lift it to close the door, mine wasn't that bad.

Sucks the guy at Monster Cages didn't get back to you. Maybe he's out of town? Or if he did have a new baby, he probably is trying to sneak in as much sleep as he can when he can lol. If I didn't love AP cages, he would probably be who I would check out as Boaphiles are god awful expensive.

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_Stearns84_ (04-04-2017)

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## Gio

> Looks good. You know, sometimes i'm envious of how your snakes aren't garbage cans lol. I tried doing 10 days with Caesar and that went over like a turd in a punchbowl. He started pushing at day 8. Once he got a meal in him, he went back to being an angel.
> 
> And yeah if Pro-Line cages are what you like, go for it. I personally didn't care for them as maybe mine was made on a Friday or something but it wasn't very sturdy, the door didn't line up for squat unless I shimmed the back right corner with 3 pieces of cardboard and the ceiling sagged bigtime after about 2 years. And I guess I wasn't the only one. Figment's ceiling sagged so bad that he had to lift it to close the door, mine wasn't that bad.
> 
> Sucks the guy at Monster Cages didn't get back to you. Maybe he's out of town? Or if he did have a new baby, he probably is trying to sneak in as much sleep as he can when he can lol. If I didn't love AP cages, he would probably be who I would check out as Boaphiles are god awful expensive.


Yeah,

Don't know what to tell you, but I've never had a problem. And would put my cages against anybody's, as they do everything needed to keep my animals. Since I set them up the way I want, I really haven't found too many cages that I feel compare when I get the final touches in place. No issues and it's a plastic box when it comes down to it.

I'm not into sterile setups and honestly don't like the PVC plastic AP uses. I prefer HDPE and always have. PVC is toxic when you get right down to it, but I'd own one if the price was decent for the size I want I guess. 

Boaphile cages are fine, but again, I want/need ceiling space and nobody offers a comparable price WITH SHIPPING on a unit that is the size I want.

I'm not really up for debating caging here, I was just asked how the search for the next cage was progressing. 

I've got four snakes and they live like kings and queens in the cages they have. I'll always pick perches over shelves, and I like the snakes being able to stay busy in their enclosures. 

Because Ed is still making cages and offered me a great deal, I see no reason to look elsewhere at this point. There isn't much to it as long as the cages work and I get a good deal.

The snakes here will all become more active with the increased natural daylight and warmth. 

I expect a good summer here with Wallace, and I'll feed him like a SD x dwarf since his mainland percentage is very low. 

I'm looking forward to outdoor photos this year.

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## Gio

Well, he did the SD retic thing.

Wallace was out for a TV session which usually entails a lot of through the hands and hand over hand work as he is always moving but last night he did what Reptile Experts (Cody) mentions in some of his videos. 

Wallace "took off".  

He was totally cool and then just started blitzing out of my hands. I barely kept hold of him and was able to catch a bit of his lower body. Of course I thought he was going to spray me but he didn't. 

He was fine, just SUPER busy, I guess he had an important appointment I was unaware of LOL. I kept with him for a minute or two and then was a bit irritated as I was in relax mode and he was not.

I ended up sending him back to the cage.

He's a good boy, but wow can they move and it isn't just for a short burst. He was continuous. 

I'm actually hoping for a little size because at the very least he won't be as squirmy. It will be more of a workout, but I was a tad worried about losing him under a reclining leather sofa last night.

He's leveled out a tad at the 5 foot mark and isn't all over the food, which is great. He'll hit the one year mark June 1st.

He's at the 2 week mark for food so tonight he will feast.

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_BR8080_ (04-09-2017),_jmcrook_ (04-08-2017),_Sauzo_ (04-08-2017)

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## Gio

Double post.

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## Sauzo

Lol don't count on the being less squirmy. Caesar is about 6' now and he IS the boss lol. He doesn't take off like Wallace did unless I'm taking him out of the cage and he doesn't want to come out. Then he figures he can get back in faster than I can take him out lol. But once out, he is calm but always moving if that makes sense. 

Caesar will be 1 year old May 18th. And he still freakin loves food. He isn't as bad as when he was a baby but he still pops his head out and sits at the front of the cage whenever there is movement. I just boop his snoot with the paper towel and he lays down lol. Kinda funny, reminds me of a dog haha.

Has Wallace pee'd on you yet? Caesar did his first piss on me...right on my foot while watching tv. Little sob planted his keester right above my foot and then let out a little stream. He seems proud though and sat there looking afterwards haha.

As for size, heck, I'd give you some of Caesar's size lol. I think he's going to end up being a rather big boy. I alternate his food. He eats once a week and gets a medium rat one week and then a large the next week. If I stretch him out much past 1 week, he starts to pace and push.

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Gio (04-08-2017)

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## Gio

> Lol don't count on the being less squirmy. Caesar is about 6' now and he IS the boss lol. He doesn't take off like Wallace did unless I'm taking him out of the cage and he doesn't want to come out. Then he figures he can get back in faster than I can take him out lol. But once out, he is calm but always moving if that makes sense. 
> 
> Caesar will be 1 year old May 18th. And he still freakin loves food. He isn't as bad as when he was a baby but he still pops his head out and sits at the front of the cage whenever there is movement. I just boop his snoot with the paper towel and he lays down lol. Kinda funny, reminds me of a dog haha.
> 
> Has Wallace pee'd on you yet? Caesar did his first piss on me...right on my foot while watching tv. Little sob planted his keester right above my foot and then let out a little stream. He seems proud though and sat there looking afterwards haha.
> 
> As for size, heck, I'd give you some of Caesar's size lol. I think he's going to end up being a rather big boy. I alternate his food. He eats once a week and gets a medium rat one week and then a large the next week. If I stretch him out much past 1 week, he starts to pace and push.


Yep, I think I told early on Wallace has sprayed, and Pee'd on me a few times. He's about 5 feet now and skinny and squirmy. I'd like a bit more girth and 7-8 feet. I would have more to grab at that size. Now he's like a colubrid that can get away and into trouble fast. Small enough to get into areas I can't get into and that stresses me a bit. 

He's got the Tiger gene so he could get large but his % of SD must have some major influence on his eating, growth and flighty behavior. I like it, just not the track meet we had last night. 

Caesar looks great and seems well behaved. 

I'd be fine with a 9 foot 35 pound animal. Actually I welcome it but will,not over feed to get there. 

Make sure you post 1 year old Caesar pictures and get a measurement.

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## Gio

Well,

I think I may pay a visit to Monster Cages this week.

I heard back from Matt and if the price holds true, it is unbeatable if I go pick up the cage.

His cages are so strong you can stand on top of them, and they are made of non-toxic HDPE plastic.

There are a few specific's I'll need to make sure of but if it all comes together, I'll give the cage a shot.

Wallace chowed down the other night. 1 small rat after 13 days!

Perfect SD growth as far as I'm concerned. I'm hanging with him without issue as I type!

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## Sauzo

Lucky sob lol. Caesar wouldn't even go with that schedule when I got him lol. Kris told me he LOVED to eat anything anytime and he was right. I think I will end with a large rat every week by the time he hits 1 year old. JM hooked me up with an auction Bob Clark had for a female pied retic that was up to $705. If I hadn't bought Gina, I probably would have jumped on it but I'm not sure I want a mainland female haha. 18' snake is not something that I'm sure I really want lol.

Definitely post some pics if you get that Monster Cage.

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Gio (04-11-2017),_jmcrook_ (04-11-2017)

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## Gio

> Lucky sob lol. Caesar wouldn't even go with that schedule when I got him lol. Kris told me he LOVED to eat anything anytime and he was right. I think I will end with a large rat every week by the time he hits 1 year old. JM hooked me up with an auction Bob Clark had for a female pied retic that was up to $705. If I hadn't bought Gina, I probably would have jumped on it but I'm not sure I want a mainland female haha. 18' snake is not something that I'm sure I really want lol.
> 
> Definitely post some pics if you get that Monster Cage.


OK,

I think I'm heading down to look at them (Monster Cages) in the next day or two.

I'm working on keeping Wallace small and manageable for the first year. According to some, once that first year or possibly two goes by they are easier to control growth wise. Wallace only has 18.25% mainland in his makeup, but that's still 18.25% for size potential. 

Honestly though, I'm not holding back food, he's quite happy with the rotation we are on and I keep waiting for the roaming/bolting to the front of the cage for food and it is not happening.

He's been great to handle since the first bite I took getting him out a while back.

It snowed her last night so spring photos are a while out still.

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_Stearns84_ (04-11-2017)

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## Sauzo

Ah, Caesar has 31% mainland. Maybe that's why he's a bigger boy with a HUGE appetite lol. And Caesar is always at the front or poking his head out to see whats going on anytime something comes around. He is a very inquisitive snake. The boas don't really care whats going on around them lol. Maybe the more mainland blood in Caesar is what makes him more mellow/social? I mean I've heard that the more mainland blood in a SD, the mellower they tend to be as pure SDs are kind of flighty and mainlands are pretty laid back.

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## Gio

> Ah, Caesar has 31% mainland. Maybe that's why he's a bigger boy with a HUGE appetite lol. And Caesar is always at the front or poking his head out to see whats going on anytime something comes around. He is a very inquisitive snake. The boas don't really care whats going on around them lol. Maybe the more mainland blood in Caesar is what makes him more mellow/social? I mean I've heard that the more mainland blood in a SD, the mellower they tend to be as pure SDs are kind of flighty and mainlands are pretty laid back.


I think I agree with that for the most part although Wallace has really settled and become wonderful.

Caesar is almost double the mainland that Wallace is so that would explain a few things wouldn't it.

Never heard back again from Monster today after 2 texts so I'm about done.

AP and Constrictors NW have wonderful customer service. I will end up with a cage from Ed more than likely and be happy. I have no complaints with what I have now.

Monster has some nice looking cages, but I'm just a bit disinterested when I try to set things up and don't get acknowledged.


Wallace is plenty happy in his current Pro-Line and looks good in it. A larger unit will only be a plus.

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_BR8080_ (04-12-2017)

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## Sauzo

Yeah kind of lame he doesn't respond. I actually have my Pro-Line and both my Herpstat 2 and 1 up for local sale. Was going to use the Pro-Line for a spare cage but meh, once I order 3 T25s, I'll have like 3 spare T8s. So might as well just sell the Pro-Line. Same with the Herpstats. I'm keeping the Herpstat 2 redline and Herpstat 1 redline for spares but the other 2 I don't need.

And yeah AP does have awesome customer service. Ed answers stuff pretty quick too. Actually waiting to hear back from Ali if the LEDs they install can be used with Herpstats to simulate sunrise and sunset. If so, I found a use for my Herpstat 2 redline lol. I'll use it as a sunrise/sunset timer for all the snake cages lol.

And yeah, that probably does explain a lot about Caesar lol. I had him out today and he is easily 6'. He was able to easily reach the floor from my shoulders and still have spare tail. And i'm about 5'11". So I know he's at least 6' if not slightly longer now.

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_Stearns84_ (04-12-2017)

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## Gio

I will need a new photo prop for outdoor photos this spring/summer.
Wallace is just too quick to be trusted if he is not in my hands or wrapped around something. It is a shame because some of my easiest and pictures are taken off of our deck rail. I honestly don't think I can photograph him there because if he heads for the ground he'll be under the decking, and that will be about it until he decides to come out. 

I'm going to have to work with some other options in a more open area limiting/erasing the possibility of escape. He is "colubrid style" fast, and if he runs, and I chase, I have to grab him quickly. When he's excited he always seems to have a "little in the tank" just for me. Usually Pee, not really musk, but I don't like either.

He's over 5 feet long which somewhat bums me out as I really don't want him to be large I was hoping 4 to 4.5 feet at the year mark on June 1. At 6 to 9 feet he will be plenty challenging to handle. At 10 feet, I will likely need a spotter depending on his girth. I don't know how many people think long term when it comes to retics, whether they are mainland, dwarf, super dwarf or a combo. I love the challenge, but they are NO JOKE, and I'm recognizing it very early on. 

If you delve into the species without long term thought and preparation, you will probably run into issues if your animal ends up on the larger side. I already have "some" precautionary safety gear in place, and more will come if I start seeing a larger than expected pet. I'm not being a sissy, I'm quite in shape, active and I know how to take care of myself but I'm also not oblivious or arrogantly, over confident to the point of thinking I'm never going to be in a bad situation. That's all I'll say on that because this isn't supposed to be a negative post. I'm just relaying some initial experiences, and thoughts.

Don't get me wrong, Wallace has done nothing since the little bite a couple of months ago to turn me off to him, but he is a snake that I will not take lightly or trust. He doesn't make it easy on me getting him out of his cage. Of course he's in a 48" x 24" x 14". 14" tall isn't as easy to reach into as a taller unit. He'll be in a 2 foot tall cage this summer which will make things easier.

Frequent handling of this species seems to be rather important. Obviously working with any snake tends to make interactions in the future more relaxing and predictable for all involved.

I continue feeding every 10-14 days and surprisingly he is still fine with small rats. I will keep that up until he hits a year, and then I'm planning medium rats every 2 weeks. I've been reading a lot of the UK retic boards and they like to keep their males and females nice and lean and a lot of them feel some of us here in the US tend to push the feeding too much. 

Wallace shed out yesterday and looks absolutely beautiful today. I was checking him out and have not been able to find his spurs. I know Kris would not have sold me a female at a male price and I know his reputation is impeccable. I'm just curious if Gerald, Gene or Caesar have spurs. 

He was very active today so the pictures were difficult to take. For reference however, he is perched on an olympic barbell. He is about the same thickness maybe a touch thicker at his most girthy spot.

His coloring is good today.




Too bad he was zipping all over. This would have been a decent head photo. The scales match the knurling of the barbell.


The length is coming. Another terrible, one handed picture, but this is his coloring without a flash. I think I'll dump the flash for photos in the gym. It is plenty bright in this room. This is actually pretty close to what his coloring looks like. You don't see the iridescence here, but he has it all over when the light hits him right.


Thanks for checking in.

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_jmcrook_ (04-20-2017),_rock_ (04-20-2017),_Sauzo_ (04-20-2017)

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## jmcrook

You are quite the well researched keeper, Gio. Retics are definitely not a species to be taken lightly or acquired impulsively. Better to have precautions in place and not need them than vice versa. I always approach Phyllis with hook first and then confidently but cautiously reach into the cage after I've gotten a good read on her body language.
On the spurs note, Gerald's spurs are quite small and maybe only easier seen because his tail is almost pure white so they stand out a bit more. 
I kinda doubt Wallace will break 8-9' with your feeding schedule but better to be prepared for it than not. He's going to love that big cage I'm sure. Phyllis will get her forever cage in probably July providing there are minimal delays with production.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (04-20-2017)

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## Gio

> You are quite the well researched keeper, Gio. Retics are definitely not a species to be taken lightly or acquired impulsively. Better to have precautions in place and not need them than vice versa. I always approach Phyllis with hook first and then confidently but cautiously reach into the cage after I've gotten a good read on her body language.
> On the spurs note, Gerald's spurs are quite small and maybe only easier seen because his tail is almost pure white so they stand out a bit more. 
> I kinda doubt Wallace will break 8-9' with your feeding schedule but better to be prepared for it than not. He's going to love that big cage I'm sure. Phyllis will get her forever cage in probably July providing there are minimal delays with production.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the words of encouragement brother. I'll have look for the spurs again. He is really bushy now that it's spring

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_jmcrook_ (04-20-2017)

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## rock

Gio, this is a great thread.  Awesome animal you have.  SD, Dwarf and Mainland Retics are amazing.  

Reading up on them is interesting and makes me want one in many ways but I also realize it's certainly too much for me to take on right now.  Better to know my limitations but great to get an in-depth look here.  Great job!  :Salute:

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Gio (04-20-2017)

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## Sauzo

You should be fine even if he hits 10' depending on his temper. I mean Caesar is over 6' and probably 1.5-2" thick and he is mellow as far as temperament. I mean once i boop his snoot with the paper towel and he knows its no dinner, i just reach in and drag him out. If he doesnt want out, he tends to try and get into the cage faster than i can drag him out lol. Once out, he though, he just looks at everything. And he loves to do that thing you see Cody's retics do with standing straight up and touching the ceiling haha. Combine that with climbing down my leg or sitting on my head and he's a handful but nothing i would feel threatened by.

I havent checked for spurs on Caesar but it seems he has taken a break from growing. He hasnt shed in awhile and seems to be thickening up and May 18 he will be 1 year old. So maybe he will top out around 7' like Kris told me. I wouldnt mind if he got 10" though as like i said, he is pretty laid back.

And i agree, interaction with them is important. I pretty much interact with Caesar daily but half the reason is he is front and center or poking his head out the see me every time i go by his cage haha. He loves to initiate the interaction. Then when he see it doesnt lead to food, he tries and backpedals into his hide haha.

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_Stearns84_ (04-20-2017)

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## Gio

> You should be fine even if he hits 10' depending on his temper. I mean Caesar is over 6' and probably 1.5-2" thick and he is mellow as far as temperament. I mean once i boop his snoot with the paper towel and he knows its no dinner, i just reach in and drag him out. If he doesnt want out, he tends to try and get into the cage faster than i can drag him out lol. Once out, he though, he just looks at everything. And he loves to do that thing you see Cody's retics do with standing straight up and touching the ceiling haha. Combine that with climbing down my leg or sitting on my head and he's a handful but nothing i would feel threatened by.
> 
> I havent checked for spurs on Caesar but it seems he has taken a break from growing. He hasnt shed in awhile and seems to be thickening up and May 18 he will be 1 year old. So maybe he will top out around 7' like Kris told me. I wouldnt mind if he got 10" though as like i said, he is pretty laid back.
> 
> And i agree, interaction with them is important. I pretty much interact with Caesar daily but half the reason is he is front and center or poking his head out the see me every time i go by his cage haha. He loves to initiate the interaction. Then when he see it doesnt lead to food, he tries and backpedals into his hide haha.


I certainly don't feel threatened, but what a lot of people don't understand is bite of even a 6 foot retic can be enough to require stitches. The teeth on retics and scrubs and some of the other pythons are much longer than people think.

Gus Rentfro took a bite from one of his larger Peruvian boas and was relatively unscathed. A simple accident with a retic can be more serious.

At 10 feet long Wallace will be a lot to handle with the speed he has. A lot depends on girth, but Cody has stated that an "only 9 foot retic" is nothing to take lightly.

Again, I'm just looking at worst case scenario. All will probably go well, but I feel it is important to be prepared for animals like these.

This guy is great. We are still growing together.

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## Sauzo

> I certainly don't feel threatened, but what a lot of people don't understand is bite of even a 6 foot retic can be enough to require stitches. The teeth on retics and scrubs and some of the other pythons are much longer than people think.
> 
> Gus Rentfro took a bite from one of his larger Peruvian boas and was relatively unscathed. A simple accident with a retic can be more serious.
> 
> At 10 feet long Wallace will be a lot to handle with the speed he has. A lot depends on girth, but Cody has stated that an "only 9 foot retic" is nothing to take lightly.
> 
> Again, I'm just looking at worst case scenario. All will probably go well, but I feel it is important to be prepared for animals like these.
> 
> This guy is great. We are still growing together.


Oh i know a bite from any snake that is 6'+ is not going to be fun and could require stitches. I'm just saying, if your snake is mellow at a young age, they generally mellow out even more with age as babies tend to be flighty and/or bitey. Like for me, I've never been bit by Caesar. Only time he ever got mad was when i introduced a hook to him as a baby. He hissed and opened his mouth, very angry. Since then i use a twisted paper towel to boop his snoot and he immediately either lays down on the cage floor or backs up into his hide a little. Now feeding day is different as Caesar turns into a demon when he smells food lol. I've had to use the sliding glass door on his cage as a shield once.

As for speed, he might calm down with age. I mean Caesar is a spazz when i take him out some days but it's mostly just him trying to sit on my head or stand straight up in the air. He generally doesn't try to run unless he gets close to his cage. Then he will go for his cage as he seems to really love his cage lol.

But each snake is different. Yours is more dwarf than mine where as mine is more mainland so that could also play into the overall attitude. 

Also i looked at Caesar and i did find spurs. he wasn't pleased at all. I don't think he felt like coming out. He was more than happy to go back into his cage and then just went to the warm side and looked at me...giving me the stink eye haha.

Oh forgot to mention, i have had Caesar shove my hand away from his body when I've tried to pick him up. I'm guessing thats his way of saying 'leave me alone'. But i usually just pick him up anyways and he just gives me stink eye lol.

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## Gio

> Oh i know a bite from any snake that is 6'+ is not going to be fun and could require stitches. I'm just saying, if your snake is mellow at a young age, they generally mellow out even more with age as babies tend to be flighty and/or bitey. Like for me, I've never been bit by Caesar. Only time he ever got mad was when i introduced a hook to him as a baby. He hissed and opened his mouth, very angry. Since then i use a twisted paper towel to boop his snoot and he immediately either lays down on the cage floor or backs up into his hide a little. Now feeding day is different as Caesar turns into a demon when he smells food lol. I've had to use the sliding glass door on his cage as a shield once.
> 
> As for speed, he might calm down with age. I mean Caesar is a spazz when i take him out some days but it's mostly just him trying to sit on my head or stand straight up in the air. He generally doesn't try to run unless he gets close to his cage. Then he will go for his cage as he seems to really love his cage lol.
> 
> But each snake is different. Yours is more dwarf than mine where as mine is more mainland so that could also play into the overall attitude. 
> 
> Also i looked at Caesar and i did find spurs. he wasn't pleased at all. I don't think he felt like coming out. He was more than happy to go back into his cage and then just went to the warm side and looked at me...giving me the stink eye haha.
> 
> Oh forgot to mention, i have had Caesar shove my hand away from his body when I've tried to pick him up. I'm guessing thats his way of saying 'leave me alone'. But i usually just pick him up anyways and he just gives me stink eye lol.


Damn I'm going to have to check Wallace again. My first investigation seemed to yield nothing in the way of spurs.

I would be floored if he was was a she.

Kris is not somebody who would make that mistake.

I'm guessing I'm missing them and Wallace is too busy to let me find them.

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## Sauzo

> Damn I'm going to have to check Wallace again. My first investigation seemed to yield nothing in the way of spurs.
> 
> I would be floored if he was was a she.
> 
> Kris is not somebody who would make that mistake.
> 
> I'm guessing I'm missing them and Wallace is too busy to let me find them.


Well Caesar's aren't huge but you can see them for sure. I mean it might be easier to spot on Caesar simply because his belly is bright white so anything stands out on his belly.

And it wasn't very easy either as like i said, Caesar didn't want to come out tonight and then add to that, I'm grabbing his tail and flipping it over, he was less than amused. He let me know when he got back in the cage with the glaring stink eye he gave me when he back to his warm side haha.

But Kris could have made a mistake. I mean it does happen to even the experts. For me though, my situation was a little different. I originally ordered a white albino from him but when he went to pack it the next morning, it had a scrape on the nose from rubbing so he didn't want to sell it to me like that. He said that was his last male of the white albinos but he could send me another different snake. I told him i really wanted a white tiger het snow but didnt have the $750 handy at the moment. He said, don't worry as i already sent him the $400 so he said he'd find me an awesome male white tiger het snow and send him to me. That's when he sent me Caesar and told me he eats anything anytime which he does. I bet he was happy to sell Caesar as that snake will eat you out of house and home lol although he has gotten mellower with food recently.

Oh and worst case, you could just take him into your vet for sexing. I took Dottie into my vet to get sexed as she was sold to me as a she but i had my doubts. Well my vet told me she is indeed a she.

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## Gio

> Well Caesar's aren't huge but you can see them for sure. I mean it might be easier to spot on Caesar simply because his belly is bright white so anything stands out on his belly.
> 
> And it wasn't very easy either as like i said, Caesar didn't want to come out tonight and then add to that, I'm grabbing his tail and flipping it over, he was less than amused. He let me know when he got back in the cage with the glaring stink eye he gave me when he back to his warm side haha.
> 
> But Kris could have made a mistake. I mean it does happen to even the experts. For me though, my situation was a little different. I originally ordered a white albino from him but when he went to pack it the next morning, it had a scrape on the nose from rubbing so he didn't want to sell it to me like that. He said that was his last male of the white albinos but he could send me another different snake. I told him i really wanted a white tiger het snow but didnt have the $750 handy at the moment. He said, don't worry as i already sent him the $400 so he said he'd find me an awesome male white tiger het snow and send him to me. That's when he sent me Caesar and told me he eats anything anytime which he does. I bet he was happy to sell Caesar as that snake will eat you out of house and home lol although he has gotten mellower with food recently.
> 
> Oh and worst case, you could just take him into your vet for sexing. I took Dottie into my vet to get sexed as she was sold to me as a she but i had my doubts. Well my vet told me she is indeed a she.


I'll re-examine Wallace. It would really suck if he was a female. I don't think he is based on his feeding habits but as you said it can and does happen. 

I love the coloring and pattern on him. His head is starting to yellow up.

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## Sauzo

> I'll re-examine Wallace. It would really suck if he was a female. I don't think he is based on his feeding habits but as you said it can and does happen. 
> 
> I love the coloring and pattern on him. His head is starting to yellow up.


Well, Cloud's female retic eats like Wallace. I think she feeds once every couple weeks and her female has actually refused food a couple times i believe she said. But from the size, i doubt it's a female. I mean you said he's 5' and will be 1 year in June. I think Phyllis was over 6' in her first year and Caesar is 6' or a little more and he will be 1 year old next month on the 18th. You do feed conservatively though. A small rat once every 10-14 days vs Caesar gets a large rat every 7 days. I'm just kind of surprised Wallace is 5' already though from that small of feedings. By contrast, I'm kind of surprised Caesar isn't bigger from his large rat once a week lol.

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_Stearns84_ (04-20-2017)

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## Gio

> Well, Cloud's female retic eats like Wallace. I think she feeds once every couple weeks and her female has actually refused food a couple times i believe she said. But from the size, i doubt it's a female. I mean you said he's 5' and will be 1 year in June. I think Phyllis was over 6' in her first year and Caesar is 6' or a little more and he will be 1 year old next month on the 18th. You do feed conservatively though. A small rat once every 10-14 days vs Caesar gets a large rat every 7 days. I'm just kind of surprised Wallace is 5' already though from that small of feedings. By contrast, I'm kind of surprised Caesar isn't bigger from his large rat once a week lol.


I guess we'll see soon enough. I'm not sure if I'll take him out today or not. It will have to be early because he's getting food later on.

Such a goofball. Look at the face here. Sneaky little fella.

"I'm going to make this photo session as irritating as possible for you!"  LOL!

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## jmcrook

> I guess we'll see soon enough. I'm not sure if I'll take him out today or not. It will have to be early because he's getting food later on.
> 
> Such a goofball. Look at the face here. Sneaky little fella.
> 
> "I'm going to make this photo session as irritating as possible for you!"  LOL!


Hahaha photo shoots with retics are a pain! Nonstop squirrelly movement at all times 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (04-21-2017)

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## Gio

It was one of those "I wish I had the camera" moments. Wallace ate again tonight. 13 days between his last meal and tonight. I like that, and the fact he isn't a wild man like Caesar, although I dig Caesar's mojo. He's probably a relation to Wallace and Sauzo and I have the Vital Exotics, retics at the same time bond LOL!

Anyhow, Wallace had a really neat feeding. He struck and ate from the perches. Nothing touched the ground.

I can't wait until he gets his big enclosure. I still love the looks of the AP's don't think I'm anti AP, but Ed at Constrictors NW is not only a great guy, he's a phone and internet friend as well. 

Wallace's Pro-Line cage will be every bit as awesome as any cage out there and I'm so familiar with setting them up it will make my life easy. And,,,, the price,,, forget about it!

I've have a strange batch of snakes here. My son's royal is a good girl but is going on 3 months without food. My coastal carpet is another crappy eater and is about 2 months between meals. She is getting big though and her mother was a 10 footer.

My eaters are the males. Sniper the boa will almost always eat but I usually feed him monthly. Wallace could easily eat more at a sitting, but I don't want him huge. A 9 footer would be a dream! I like big, but with retics and my situation, too big is an issue. 

If my wife was into it, a 10, 11, 12 and maybe even 13 foot snake would be acceptable.


OK back to Wallace. He was fun to watch eat tonight.

Photo not from tonight.

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_Sauzo_ (04-21-2017)

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## Sauzo

Lol i got the opposite problem here. All my snakes love to eat too much haha. They all go absolutely bat poop when it's dinner time. The big boas sit in a coiled spring 'S', Vicky's pupils get HUGE. Caesar is just going back and forth on the litter dam, Luna is popped out of her hide, Rango is perked up out of his aspen and Gina just lifts her head a little. She's about the mellowest one until you get the mouse kind of near her. Then like i said before she shoots up in the general area of the mouse with mouth open and flailing back and forth like Ray Charles until she latches on or about 5 secs go by lol. Then she closes her mouth and looks at me. I then move the mouse by her face and its game over lol. If she feeds like as an adult, I'll be using the glass door as a shield like i do with Caesar sometimes haha.

And i cant wait for my cages either!! I ordered 2 AP T25s and a stand. Still debating on who gets the 2nd cage, Caesar or Vicky. Rosey is a given as she is my biggest girl by about 6" compared to Caesar but I've had her the longest and if i had to pick a favorite, she would probably win. She is such a sweetie and always fine to be dragged out and messed with lol. Although like i said, Gina has the same personality as Rosey. I can even reach in over Gina's head and scoop her up and all she does is flick her tongue on my hand lol. The breeder was right when he told me i would happily surprised with how calm and docile the Rio Bravo Pokigrons are except during feeding time.

And heck, i'd be happy to give you some Caesar mojo lol. He has too much. The guy is pretty much out front in his cage probably 80% of the time just laying on the litter dam or half in a hide half stretched out across the front floor. Then you walk by or up to his cage and he stands up to see whats going on haha.

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Gio (04-21-2017)

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## Gio

All is good here. I think if I offered Wallace more he would take more. He just doesn't demand more like Caesar.

My carpet if pissing me off as I type I just thawed a quail in hopes she'd take a whack at it, but its going to be garbage by morning.

I love her because she is so darn entertaining, but I really have a dislike for non feeders.

She usually ends up pissing me off more than the royal. I expect the royal to refuse, but not a coastal carpet python.

Wallace is pretty busy tonight after his meal. I will bump him up in prey size after his first B-day June, 1.

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## Gio

I've been waiting for a nice day and a decent prop to update the progression thread. This is a SD X Dwarf Reticulated Python with the following genetic package, 100% Het snow (Purple Albino & Anery) He is 37.5% SD 43.75% Dwarf and 18.75% Mainland. His name is Wallace and he finally got his day in the sun.

Enjoy these:


It isn't exactly warm, but it was warm enough and he was easy to take out today.


I think this guy absolutely glows outdoors.


He acts like a king! Plenty confident these days IMO and rather easy to deal with.


Head scalation and crazy eyes.


Thanks for checking out Wallace!

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_dboeren_ (05-02-2017),_jmcrook_ (05-02-2017),_redshepherd_ (05-02-2017),_Reinz_ (05-02-2017),_Stearns84_ (05-02-2017)

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## dboeren

Awesome looking pics!

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## Gio

> Awesome looking pics!


Thanks,

Outdoor shots are my favorites as they show the real coloring!

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## dboeren

Yes, it's often hard to capture accurate colors on snakes, and even moreso for ones that have an iridescent look to them.

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## Reinz

That sun sure does make him shine!  Such a beautiful boy! :Smile:

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Gio (05-02-2017),_Stearns84_ (05-02-2017)

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## Gio

> I've been waiting for a nice day and a decent prop to update the progression thread. This is a SD X Dwarf Reticulated Python with the following genetic package, 100% Het snow (Purple Albino & Anery) He is 37.5% SD 43.75% Dwarf and 18.75% Mainland. His name is Wallace and he finally got his day in the sun.
> 
> Enjoy these:
> 
> 
> It isn't exactly warm, but it was warm enough and he was easy to take out today.
> 
> 
> I think this guy absolutely glows outdoors.
> ...






Thanks guys, the perch was key. I like using the perch for a prop as he would take off if he was put down flat someplace.

I still like to link this post as I feel retics are far more arboreal (semi arboreal) than given credit for being.
http://www.reptilescanada.com/showth...thon-behaviour

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## EL-Ziggy

Magnifique mon ami.  :Wink:

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Gio (05-03-2017)

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## jmcrook

That is a damn fine looking tiger my friend! Sunlight really changes his appearance dramatically!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (05-03-2017)

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## Gio

> That is a damn fine looking tiger my friend! Sunlight really changes his appearance dramatically!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks brother. 
Get your crew out for some outdoor shots. The prop seems to keep the from fleeing. 
I have to get the boa, carpet and royal out soon.

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_jmcrook_ (05-03-2017),_Stearns84_ (05-03-2017)

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## jmcrook

> Thanks brother. 
> Get your crew out for some outdoor shots. The prop seems to keep the from fleeing. 
> I have to get the boa, carpet and royal out soon.


Will do after it warms back up again, in the middle of a rainy cool streak here in mid Missouri. I'll definitely need a helping hand to get photos of Phyllis anymore. She's definitely a two hands and over the shoulder snake at this point. Sturdy 7' and approaching just shy of the thickness of my wrist at her widest girth. 
Gerald is pretty content to just cling to my hand when he's out so he's much easier to photograph. I may try your perch prop method with him. No way I'm setting him down anywhere, he'd be gone before I could blink lol
Geoffrey the royal would much rather be under his hide than do anything else, let alone picture sessions haha. Last night he did eat for the second week in a row since November, so maybe he'll be back to his normal self for the spring/summer soon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Gio

> Will do after it warms back up again, in the middle of a rainy cool streak here in mid Missouri. I'll definitely need a helping hand to get photos of Phyllis anymore. She's definitely a two hands and over the shoulder snake at this point. Sturdy 7' and approaching just shy of the thickness of my wrist at her widest girth. 
> Gerald is pretty content to just cling to my hand when he's out so he's much easier to photograph. I may try your perch prop method with him. No way I'm setting him down anywhere, he'd be gone before I could blink lol
> Geoffrey the royal would much rather be under his hide than do anything else, let alone picture sessions haha. Last night he did eat for the second week in a row since November, so maybe he'll be back to his normal self for the spring/summer soon.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'll keep my eyes open. We are in a warm streak here although day before yesterday it was snowing.

I'm very pleased with the prop I used. I didn't think I'd get this guy outside without him being a bolter.

He even allowed for some photo variation and let my try a few different views. Too bad this one is a tad blurry.



I don't think I'll lay him in the grass any time soon though. I still feel he'd make a break for it. The perch will do for a while yet.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (05-04-2017),_jmcrook_ (05-03-2017),_Reinz_ (05-03-2017),_Stearns84_ (05-03-2017)

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## Gio

Things are going very well.

Wallace seems to be growing at the desired pace I was shooting for and what I was told he'd likely progress at.

He's a 1 year old snake, June, 1st. I am still feeding small rats every 10-14 days with zero behavior problems. Only today has he finally started reacting to movements in front of the cage. I will be bumping him up to medium rats and quail when he hits his 1st B-day.

Warmer weather, increased daylight and age are getting him going.

He has be wonderful to handle since a few spraying incidents early on. The only accidental, defensive bite was not a bad experience. I actually am better having gone through incident, as I know what to expect and how BIG his mouth opens. The species certainly has one of the, if not the, largest mouth gapes in the snake world. The little ones are quite capable of opening wide.

He's 5+ feet. Maybe 5.5, though he's not really measurable so I'm a bit on the give or take there, but not by a lot.

The combination of SD and dwarf blood seem to be working in concert with his male, gender and keeping him very manageable as far as the size. He is a mover when he's being handled, but there are times when he sits still. I find he either starts out a bit crazy and settles, or he starts out mellow and gets antsy after 15-20 minutes.

I will be curious to see what the start of his second year brings. Another 3-4 feet and some thickness is what I'm expecting. 

The guy takes a nice picture when he's ready to pose. Here are a couple in the evening light from yesterday.

This one brings out his SD green coloring. These guys do tend to change color a bit throughout the day it seems.


This one shows some nice head scales and another look at the peepers, well one of them anyhow.

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_BR8080_ (05-13-2017),_jmcrook_ (05-08-2017),_Reinz_ (05-08-2017)

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## Reinz

Nice write up Gio. You really seem to have a handle on things with Wallace. Kind of like y'all have an understanding of one another. Beautiful animal!

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Gio (05-08-2017)

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## Gio

> Nice write up Gio. You really seem to have a handle on things with Wallace. Kind of like y'all have an understanding of one another. Beautiful animal!


Thank you sir!
I'm working with him and learning the species. I certainly want to keep him manageable as I have to look 20, maybe more years down the road. My kids won't be here to help eventually and my wife just isn't into the reptile scene. 

I think I have a nice variety of species here and Wallace is the most "advanced" keep I have here.

I missed one other picture I wanted to post. This shows the other side of his head. 



I will say with the right lighting conditions and shot distance, the I-Phone 7+ takes some nice photos.

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_jmcrook_ (05-08-2017),_Reinz_ (05-08-2017)

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## Gio

The switch has flicked.

I've been trying to keep Wallace on small rats for his first year. Tonight he is on the 7 day mark, and I'm upping him to two smalls. These will be the last small rats he eats. His 1st Birthday is June, 1 and I feel I've done an adequate job keeping him healthy and feeding him smaller sized prey. It is important to me that he does not get too large. He is a snake I have to look at keeping 20 years down the road. So far he seems on target for 8-10" which I feel is handleable if the girth is 40 pounds or so. I'd be secure with a 50 pound boa constrictor, but retics are a different bag of tricks. Those of you who own them know what I'm speaking of. 

They are not bad, or mean. Wallace is actually quite social these days however with the speed of these guys a mistake is more serious than a mistake with a boa or carpet. 

I don't anticipate Wallace needing more than 1 large rat every 10-14 days or a large quail equivalent. 

After a long go on smalls I'm bumping him to two rats tonight and then after June, 1, medium rats. The new large rats I get here are much smaller than the old ones so large is an option as well.

He's doing great, its time to feed him a bit more now.

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## EL-Ziggy

Sounds like he's right on schedule Gio. Time flies and they grow fast. You're doing a great job with him bud. I'm looking forward to seeing him thrive for many years to come.  :Wink:

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Gio (05-13-2017),_jmcrook_ (05-13-2017)

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## Gio

> Sounds like he's right on schedule Gio. Time flies and they grow fast. You're doing a great job with him bud. I'm looking forward to seeing him thrive for many years to come.


Nice comment Zig and encouraging. 
Thank you sir!

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## Gio

The boy skipped medium rats and plunged into larges yesterday.

I was planning on feeding the smalls for a little longer, but after the royal refused, yet again, I sent the rat over to the carpet who refused as well. I was not up for feeding the boa another live large rat so I let Wallace have a go at it. It was over quickly and he was fine with the size.

I won't necessarily keep the larges going every time, but the option is there now.

He hits a year old June 1 and after I drain the remaining small rats here, I'll be feeding large rats and the quail equivalent probably every 14 days.

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_jmcrook_ (05-22-2017),_Sauzo_ (05-22-2017)

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## jmcrook

Dang! They grow up so quickly lol! Wallace is such a great looking animal. I'm sure he looks like he tanked a football about now hahah


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Sauzo

> The boy skipped medium rats and plunged into larges yesterday.
> 
> I was planning on feeding the smalls for a little longer, but after the royal refused, yet again, I sent the rat over to the carpet who refused as well. I was not up for feeding the boa another live large rat so I let Wallace have a go at it. It was over quickly and he was fine with the size.
> 
> I won't necessarily keep the larges going every time, but the option is there now.
> 
> He hits a year old June 1 and after I drain the remaining small rats here, I'll be feeding large rats and the quail equivalent probably every 14 days.


Haha welcome to the club. Caesar pounds larges like they are a candy bar. They actually only leave a small lump in him. And you're lucky you can get 14 days out of Wallace. Caesar makes it known when he wants food. Lat night was day 7 and he was PISSED lol. He shoved his giant dog bowl water bowl all over, shoved both hides around and destroyed everything. I woke up to piles of aspen, hides spun around and shoved under the shelves and his water bowl shoved in the warm corner under his shelf. 

He also learned how to hold the litter dam and slide down the cage stack to the floor and then release his tail and go exploring haha. I had the door open and was watching tv. And i look to see Caesar on the floor sitting next to the cages all stretched out haha. Put him back and within 15 mins, he was doing it again.

And same here, my BP hasnt eaten since like early February. I just offer her one a week and if she isnt grabbing it in 2 mins, Caesar gets a small rat also. Dont really have the patience anymore for picky eaters lol. Get 2 mins to decide or you go hungry for a week.

Kind of weird your carpet refuses food. Allie used to attack me all the time but one thing she had going for her, she ate like a freakin horse lol.

Sometimes i wish Caesar was more laid back like Wallace for food lol. He isnt as bad as when he was a baby but he definitely lets you know when he wants dinner.

On a side note, I have begun working with being able to pet him on the head lol. Sometimes he's good about it and other times, he's like 'why are you touching my head!!' and he turns around and wanders off. The boas are all good about it and i can pet Rosey or Vicky on the head and even hold it without much if any fuss. Gina is pretty good about it too but Rango is like Caesar, some days ok, some days, he just turns around and wanders off lol.

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C.Marie (03-02-2018),Gio (05-23-2017)

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## Gio

> Haha welcome to the club. Caesar pounds larges like they are a candy bar. They actually only leave a small lump in him. And you're lucky you can get 14 days out of Wallace. Caesar makes it known when he wants food. Lat night was day 7 and he was PISSED lol. He shoved his giant dog bowl water bowl all over, shoved both hides around and destroyed everything. I woke up to piles of aspen, hides spun around and shoved under the shelves and his water bowl shoved in the warm corner under his shelf. 
> 
> He also learned how to hold the litter dam and slide down the cage stack to the floor and then release his tail and go exploring haha. I had the door open and was watching tv. And i look to see Caesar on the floor sitting next to the cages all stretched out haha. Put him back and within 15 mins, he was doing it again.
> 
> And same here, my BP hasnt eaten since like early February. I just offer her one a week and if she isnt grabbing it in 2 mins, Caesar gets a small rat also. Dont really have the patience anymore for picky eaters lol. Get 2 mins to decide or you go hungry for a week.
> 
> Kind of weird your carpet refuses food. Allie used to attack me all the time but one thing she had going for her, she ate like a freakin horse lol.
> 
> Sometimes i wish Caesar was more laid back like Wallace for food lol. He isnt as bad as when he was a baby but he definitely lets you know when he wants dinner.
> ...


 No doubt they slam them down!  Large was easy. Our royal has skipped food since January 8. I don't ever get concerned. The carpet likes every 2 months. She wired for it I guess. 

Boa will get big rabbit soon. 

Wallace is ok with head touching he's been nice lately. No musk or any antics. 
Big cage still in the works. He's fine in his small so far. I'll try to measure him on June 1.  Think 5.5 is about right. But after the large he may shoot up.

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## Sauzo

Yeah he'll probably have a growth spurt when he gets on larges. I've been thinking of trying a jumbo for Caesar. I dont know the sizes you others are offering but a large from the place i go to is about 230G, maybe 250G. And like i said, those leave a small lump in Caesar and afterwards, he is still out and about. The first time he ate a large where it put a very noticeable lump in him was one of the few times where i saw him really content and just curled up on his warm side and looked happy lol.

Wow, your BP is more of a problem eater than mine haha. She was such a good eater as a baby too. Ate every 3-4 days, then once a week like clockwork. Now ever since she became an adult, she goes months without food. Weighed her last night and she is still 1625G.

And yeah, the 3 T25s are in the works right now as well. They should ship around mid July. Then it will be major rearranging of the cages.

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## NibblerGP

OMG, he is beautiful. Give him a boop for me....lol

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530A using Tapatalk

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Gio (06-01-2017)

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## Gio

> OMG, he is beautiful. Give him a boop for me....lol
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G530A using Tapatalk


Thanks for the kind words. I hadn't checked this in a while.

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## Gio

OK,

As far as owning this species, I'm happy with the experience so far. 

Wallace just hit the 1 year mark today and he's still around 5 1/2 feet long. The nearly 50% amount of SD blood and the 30+% of dwarf blood are playing a role. He is only 18% mainland however he's Tiger which seems to be a gene that includes size.

Enough of the small talk, he's been great and I'm happy to have him. Unfortunately he's in the final stages of shed so I don't have a "Today photo" but I have one I don't think I've posted here yet.

Happy Birthday semi little guy!

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_jmcrook_ (06-01-2017),_Reinz_ (06-01-2017),_Sauzo_ (06-01-2017)

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## Sauzo

Yeah, Wallace is a lot more super dwarf/dwarf than Caesar and it shows. Caesar is easily 6.5' if not more and ate his first jumbo rat Sunday. He powered that thing down and seemed very happy afterwards. Wasnt all looking around for food still like with large rats and has been very quiet the past few days other than stretching out to relax and calmly looking at me when i walk by lol. Caesar is 31% mainland. I think he's going to be kind of a big boy. Hopefully he doesnt outgrow a 6' cage haha.

Nice little 'picture stick'. I need to make something for Caesar. Funny thing is Caesar actually seems scared of the outdoors haha. Rosey and Gina explore, Luna just lounges, Rango and Vicky hold onto the chair thinking they are going to fall and Caesar wraps around me and just sits there haha. Never would have imagined the biggest snake as being the chicken lol.

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Gio (06-01-2017)

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## Gio

Caesar is easily a foot longer I'm guessing, however I'm not able to measure Wallace at all. He is the one snake here that will not sit still if place flat on the floor. When he decides to go it is fast and I'm not too keen on chasing him around.

He is much larger than any of the other snakes I have here at this age which I expected based on the natural growth rate of the species. I'm expecting a 10 footer, and unless Caesar slows down a great deal, I'd guess he'll be 12'-13'. He is almost double the mainland % as Wallace.

The large rat Wallace had was enough to push a shed cycle, so he seems to be responding growth rate wise according to the prey size jump.

I was hoping he would have shed this morning for a picture or two.

I think Caesar would like a prop and would be fine outdoors.

Keep me posted on his "goings on" and I'll do the same with Wallace.

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## Sauzo

Lol i hope he doesnt hit 13'. I'd be happy with 10'. He just over a year old so hopefully he'll slow down. He doesnt seem to be putthing on the length like when he was a baby. He is definitely thickening up. You can see it in his neck and body. Not the skinny little worm anymore. He's probably a good 2-2.5" thick at the widest. He's at least as big as Rosey but about half the thickness.

And yeah Caesar is the same about when he wants to move, he moves. It's really evident when he doesnt want play time. He will do everything in his power to get away from me, be it go to the floor and crawl off or stretch out and try to get back into his cage lol. He never gets a bad attitude though. Just doesnt want to sit on me when he wants alone time or he will bat my hand away with his body when i reach in and pet him if he doesnt want to be bothered lol. He is definitely a much more active and faster moving snake than any of my boas.

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## Gio

> Lol i hope he doesnt hit 13'. I'd be happy with 10'. He just over a year old so hopefully he'll slow down. He doesnt seem to be putthing on the length like when he was a baby. He is definitely thickening up. You can see it in his neck and body. Not the skinny little worm anymore. He's probably a good 2-2.5" thick at the widest. He's at least as big as Rosey but about half the thickness.
> 
> And yeah Caesar is the same about when he wants to move, he moves. It's really evident when he doesnt want play time. He will do everything in his power to get away from me, be it go to the floor and crawl off or stretch out and try to get back into his cage lol. He never gets a bad attitude though. Just doesnt want to sit on me when he wants alone time or he will bat my hand away with his body when i reach in and pet him if he doesnt want to be bothered lol. He is definitely a much more active and faster moving snake than any of my boas.


I agree, the "body bucking" is interesting. My other snakes will crawl off or make an effort to stay in their cages when not interested in coming out.

Wallace bucks like a horse and if you are not used to it, like I wasn't I was expecting a bite to follow. Now I'm used to the behavior.


I may resort to a string type measurement soon. The Serpent Widget used to be the answer but I've had results differ greatly when using the same snake and I'm not sold on it just yet.

I think he may shed tonight.

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## Sauzo

> I agree, the "body bucking" is interesting. My other snakes will crawl off or make an effort to stay in their cages when not interested in coming out.
> 
> Wallace bucks like a horse and if you are not used to it, like I wasn't I was expecting a bite to follow. Now I'm used to the behavior.
> 
> 
> I may resort to a string type measurement soon. The Serpent Widget used to be the answer but I've had results differ greatly when using the same snake and I'm not sold on it just yet.
> 
> I think he may shed tonight.


Haha, yeah the first time Caesar shoved my hand away, i kind of freaked out. Now I'm used to it. Most of the time when i remove his hide if he's inside and then pet him, he gets all pissy by shoving my hand away. I take it as his way of say 'why are you bothering me'.

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## Gio

I was able to get some sub par pictures 2 days after Wallace hit the year mark. He shed the day after he turned one, took a big dump and was ready for a night out.

I hung out with him on the sofa for a while, and then put him back in the cage. I was replacing some of his plants and moving a few things in the cage and his mind snapped to feeding mode. He went after me twice with a nice wide open mouth.  I made good use of the snake hook and finished my arranging tasks.

I gave him an hour and decided he should eat.

Wallace was fed last night, and I took pictures today. His coloring was great post shed, but the day after eating it was not.

Here is MR. Birthday anyhow.

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_jmcrook_ (06-04-2017),_Reinz_ (06-05-2017),_Sauzo_ (06-04-2017),_Stearns84_ (06-05-2017)

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## Sauzo

Happy B-Day Wallace!  :Smile:

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Gio (06-05-2017)

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## Artemisace

Wallace is definitely a beautiful boy, you and Sauzo make me want a tiger lol 😂 I love all the talk about adult sizes and feeding regimes in this thread, great conversations here

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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Gio (06-08-2017)

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## Sauzo

> Wallace is definitely a beautiful boy, you and Sauzo make me want a tiger lol 😂 I love all the talk about adult sizes and feeding regimes in this thread, great conversations here
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


Only feeding regime i got is when Caesar starts destroying his cage and i wake up to a water bowl, hide and aspen all shoved to one side and him sitting in the front of the cage staring at me lol. This usually happens around day 8  :Very Happy:

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_Artemisace_ (06-06-2017)

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## Artemisace

> Only feeding regime i got is when Caesar starts destroying his cage and i wake up to a water bowl, hide and aspen all shoved to one side and him sitting in the front of the cage staring at me lol. This usually happens around day 8


Lol 😂 that's retics for you, although I have a corn snake that does that every now and then. Then she'll stare at me like, clean me now human lol

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

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_Sauzo_ (06-06-2017)

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## Gio

I've got a nice, well behaved retic here. Never pushes, never ruins his cage and doesn't defecate too often. I feed every 2 weeks. Wallace is a year old now, and has only eaten 1 large rat. He's been on smalls since I got him in September. No outward signs of hunger.

He's a slow grower but does have some size. He's around 5.5 feet maybe a bit longer now. He's a tough one to measure.

He's only 18 something percent mainland so I'm somewhat confident he'll mature around 8'-9'.

These are similar pictures with slightly different lighting.




He's got a lot of speed but he's mellowed so much since I got him.

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_jmcrook_ (06-08-2017),_Sauzo_ (06-08-2017)

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## Sauzo

What is this 'well mannered snake' you speak of!!?? I think it's a myth lol. Heck Caesar is actually quiet and guess what.....now Rosey has destroyed her cage. She shoved her water bowl, spun the hide around and pushed the aspen. Their hides make this screeching noise as they push them across the cage floor. Drives me up a wall haha. Guess it's feeding day or very close for Rosey lol.

Wallace looks like a well mannered little man. I'm sending my snakes over to him for lessons lol.

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Gio (06-08-2017)

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## Gio

> What is this 'well mannered snake' you speak of!!?? I think it's a myth lol. Heck Caesar is actually quiet and guess what.....now Rosey has destroyed her cage. She shoved her water bowl, spun the hide around and pushed the aspen. Their hides make this screeching noise as they push them across the cage floor. Drives me up a wall haha. Guess it's feeding day or very close for Rosey lol.
> 
> Wallace looks like a well mannered little man. I'm sending my snakes over to him for lessons lol.


Wallace is funny he actually uses his water bowl as a toilet. Its easy to clean, but I have to be on it daily to make sure he has fresh water. I may add another dish so he has a backup.

Sniper is huge these days. I'd say very close to 7 feet now and thicker than a soda can.

ALL are well behaved here, I must get very lucky with my purchases as I've never had the spawn of satan.

Jewel, the coastal started out wild though, but using the branch for handling settled he right down!

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## Sauzo

> Wallace is funny he actually uses his water bowl as a toilet. Its easy to clean, but I have to be on it daily to make sure he has fresh water. I may add another dish so he has a backup.
> 
> Sniper is huge these days. I'd say very close to 7 feet now and thicker than a soda can.
> 
> ALL are well behaved here, I must get very lucky with my purchases as I've never had the spawn of satan.
> 
> Jewel, the coastal started out wild though, but using the branch for handling settled he right down!


Wow Sniper is bigger than Rosey probably then lol. Kind of funny as Rosey is a female too.

The snakes are all angels until they get hungry haha. The ones who let you know are mostly Rosey and Caesar. The others come out and cruise around but they dont spend the whole night destroying their cages like Rosey and Caesar. Maybe they are just too small atm haha. I mean i would bet you couldnt get Rosey to bite you. Even the vet sticking a needle into the lump on her nose to do a culture, Rosey just sat there and didnt move or anything. The vet and nurse were very surprised. The minute they were done though, Rosey spent the whole time trying to get back to me. She wouldnt quit until she was on me, then she wanted to check out the vet and nurse but only from the safety of me lol.

My beardie was the same way. First time she went to the vet, she got so scared, she pooped all over the nurses shoes and exam table and then ran and jumped on me and held onto the front of my shirt lol. The vet joked around with how my 'kids' seem to really love 'dad' lol.

And I hear ya, I got lucky as well as all my snakes are really mellow and laid back except during dinner time lol. Allison was the only one who was a terror and never calmed down  :Sad:

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Gio (06-08-2017)

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## Gio

> Wow Sniper is bigger than Rosey probably then lol. Kind of funny as Rosey is a female too.
> 
> The snakes are all angels until they get hungry haha. The ones who let you know are mostly Rosey and Caesar. The others come out and cruise around but they dont spend the whole night destroying their cages like Rosey and Caesar. Maybe they are just too small atm haha. I mean i would bet you couldnt get Rosey to bite you. Even the vet sticking a needle into the lump on her nose to do a culture, Rosey just sat there and didnt move or anything. The vet and nurse were very surprised. The minute they were done though, Rosey spent the whole time trying to get back to me. She wouldnt quit until she was on me, then she wanted to check out the vet and nurse but only from the safety of me lol.
> 
> My beardie was the same way. First time she went to the vet, she got so scared, she pooped all over the nurses shoes and exam table and then ran and jumped on me and held onto the front of my shirt lol. The vet joked around with how my 'kids' seem to really love 'dad' lol.
> 
> And I hear ya, I got lucky as well as all my snakes are really mellow and laid back except during dinner time lol. Allison was the only one who was a terror and never calmed down


I'll get some Sniper pictures up soon. He needs to shed.

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## Gio

I changed up the feeding a bit today. Wallace has been getting small rats for over 6 month. He's had 1 large. Today, I gave him a small after a 7 day wait and then let him whack a large that the in shed boa refused.

He's going to have to sit it out a bit now. I'm sure he will be the size of Caesar soon LOL!

I'm OK with some size just want him to be a reasonable size for me until my son gets a bit older.

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## BR8080

> I'll get some Sniper pictures up soon. He needs to shed.


Can't wait to see them - I think that tiger pattern is amazing.

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Gio (07-17-2017)

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## Gio

This is a great read.

I have some good pictures of Wallace and his head.


If you look at scalation you can try to find where you retic falls.



Look at the head shots later in the article.

https://www.researchgate.net/publica...from_Indonesia

This is really where my interest lies. I miss Cody here!

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_DLena_ (07-30-2017),_Reinz_ (07-29-2017)

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## Gio

Wallace had a bite tonight.

I figured it was REALLY time when he hit the glass this evening.

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_jmcrook_ (07-31-2017),_Reinz_ (07-31-2017),_Sauzo_ (08-01-2017)

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## Gio

The cage sounds like there is a riot inside of it.

I fed, am actually feeding Wallace a large quail. He can't figure it out and has been throwing a snakey fit trying to find the head LOL!

You should hear the chaos from within the cage. No pictures, and the mental picture of this is better anyhow.

I do have some outside shots though. I think he's catching up to the other in length now. But he's a lean machine.



I love how yellow he gets in the sun!

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_jmcrook_ (08-07-2017)

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## RamMac

He looks awesome Gio. He's grown I see.

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Gio (08-07-2017)

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## Gio

> He looks awesome Gio. He's grown I see.


Thank you, and yes, he has. I'm really not wanting a large boy here, but I can't keep feeding him small rats weekly. I decided to bump him up and he is at his top sized prey items. Large rats, large qual, and maybe, small, small rabbits.

I love the species, they are exciting and fun but there is extra work and caution involved. 

I'm hoping he'll size up like Sauzo's Caesar and get a bit of girth. I could see another foot or two on him, but am not interested in him being overly long.

I think you would have been fine with his brother, but completely understand why you placed him.

You are doing great with your new acquisitions.

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## RamMac

> Thank you, and yes, he has. I'm really not wanting a large boy here, but I can't keep feeding him small rats weekly. I decided to bump him up and he is at his top sized prey items. Large rats, large qual, and maybe, small, small rabbits.
> 
> I love the species, they are exciting and fun but there is extra work and caution involved. 
> 
> I'm hoping he'll size up like Sauzo's Caesar and get a bit of girth. I could see another foot or two on him, but am not interested in him being overly long.
> 
> I think you would have been fine with his brother, but completely understand why you placed him.
> 
> You are doing great with your new acquisitions.


I certainly hope he stays to a size you want. I like checking back on your progression for Wallace. Bitter sweet seeing what an awesome snake he is and knowing I had his clutch mate. What is the extra work you've encountered with Wallace?

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## Gio

> I certainly hope he stays to a size you want. I like checking back on your progression for Wallace. Bitter sweet seeing what an awesome snake he is and knowing I had his clutch mate. What is the extra work you've encountered with Wallace?


More clean up, and sometimes I get annoyed handling him. Usually its good, but occasionally he starts out great and then becomes a juggling act. He's really a good boy for the most part, but I'm very partial to boa constrictors and carpet pythons. 

The extra precaution I have to take is due to the insane feeding response. If it is close to feeding day or shortly after, a noise on the side of the cage will cause a rapid advance to the door. 

Nothing too difficult, but you really do have to stick to protocol to make sure you don't take a bite.

I wish you had the littermate too so we could compare notes, but Sauzo is my man when it comes to the Vital Exotics SD x Dwarf stuff these days.

You keep doing what you are doing, I think your decision was the right move at this stage.

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_jmcrook_ (08-07-2017)

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## RamMac

> More clean up, and sometimes I get annoyed handling him. Usually its good, but occasionally he starts out great and then becomes a juggling act. He's really a good boy for the most part, but I'm very partial to boa constrictors and carpet pythons. 
> 
> The extra precaution I have to take is due to the insane feeding response. If it is close to feeding day or shortly after, a noise on the side of the cage will cause a rapid advance to the door. 
> 
> Nothing too difficult, but you really do have to stick to protocol to make sure you don't take a bite.
> 
> I wish you had the littermate too so we could compare notes, but Sauzo is my man when it comes to the Vital Exotics SD x Dwarf stuff these days.
> 
> You keep doing what you are doing, I think your decision was the right move at this stage.


I follow all of the SD/D threads here. I'm living vicariously through you all in case I end up with another retic in the future.  :Good Job:

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Gio (08-07-2017),_jmcrook_ (08-07-2017)

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## Gio

> I follow all of the SD/D threads here. I'm living vicariously through you all in case I end up with another retic in the future.


At this point your collection is equal to mine with 4 snakes. We differ only in the retic and WL python species we own.

I even have two dogs. I'm pretty satisfied with the amount of pets here.

One more of Wallace that I didn't post when he was out and about the other day.

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_Stearns84_ (08-08-2017)

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## AbsoluteApril

He's looking great!

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Gio (08-08-2017)

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## RamMac

> At this point your collection is equal to mine with 4 snakes. We differ only in the retic and WL python species we own.
> 
> I even have two dogs. I'm pretty satisfied with the amount of pets here.
> 
> One more of Wallace that I didn't post when he was out and about the other day.


Yes, very similar collection. I also care for a crested gecko but he's my son's so I don't include him. WOW... Wallace looks great Gio.

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Gio (08-09-2017)

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## Gio

Options make these guys interesting.

Retics are excellent climbers. Wallace spends most evenings "hanging" out.

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_jmcrook_ (08-25-2017)

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## Gio

At 1 year 3 months old, a male, SD x Dwarf x Mainland reticulated python is very manageable. at least mine is.

I took these pictures to show folks, that a snake in the 6' plus range is still easy to handle.

When I use the term "one hander" this is what I mean.



He's not heavy, and when he's calm he's a breeze to handle. I'll be very curious to see where he's at after he hits the 2 year mark.

If you know who you're buying from, what the genetics of the snake are and what your own limitations are, you certainly should be able to keep and maintain this species.

----------

Addiction (08-26-2017),Craiga 01453 (02-02-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (08-26-2017),_jmcrook_ (08-26-2017)

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## EL-Ziggy

Wallace is looking GREAT Gio. Nice growth too.

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Gio (08-26-2017)

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## Stearns84

Gio, we need updates!

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Gio (12-27-2017)

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## Gio

> Gio, we need updates!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


Sorry I'm very busy with family and activities.

I still have the snakes and all are great.

Here is the latest Wallace picture.

He is maybe 7 feet maybe a tad less and lean and mean.

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_jmcrook_ (12-27-2017),_Stearns84_ (12-27-2017)

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## jmcrook

> Sorry I'm very busy with family and activities.
> 
> I still have the snakes and all are great.
> 
> Here is the latest Wallace picture.
> 
> He is maybe 7 feet maybe a tad less and lean and mean.


He looks smoking Gio! Probably a little bigger than Gerald now


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Gio (12-27-2017)

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## Gio

He's not BIG but may be my longest. 
I have a few more shots of him that are recent.

2 closer up head shots.




And,,,, another arm shot.

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_jmcrook_ (12-27-2017)

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## jmcrook

Now let's see some pics of his new big cage when you've got a chance!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Gio

> Now let's see some pics of his new big cage when you've got a chance!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Partially set up. He has been doing very well in his smaller cage. I WON"T keep him there, but he never pushes or causes any issues. I typically feed him every 3 weeks. 

I have the whole thing in position but need to finish the setup and installation of certain items.

I'll be certain to post when I have everything in place.

My wife and I have been very, very active with one another and our kids. I just need a week of quiet to get things into gear.

The boy is awesome though. 1 year 6 months.

https://imgur.com/YTKEV8w

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_jmcrook_ (12-28-2017)

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## Sauzo

Woah Gio is still around lol. Welcome back. Wallace is almost as big as Caesar now. And yeah, lets see the new cage. On a side not, i pulled the trigger on a Biak GTP lol. Getting his little 15 qt tub set up and should be picking him up next week lol.

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Gio (12-28-2017),_jmcrook_ (12-28-2017),_Stearns84_ (12-29-2017)

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## Gio

> Woah Gio is still around lol. Welcome back. Wallace is almost as big as Caesar now. And yeah, lets see the new cage. On a side not, i pulled the trigger on a Biak GTP lol. Getting his little 15 qt tub set up and should be picking him up next week lol.


Just saw your new little one.

Very pretty!

I'm surprised Wallace is almost the size of Caesar, but Caesar is slowing in growth and probably getting thicker. Wallace is still fairly lean, but somewhat long.

I'm expecting he'll look like JM's gal when he fills out.

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## Sauzo

Yeah Caesar isn't really putting on the length too much but he has definitely filled out. He is easily a 2 handed snake now and even then usually his head and tail hang off my arms. And thanks, I'm pretty excited about the GTP as I've never had one.

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## Gio

The coloring just gets better with age. Eyes, pattern and iridescence all looking good! 

This is the latest picture of Wallace which looks pretty similar to the last picture I posted of him. At 1 year 8 months of age he's roughly 7 feet long and relatively lean.

He's fed approximately every 3 weeks to once a month. He's never pushed a day in his life. I couldn't ask for a better retic as he fits in with the other calm snakes here. Although Wallace will display some spunk at times and can be a bit difficult to remove from his smaller cage, he should enjoy the larger sized palace I'm working on for him.



I'm not on the boards much these days, but I will update when I have time. 

I also check in to see my fellow SD/Dwarf keepers and their animal's progress as we acquired them at roughly the same time.

Be well and thanks for looking!

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_67temp_ (01-31-2018),_BR8080_ (02-01-2018),_CALM Pythons_ (01-31-2018),_jmcrook_ (01-31-2018),_KevinK_ (01-31-2018),_Sauzo_ (02-02-2018)

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## Gio

Finally making a move on the "super cage".

I still have work to do, but I've assembled the units, screwed in the backgrounds and caulked the seams.

Next comes the perch placement and assembly. After that I'll join the two units together. It's essentially two separate cages that bolt together. The nice thing about that is I can quickly break down a large unit (6' x 30" x 2") into two 3 foot units and move it about.

I'm trying something a bit different this go-round. I'm going to use a multiple color, LED light strip. It will allow me to have white/daylight conditions and the blue light night conditions I use.

I have some pretty extensive decor prep that I'll work into the cage, so the final product will not be ready to show for a bit.

So far this is what's up.

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_jmcrook_ (02-02-2018),_Sauzo_ (02-02-2018),_Stearns84_ (02-21-2018)

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## jmcrook

Can't wait to see this all set up! 


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Gio (02-02-2018)

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## Zincubus

Stunning Retic 


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Gio (02-02-2018)

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## RickyNY

Those colors!! Is Wallace the same breed as Gene?

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## Gio

> Those colors!! Is Wallace the same breed as Gene?


Hi,

By "breed" do you mean species, or from the same clutch, or same genetic make-up?

Wallace is a SD/Dwarf Reticulated Python.

His make-up is: Tiger, 100% Het Snow (Purple, Albino & Anery) He's 37.5% SD and 43.75 Dwarf. The rest is Mainland.

He'll be 2 years old June 1st.

Thanks for commenting on his colors. Retics seem to get better with age!

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## RickyNY

Duh Ricky, is not a dog! I mean genetic make up?

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## RickyNY

I found a picture of Gene, and yeah they look different. Thanks Gio  :Good Job:

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Gio (02-02-2018)

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## Craiga 01453

Wallace is looking great!!!  I can't wait to see the finished enclosure. And the pic showing the manageability at 6+feet is great, thanks for sharing.

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Gio (02-02-2018)

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## Gio

Two nights ago I had Wallace out. 
If he's calm he's still a "one hander". 


He didn't stay mellow and I ended up getting a little irritated.
I ended up sitting with him and put a blanket over him and he was content.
This picture shows him heading for the floor.


Beautiful boy.

Our Presa Canario, N'zo. He's 8 years old +. He's in excellent health and has been RAW his whole life.
I figured he'd add some variety to the thread.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (02-22-2018),_jmcrook_ (02-21-2018)

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## CloudtheBoa

Nice!  Wallace is looking good as ever!  That's about the same size River was at that age, but now she's nearly twice the size almost 2 years later. XD  She fell behind because of various issues (which I think you may have saw in my thread), but I'm hoping she'll make up for lost time now that she seems to be back up to speed.

If I have time to sit down when I visit River next, maybe I'll grab a photo of her.  :Smile:   It will have to be a phone pic, because I am not risking taking my DSLR over there. LMAO  The person pet-sitting River and Cloud for me has a couple of dogs, and one of them got ahold of my phone and cracked the screen straight through the heavy duty phone case.  That crack has now translated into a screen-wide shatter after I dropped it last week, and my phone is having to be repaired/replaced...so not gonna chance that with my camera!

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Gio (02-21-2018)

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## Gio

> Nice!  Wallace is looking good as ever!  That's about the same size River was at that age, but now she's nearly twice the size almost 2 years later. XD  She fell behind because of various issues (which I think you may have saw in my thread), but I'm hoping she'll make up for lost time now that she seems to be back up to speed.
> 
> If I have time to sit down when I visit River next, maybe I'll grab a photo of her.   It will have to be a phone pic, because I am not risking taking my DSLR over there. LMAO  The person pet-sitting River and Cloud for me has a couple of dogs, and one of them got ahold of my phone and cracked the screen straight through the heavy duty phone case.  That crack has now translated into a screen-wide shatter after I dropped it last week, and my phone is having to be repaired/replaced...so not gonna chance that with my camera!


He should dramatically slow in growth by June, his 2nd Bday.
I was able to get a rough measurement of him. He's 7 feet and roughly 3-4 inches.

I'm hoping we top at 8.5 to 9 feet.

He has a fair amount of SD in him at 37+% and an even great amount of dwarf 43+%.

I'm happy with his current size and don't foresee feeding him anything more than large rats or quail.

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_jmcrook_ (02-22-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

Wallace looks amazing Gio! Your boy N'zo is a beauty too. PCs are one of my favorite canines. My buddy has a pair and they're pretty badass too but much darker than N'zo.

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Gio (02-22-2018)

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## CloudtheBoa

> He should dramatically slow in growth by June, his 2nd Bday.
> I was able to get a rough measurement of him. He's 7 feet and roughly 3-4 inches.
> 
> I'm hoping we top at 8.5 to 9 feet.
> 
> He has a fair amount of SD in him at 37+% and an even great amount of dwarf 43+%.
> 
> I'm happy with his current size and don't foresee feeding him anything more than large rats or quail.


Ah.  Read the post of him being 6.5' or so, I figured he might still be about that size. XD  River was only an inch or two over 7' on the month of her 2nd birthday, so they're definitely still growing similarly.

River is only about 9' now, and she'll be 4 in Oct.  I fully expect her to grow at least another few feet, now that she appears healthy again, and I'm temporarily feeding her weekly again to make up for her previous issues.  She hasn't really grown any in maybe 6-8 months, but she's still maybe 1.5'+ longer than she was a year ago, she just tends to grow in bursts.

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Gio (02-22-2018)

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## Gio

Wallace took a bath yesterday. I took 2 photos, one with a flash and one without.

He's exceeding size expectations for his SD x Dwarf percentages but he is starting to thicken up and will hit the 2 year mark June, 1 which normally is an age where growth slows significantly.

Flash.



No flash.



Post bath he went for his hide. 


It appears a properly fed and raised retic will still be lean, firm and fit into spaces you wouldn't expect them to fit into at certain lengths.

Handling this species is fun, but not relaxing at least in my limited experience, I find royals, boas and carpet pythons more suited for "hanging around" and relaxing with.

----------

_AbsoluteApril_ (02-27-2018),C.Marie (03-02-2018),_CloudtheBoa_ (02-27-2018),_dakski_ (03-01-2018),_DLena_ (03-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (02-27-2018),_Reinz_ (02-27-2018)

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## Gio

From this:



To This:


The size increase warrants new caging. 

I'm very close to unveiling the new 6' x 30" x 2' naturalistic cage. I plan on finishing things up this weekend and getting the royal moved back into the 
48" x 24" x 14" cage. Wallace has been doing quite well in that one, but having 2 feet of ceiling in the new cage will make getting him out much easier.

They do grow fast!

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C.Marie (03-02-2018),_dakski_ (03-01-2018),_dkatz4_ (03-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-01-2018),_Reinz_ (03-01-2018)

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## dakski

> Wallace took a bath yesterday. I took 2 photos, one with a flash and one without.
> 
> He's exceeding size expectations for his SD x Dwarf percentages but he is starting to thicken up and will hit the 2 year mark June, 1 which normally is an age where growth slows significantly.
> 
> Flash.
> 
> 
> 
> No flash.
> ...


Late to this thread, but wow, pretty boy!

I have heard the same thing about retics taking some work to handle. 

I am happy with my BP and BCI. My corn snake is totally chill, but all over the place in a 650G package. I could not imagine that in something Wallace's size. 

They are supposed to be very intelligent and pretty interactive though. That sounds awesome. 

Anyway, enjoy your big boy and keep us posted on the new setup. 

Very cool!

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Gio (03-01-2018)

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## Gio

Well, I guess motivation took over LOL!

I posted a lot more in the "Caging" forum but he's going in here tomorrow!



Go to the Caging section if you want to see a bit more of this beauty!

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C.Marie (03-02-2018),_CloudtheBoa_ (03-01-2018),_DLena_ (03-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-01-2018),_Prognathodon_ (03-02-2018),_zina10_ (03-02-2018),Zincubus (03-18-2018)

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## Reinz

Beautiful set up!

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Gio (03-01-2018)

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## DLena

Just wow.

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Gio (03-01-2018)

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## C.Marie

A fabulous enclosure for a magnificent snek :Very Happy:  bet he will have a blast exploring his new digs .

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Gio (03-02-2018)

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## Aedryan Methyus

Very pretty boy! What is his locale and percentages?

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## Gio

> Very pretty boy! What is his locale and percentages?


Not really a local, but he's this:

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## Sauzo

You know, i was thinking, its pretty wild how Wallace is the same percent SD as Caesar but higher percent dwarf and lower mainland, yet he's probably close to Caesar's size. And our feeding schedule is like night and day. You feed smaller food once every month where as i feed Caesar an XL guinea pig or jumbo rat every 7-10 days. Just goes to show people, feeding plays a little into it as well as genetics but a lot of it will be due to how much of what gene the snakes 'use'.

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## Gio

> You know, i was thinking, its pretty wild how Wallace is the same percent SD as Caesar but higher percent dwarf and lower mainland, yet he's probably close to Caesar's size. And our feeding schedule is like night and day. You feed smaller food once every month where as i feed Caesar an XL guinea pig or jumbo rat every 7-10 days. Just goes to show people, feeding plays a little into it as well as genetics but a lot of it will be due to how much of what gene the snakes 'use'.


Very true.

I haven't seen prominent spurs on Wallace. I'll check when I can, but I suppose there is an outside chance he could be a she. 

Another thought I have is Wallace has the SD influence from the male side rather than the female, which may or may not influence his size.

He also has that Tiger gene which initially was know for size. He's thickens up a lot and I'm wondering if he is topping off now. 

What exactly does Caesar have in him and what parent is the SD from?



I'll post some new pictures when I can, he loves the new cage and I have that front perch finished now.

It awesome and he LOVES this cage he's all over the perches and it is super entertaining.

He's also big now.

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## Sauzo

> Very true.
> 
> I haven't seen prominent spurs on Wallace. I'll check when I can, but I suppose there is an outside chance he could be a she. 
> 
> Another thought I have is Wallace has the SD influence from the male side rather than the female, which may or may not influence his size.
> 
> He also has that Tiger gene which initially was know for size. He's thickens up a lot and I'm wondering if he is topping off now. 
> 
> What exactly does Caesar have in him and what parent is the SD from?
> ...


Caesar is white albino tiger het snow. I'm actually not sure which parent was a SD. i never asked Kris. He is a big boy as you can see from some of the pics, his head size is pretty huge. And yeah, Caesar has thickened up but he still seems to be growing too but not nearly as much as when he was a baby. I actually havent seen spurs on Caesar but i really havent looked either. Maybe Caesar is a girl too lol. So far he hasnt shown any aggression for wanting a girlfriend. He just seems to want food...

And yeah, Caesar likes to curl up and sleep on top of his shelf.

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Gio (03-03-2018)

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## Gio

> Caesar is white albino tiger het snow. I'm actually not sure which parent was a SD. i never asked Kris. He is a big boy as you can see from some of the pics, his head size is pretty huge. And yeah, Caesar has thickened up but he still seems to be growing too but not nearly as much as when he was a baby. I actually havent seen spurs on Caesar but i really havent looked either. Maybe Caesar is a girl too lol. So far he hasnt shown any aggression for wanting a girlfriend. He just seems to want food...
> 
> And yeah, Caesar likes to curl up and sleep on top of his shelf.


Keep me posted. I believe when the SD is from the female side the eggs and hatchies tend to be smaller down the road.

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## EL-Ziggy

Your critters and enclosures are all top notch Gio! Wallace is looking exceptionally great!  :Smile:

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Gio (03-03-2018)

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## Gio

OK,

Wallace is in his final home and he loves it. The arboreal behaviors went on all night long.


The cage is huge and I can almost fit into it. Its great for cleaning and I can get the snake out easily.

The activity level has increased and I never know where he'll be in the cage.





Having the naturalistic setups makes the whole more enjoyable for me.


Off he goes.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (03-03-2018),_BR8080_ (03-06-2018),_CloudtheBoa_ (03-03-2018),_dakski_ (03-03-2018),_DLena_ (03-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-03-2018),_Prognathodon_ (03-04-2018),_Reinz_ (03-03-2018),_Sauzo_ (03-04-2018),_Stearns84_ (03-03-2018)

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## Valyrian

> Having the naturalistic setups makes the whole more enjoyable for me.


Snake and setup look great. I agree, naturalistic setups are a whole lot more appealing to me than spartan cages and racks.

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Gio (03-03-2018)

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## Reinz

Super fine!  :Smile:

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Gio (03-03-2018)

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## Gio

Wallace had a bite to eat yesterday and then went lurking in the"canopy".

He appears to be utilizing every bit of the new cage at various points of the day. 

The camera doesn't pick up the detail in the lower lighting, it looks much better than this.


The flash somewhat ruins the ambiance of the low light effect, but you obviously see more.




Then we went green.

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_CloudtheBoa_ (03-08-2018),_DLena_ (03-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-08-2018)

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## jmcrook

My god man, that's a great looking enclosure. If I ever get Gerald a 6' cage I'm definitely doing perches like that. I may even make one for Phyllis, though she'd probably break it. She weighed in two days ago at 18.5lbs. Also getting her hides out would be a bit more difficult as she's in the RBI jumbo hides and fills them tight


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Gio (03-09-2018),_Stearns84_ (03-09-2018)

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## Gio

> My god man, that's a great looking enclosure. If I ever get Gerald a 6' cage I'm definitely doing perches like that. I may even make one for Phyllis, though she'd probably break it. She weighed in two days ago at 18.5lbs. Also getting her hides out would be a bit more difficult as she's in the RBI jumbo hides and fills them tight
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


The perches in this cage sans the front one easily weigh 20+ pounds and are the same thickness as railroad ties.

You just need heavy duty closet rod mounts. Your AP cage would easily accept them. AP makes a beautiful cage and I was so close to going that route.

Thanks as always for the nice comment.

I'm looking forward to seeing where Gerald finishes up in growth.

These retics are fun once the routine is figured out.

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_jmcrook_ (03-09-2018)

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## jmcrook

I feel like I've asked before, but where do you get your closet rod mounts and what is the rear perch made of? I know the front is an actual closet dowel and the middle is a large oak branch 


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## Gio

Hey,

I got them at Home Depot. They are “V” shaped in the front and the back is a flat plate with screw holes. I think you can see them in the cage a few posts back here. 

I painted them black with a rubber type paint.

It’s the post in the Caging forum.

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## jmcrook

I'll keep looking. I just can't seem to find that V style bracket anywhere online 


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## Sauzo

> I'll keep looking. I just can't seem to find that V style bracket anywhere online 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Just go with closet rod hangers and drill a hole in the bottom of the hanger and the branch and stick a cotter pin in it to keep them from rolling. After all the research i did for perches for GTPs, big ones for something like a retic would be easy as pie haha. You can just use a single screw to mount the closet rod hanger to the cage wall although i would probably go with a a bolt and nut with big flat washers on each side to distribute out the weight.

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_jmcrook_ (03-09-2018)

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## Sauzo

My question is how did you treat that log? I'm guessing with it being 6 feet, you didnt stuff it in the oven to bake?

And i actually thought about giving the boas and Caesar a stick to climb on too but i would go more simple with just a couple closet rod hangers and probably roughed up PVC with a cotter pin to keep it from rolling in the rod hanger. Then i could just pull the cotter pin and pull the perch out when i did cleanings.

Oh and off topic but figured I'd mention it. If you want to get rid of any funky smell in cages like the retic musk smell and boa pee smell, use live plants in pots. Since putting them in, Caesar's cage smell fresh and floral like when i open the door as well as all the other cages. The live plants really do clean the air inside the cages lol. And Caesar doesnt seem to push as much anymore. He still does here and there at night but overall, he seems to just be more messing with the whole front of the cage vs always just hanging around the air gap between the 2 doors at the center brace. Wonder if they can actually smell their own piss and poop and want to get away lol.

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Gio (03-09-2018)

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## Prognathodon

> Oh and off topic but figured I'd mention it. If you want to get rid of any funky smell in cages like the retic musk smell and boa pee smell, use live plants in pots.


Ok, that means I really need to get the light installed in Bufords cage and get him a plant . . . or three. Hes a Stinking Goddess ratsnake and has a distinctive funk that you get when you open the cage door.   :Smile:

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## Sauzo

> Ok, that means I really need to get the light installed in Bufords cage and get him a plant . . . or three. Hes a Stinking Goddess ratsnake and has a distinctive funk that you get when you open the cage door.


Haha, yeah Caesar had that retic smell to him from all the little pisses he always leaves. But since adding just the one medium/large pothos, the smell is gone. The only downside is caught him and Vicky shoving their beezers into the dirt lol. Both of them had a little dirtclod on their noses haha.

And yeah it works awesome. But if your snake doesnt need high humidity, might not be the best. With just one small 6 inch pot in the T10s and T8s, it keeps humidity around 75-80% with aspen and a big water bowl. The medium/large pothos in probably 8-10 inch pots keep the T25s sitting around 75% with only 1 plant. I do plan add to add another plant to each of the big snakes so they have one on each side. Rosey LOVES her plant and just camps out behind it.

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## Gio

> I'll keep looking. I just can't seem to find that V style bracket anywhere online 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Try this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...5442/202034088

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_jmcrook_ (03-09-2018)

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## Gio

> My question is how did you treat that log? I'm guessing with it being 6 feet, you didnt stuff it in the oven to bake?
> 
> And i actually thought about giving the boas and Caesar a stick to climb on too but i would go more simple with just a couple closet rod hangers and probably roughed up PVC with a cotter pin to keep it from rolling in the rod hanger. Then i could just pull the cotter pin and pull the perch out when i did cleanings.
> 
> Oh and off topic but figured I'd mention it. If you want to get rid of any funky smell in cages like the retic musk smell and boa pee smell, use live plants in pots. Since putting them in, Caesar's cage smell fresh and floral like when i open the door as well as all the other cages. The live plants really do clean the air inside the cages lol. And Caesar doesnt seem to push as much anymore. He still does here and there at night but overall, he seems to just be more messing with the whole front of the cage vs always just hanging around the air gap between the 2 doors at the center brace. Wonder if they can actually smell their own piss and poop and want to get away lol.


Treating the log with a hot water and bleach spray is easy, then a rinse after it dries.

The log sat in my basement for about a year after that. There is no risk of anything from that log. Every cage here has a dead branch or log in it.

Overly sterile enclosures don't have any bacteria, good or bad and an animal that doesn't experience any type of bacteria doesn't have anything in the immune system to deal with potential issues. 

I'm not saying make your cage a living dump, but there are some natural organisms that benefit snakes and other animals and it is completely healthy to keep that immune system working and developing, in your care the live plants are a great idea. Some use bioactive soil that will eventually break down waste.

That is another topic altogether. 

My advice to treat or use large natural branches is to find something not rotting or invaded by insects. Treat it, rinse it and let it sit.

Almost every branch here has been collected, dead and "quarantined" for almost a year, and in some cases longer.

I had the branches long before the cages LOL!


JM,

You can see how I installed them in the first set of pictures.  
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...he-New-Kingdom

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_Reinz_ (03-09-2018),_Sauzo_ (03-09-2018)

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## jmcrook

Ahhhhhhhhh that makes way more sense. I kept looking for closet rod hangers in that shape and couldn't find them. I'm sure those corner brackets are way stronger anyway. Thanks dude!


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Gio (03-09-2018)

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## Gio

> I feel like I've asked before, but where do you get your closet rod mounts and what is the rear perch made of? I know the front is an actual closet dowel and the middle is a large oak branch 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi,

I missed one of your questions. The rear perch is one of these.
https://www.google.com/search?q=gree...M4qxcmSZ8cRXM:

Look down at the open picture.

I wrapped it in twine for a little "vine" look.

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_jmcrook_ (03-09-2018)

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## Reinz

> Treating .................
> .......
> ............
> 
> Overly sterile enclosures don't have any bacteria, good or bad and an animal that doesn't experience any type of bacteria doesn't have anything in the immune system to deal with potential issues. 
> 
> I'm not saying make your cage a living dump, but there are some natural organisms that benefit snakes and other animals and it is completely healthy to keep that immune system working and developing, in your care the live plants are a great idea. Some use bioactive soil that will eventually break down waste.
> 
> That is another topic altogether. 
> ...


I am so glad that you touched on this Gio!

Ive held my tongue for years. There are a lot of folks here, some are OCD types, that think a snakes enclosure must be equivalent to an operating room. 

If that were the case they wouldnt have lasted anywhere near the thousands of years that they have.

----------

_dakski_ (03-09-2018),Gio (03-09-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-09-2018)

----------


## Sauzo

I try to keep my cages fairly clean but Caesar is a disaster. I actually found him sleeping on top of a poop  :Mad: . I had to lift the hide, then deal with a shoving match with him as he didnt want to be woken up or moved so i shoved him, he shoved me. We went on with this for a couple mins until i got him shoved off the turd. Then i was able to spot clean and F10 it. Then i just put the hide back on top of Caesar and let him be lol. He is such a character.

And I'm one of those OCD people Reinz!!! I hate seeing any poop or piss in my snake cages but with Caesar, it's impossible to catch it all. It's like a game to him i think. He sees how many pisses he can hide from me and i see how many i can find quick enough  :Sad: 

On a side note, Pat is going ballistic today. I think i fed him a little small of a meal 2 days ago as he is up in arms atm and any time you go near the front of the cage, he stretches out to investigate flicking his tongue wildly. I think he is hungry. I swear, pythons eat, digest and poop faster than anything lol.

And i thought about doing bioactive. Was going to do it for Pat and still might. The boas would be a bit more work as they kind of tend to bulldoze stuff. They do seem to love potting soil though lol.

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_Reinz_ (03-09-2018)

----------


## Gio

> I try to keep my cages fairly clean but Caesar is a disaster. I actually found him sleeping on top of a poop . I had to lift the hide, then deal with a shoving match with him as he didnt want to be woken up or moved so i shoved him, he shoved me. We went on with this for a couple mins until i got him shoved off the turd. Then i was able to spot clean and F10 it. Then i just put the hide back on top of Caesar and let him be lol. He is such a character.
> 
> And I'm one of those OCD people Reinz!!! I hate seeing any poop or piss in my snake cages but with Caesar, it's impossible to catch it all. It's like a game to him i think. He sees how many pisses he can hide from me and i see how many i can find quick enough 
> 
> On a side note, Pat is going ballistic today. I think i fed him a little small of a meal 2 days ago as he is up in arms atm and any time you go near the front of the cage, he stretches out to investigate flicking his tongue wildly. I think he is hungry. I swear, pythons eat, digest and poop faster than anything lol.
> 
> And i thought about doing bioactive. Was going to do it for Pat and still might. The boas would be a bit more work as they kind of tend to bulldoze stuff. They do seem to love potting soil though lol.


  I don't think Reinz meant not cleaning out waste, although it does become benign rather quickly unless you have overly moist conditions. Hopefully we didn't give anybody the wrong idea. I keep a clean cage, but I also don't fully change substrate more than every 6 months. The winter months are times where feeding is less frequent, once the snakes become older. There is less waste and less activity, especially for the boa and royal.

I use a mix of various natural substrates. Cypress, coco husk, bark, Eco-Earth. When I clean, I remove the soiled areas, and replace with new stuff.

Natural substrate does have some odor defeating qualities, and good absorption. If I were to use paper, I'd likely clean daily. Paper doesn't absorb liquid and doesn't cling to feces. A large, busy animal will certainly "paint" an enclosure quickly if dirty paper or cardboard isn't immediately changed.

My cage decor is clean before I put it in, but I don't go overboard cleaning it weekly or monthly. It doesn't mold/rot or get soiled. If I need to mist, I'll let the humidity spike and then allow it to dry out. That way I don't provide eternally wet conditions.

My point here is that having some natural decor isn't as much work as some folks think. 

It is all about what you are comfortable and what works for you.

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_Reinz_ (03-12-2018)

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## Gio

Sneaky Pete.

I couldn't find him the other night. I started to open the cage and suddenly he appeared.




He's getting his "big boy head". I love the head and neck tie in. You can tell when the head and neck blend in together that they are starting to thicken up.

I noticed he pulled some color off of his head between his eye on his last shed. He's actually under water here.


He should be nice and pretty by his next shed.

----------

_jmcrook_ (03-17-2018),_Reinz_ (03-17-2018)

----------


## Reinz

I love that first pic. Im always fascinated how curious snakes are just as most other animals in the forest are, so to speak. 

Whether popping their head out of the hide or coming up front to great you, theres just something about it, it connects with me. 

Of course the non snake folks think that they are just sizing you up for taste. Its a shame that so many people are so close minded. Fear can be so irrational. 

I like it when head and neck start to blend, a sign of the start of maturing. 

Great snake, great set up there.

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Gio (03-18-2018),_jmcrook_ (03-17-2018)

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## Gio

> I love that first pic. Im always fascinated how curious snakes are just as most other animals in the forest are, so to speak. 
> 
> Whether popping their head out of the hide or coming up front to great you, theres just something about it, it connects with me. 
> 
> Of course the non snake folks think that they are just sizing you up for taste. Its a shame that so many people are so close minded. Fear can be so irrational. 
> 
> I like it when head and neck start to blend, a sign of the start of maturing. 
> 
> Great snake, great set up there.


Thanks for the nice comments. 

I really enjoy watching these guys. The semi arboreal species are entertaining. 
Retics move so quickly. Pretty fun stuff.

----------


## Zincubus

> Well, I guess motivation took over LOL!
> 
> I posted a lot more in the "Caging" forum but he's going in here tomorrow!
> 
> 
> 
> Go to the Caging section if you want to see a bit more of this beauty!


Amazing !

Just don't see why some folk choose to have these in tubs ..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Gio (03-18-2018)

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## Gio

> Amazing !
> 
> Just don't see why some folk choose to have these in tubs ..
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


I think the big, big ones would require some specific details however it would be a lot of fun to see a 16-18 footer 6-8 feet off the floor 

Having a lot of animals limits things Im sure. 

A lot of my enjoyment comes from watching the 4 snakes 🐍 we have here utilize what they are given. 

I find it very ineteresting and entertaining. 👍

----------

Zincubus (03-18-2018)

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## Gio

I finally have some rough stats. Retics are hard to measure. Serpent Widgets can give me 3 different lengths from the same picture so accuracy from that AP seems an estimate in my experience.

I mentioned in another post that we often overestimate the length of our animals when "eyeballing" them and guessing their length.

Wallace shed out the other day and I decided to get a rough estimate of his length. I let the shed dry for a few days, which did allow it to shrink up a bit however the shed wet or dry is still longer than the snake.

Not surprisingly, Wallace wasn't the length I thought he was. I was figuring he was 7' - 7'.6" long. In actuality, the shed was seven feet two inches. Wallace still hasn't hit the seven foot mark. He's close but he's close but not there yet.

He's in wonderful shape and seems to be slowing in growth. 

Here he is enjoying a large F/T rat.





He was eager to slam this one down.


Retics seem to eat faster than any snake I've seen, although colubrids, like Kings make quick work of their meals too!


This rat wasn't visible for long.



I took these pictures with an I-Phone 7+ through the cage glass. They turned out pretty decent.



The boy seems to be comfortable in his cage.



Thanks for looking.

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_jmcrook_ (04-04-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Love the way he looks. What genes does he have. I see the tiger I think? Either way love his looks for sure. Reminds me of Rainbow.

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Gio (04-04-2018)

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## Gio

> Love the way he looks. What genes does he have. I see the tiger I think? Either way love his looks for sure. Reminds me of Rainbow.


Thank you. I like your retic as well.

My fella is this:



I'm not sure why, but the tiger pattern is something found attractive from day one. Nothing fancy, or really "morphish" about it, just love it is all.

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Valyrian (04-04-2018)

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## Valyrian

> Thank you. I like your retic as well.
> 
> My fella is this:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm not sure why, but the tiger pattern is something found attractive from day one. Nothing fancy, or really "morphish" about it, just love it is all.


Looks awesome. I feel the same way, I love the way they look. I've also heard they grow larger than other morphs and have better temperaments. Perfect.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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Gio (04-04-2018)

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## Gio

> Looks awesome. I feel the same way, I love the way they look. I've also heard they grow larger than other morphs and have better temperaments. Perfect.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


Im hoping he stays 9feet or under.  
But thats going to play out how it does. 

I agree the Tiger gene seems to mellow them some.

----------


## Skyrivers

> I’m hoping he stays 9’feet or under.  
> But that’s going to play out how it does. 
> 
> I agree the Tiger gene seems to mellow them some.


Mine is a girl. She will get longer than 9 feet for sure. She was 7 feet when I got her a week and half ago. Her hide is starting to look a little snug. She was lifting it up after eating last night. 2 chicks and 1 medium rat. Chose a smaller rat because of giving her the chicks.

I hope Rainbow stays a good girl. She is so mellow so far.

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Gio (04-04-2018)

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## Gio

> Mine is a girl. She will get longer than 9 feet for sure. She was 7 feet when I got her a week and half ago. Her hide is starting to look a little snug. She was lifting it up after eating last night. 2 chicks and 1 medium rat. Chose a smaller rat because of giving her the chicks.
> 
> I hope Rainbow stays a good girl. She is so mellow so far.


I think she'll be fine.

Usually it's the males that get a little edgy when they get to breeding age, however I think it is more seasonal than constant.

----------


## Skyrivers

> I think she'll be fine.
> 
> Usually it's the males that get a little edgy when they get to breeding age, however I think it is more seasonal than constant.


I think you are correct.

We both will find out with time for sure.

----------


## Sauzo

> Mine is a girl. She will get longer than 9 feet for sure. She was 7 feet when I got her a week and half ago. Her hide is starting to look a little snug. She was lifting it up after eating last night. 2 chicks and 1 medium rat. Chose a smaller rat because of giving her the chicks.
> 
> I hope Rainbow stays a good girl. She is so mellow so far.


Isnt yours a full blood mainland though? Wallace is SD/dwarf with a lower percentage on mainland. 

And Wallace will probably stay under 9 feet. Caesar is higher percent mainland and just from watching him in the cage, i would guess he is about 8 feet and he has to eat every 10 days or so or else he goes ballistic lol.

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Gio (04-04-2018)

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## Team Slytherin

Man, Wallace is looking beautiful! I just love tigers. Very high on my wishlist, then I got bit by the scrub bug. Now I guess Ill have to wait  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):  I can live vicariously through this progression for now!

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Gio (04-04-2018)

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## Gio

> Isnt yours a full blood mainland though? Wallace is SD/dwarf with a lower percentage on mainland. 
> 
> And Wallace will probably stay under 9 feet. Caesar is higher percent mainland and just from watching him in the cage, i would guess he is about 8 feet and he has to eat every 10 days or so or else he goes ballistic lol.


Sauzo is correct. Only small percentage mainland for Wallace.  If you a full mainland female there will be some size.

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## Skyrivers

> Sauzo is correct. Only small percentage mainland for Wallace.  If you a full mainland female there will be some size.


Yes she is a mainland. 2 years old and only 7 feet and 5lbs though. 

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

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## Sauzo

> Yes she is a mainland. 2 years old and only 7 feet and 5lbs though. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Wow that is tiny!! Caesar is 37.5% SD, 31.5% dwarf male white albino tiger het snow and he about 8 feet, weighs a lot more than 5 lbs and turns 2 years old this May.

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## Skyrivers

> Wow that is tiny!! Caesar is 37.5% SD, 31.5% dwarf male white albino tiger het snow and he about 8 feet, weighs a lot more than 5 lbs and turns 2 years old this May.


I think she was incredibly underfed

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

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## Sauzo

> I think she was incredibly underfed
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


That is an understatement if she is really 2 years old and a pure mainland. That's even smaller than Jacob's pure kalatoa girl, Phyllis.

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_jmcrook_ (04-08-2018)

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## Gio

Wallace uses the obstacles and decor in his cage and shows off his semi arboreal behavior almost every night.

I sat and watched him for a while yesterday morning and snapped a few pictures.

He pulled some color off of his head during his last shed as you can see between the eyes. Hopefully in the next shed or two that will self remedy.





Thanks for looking.

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C.Marie (04-18-2018),_jmcrook_ (04-08-2018),_Reinz_ (04-08-2018),_Sauzo_ (04-08-2018)

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## kthoms104

Wow! What a beautiful snake!

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Gio (04-08-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Nice photos. Love how they look and are so active.

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Gio (04-09-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> I'm not sure why, but the tiger pattern is something found attractive from day one. Nothing fancy, or really "morphish" about it, just love it is all.


What I find interesting is for me how much I love the tiger pattern and also love the GC gene which almost wipes out most of the pattern all together.

----------


## Gio

Another dinner date with quail.




He actually got this one F/T by the head when I offered which made the eating process relatively quick.


Thanks for looking.

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C.Marie (04-18-2018),_DLena_ (04-18-2018),_Dxw425_ (04-18-2018),_jmcrook_ (04-17-2018),_Reinz_ (04-17-2018),_Sauzo_ (04-17-2018),Valyrian (04-18-2018)

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## C.Marie

Such a gorgeous noodle only getting better with age glad he enjoyed his dinner thank you for sharing  :Very Happy:

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Gio (04-18-2018)

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## Gio

He will be 2 years old in 16 days.

Anybody ever wonder what it is like to handle a 7 foot retic?

It isn't as difficult as some may think.



Excuse his patchy coloring between the eyes. It is improving after some stuck shed a while back.

Note, this is a one hand job. At least it was last night. He can get quite busy however last night was perfect.


Here are some shots for perspective. You can see he curls up and when he does, he doesn't dwarf my hand.


He's fed well and has become very interactive with me.

I find it hard to believe that I can handle him like this, after seeing how big he looks in his cage.

However I bought a male SD X Dwarf for this very reason.

Another 2 - 2.5 feet  of length and a bit more girth will not be an issue for me when handling with this animal.

----------

_Dxw425_ (05-16-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (05-15-2018),_Godzilla78_ (05-15-2018),_jmcrook_ (05-15-2018),_rock_ (05-15-2018),_Sauzo_ (05-15-2018),_Skyrivers_ (05-15-2018)

----------


## Skyrivers

He is looking great! Rainbow is a lot more active for the first 15 min then she poops and pees and calms down and hugs me for warmth.

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Gio (05-15-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

He's a gorgeous animal Gio.  :Smile:

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Gio (05-15-2018)

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## Gio

Thanks for the kind words.

Funny, I just had my boa out today and he made Wallace feel like a paper weight.

The boa constrictor is NOT a one hander LOL!

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_AbsoluteApril_ (05-15-2018),_jmcrook_ (05-15-2018)

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## Sauzo

Wish Caesar would curl up like that haha. My god, he is like a 10 hander when you get him out. Dude is like 'OMG, FRRREEEDDDOOMMMM' and he climbs all over me like a jungle gym and gets all grabby when i walk past stuff or decides he wants to walk himself and goes to the floor lol.

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C.Marie (06-03-2018),Gio (05-15-2018),_jmcrook_ (05-15-2018)

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## Gio

> Wish Caesar would curl up like that haha. My god, he is like a 10 hander when you get him out. Dude is like 'OMG, FRRREEEDDDOOMMMM' and he climbs all over me like a jungle gym and gets all grabby when i walk past stuff or decides he wants to walk himself and goes to the floor lol.


HA!

I do have many days like that, but even still,,,,, the boa is MUCH more massive even if half a foot, or a foot shorter.

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_jmcrook_ (05-15-2018),_Sauzo_ (05-15-2018)

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## Gio

The day he arrived here at almost 4 months old.








And his most recent pictures.




His head has really grown.



Enjoy your day and being king of the constrictors!

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_BR8080_ (06-04-2018),C.Marie (06-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-01-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-01-2018),_Skyrivers_ (06-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

He looks so much like Rainbow. I just love him. He looks so happy also.

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Gio (06-01-2018)

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## jmcrook

hApPiE bUrPhDaEy, WaLlAcE!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (06-02-2018)

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## C.Marie

Such an attractive noodle, love his pattern and his beautiful face thank you so much for sharing  :Very Happy:

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Gio (06-02-2018)

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## Gio

I fed him the day before his birthday. I opened his cage last night and he had a go at me. 

Good thing I have no complacency with him or I’d have taken a bite. 

The retic feeding reesponse lasts a couple of days.

No joke, it’s real and they have a long strike range.

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_jmcrook_ (06-03-2018)

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## jmcrook

> I fed him the day before his birthday. I opened his cage last night and he had a go at me. 
> 
> Good thing I have no complacency with him or Id have taken a bite. 
> 
> The retic feeding reesponse lasts a couple of days.
> 
> No joke, its real and they have a long strike range.


Yep!! 
Phyllis and Gerald are both on high alert for a good two days after feeding. Had a long missed lunge from Gerald a couple weeks ago. Came a good 2 out of the cage. Gloriousness the 40 feeding tongs are! Hahah


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (06-03-2018),_Stearns84_ (06-06-2018)

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## Sauzo

Haha, Caesar is usually in a food coma for a couple days after eating. Good thing i learned is he can go about 2 weeks now without food and doesnt push like before. He will wreck stuff though but if i open the door and give him some furious petting, he clams down and usually will just lay there with his head on the litter dam. Although a few times he will wait until he thinks i am not watching and try and slide down the stack to the floor haha.

Regardless of the food coma or not, i usually never mess with Caesar or any of the snakes for at least 2-3 days after eating. And i agree, thank god for 40+ inch feeding tongs haha.

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C.Marie (06-06-2018),Gio (06-03-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-03-2018)

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## Gio

> Yep!! 
> Phyllis and Gerald are both on high alert for a good two days after feeding. Had a long missed lunge from Gerald a couple weeks ago. Came a good 2 out of the cage. Gloriousness the 40 feeding tongs are! Hahah
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes,,
Such a different feeding experience. 

These retics actually make it difficult. They know when its time 30 minutes before its time.

My other snakes are certainly aware but they let me open the cage. I have to trick Wallace with one door and quickly open another to get the tongs in with the food. 

Theres no wiggling or taunting. The door opens and WHAMMO.

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_jmcrook_ (06-03-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-03-2018),_Team Slytherin_ (06-03-2018)

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## Sauzo

Hahaha exactly. I do that with all my snakes except the little ones. Vicky and Rosey both have at times shot out the door. Usually it is Vicky. She is kind of psycho around food. 

I've had Rango, Louie and Gina all shoot out at least once too but like i said, they are too small right now to reach out far enough to get me as i stand to the side of the opening door lol.

And yup, there is no need to wiggle anything. I just slap the food on Caesars butt and he spins around and slams it.

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C.Marie (06-06-2018),Gio (06-03-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-03-2018)

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## Gio

I do like the predictability. 

My boa is like a croc or gator. He is different than Wallace.  He will just sit there usually perched. Sometimes he hits right away. Other times he waits and just when I think he’s not interested or paying attention he hits.

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## Gio

I purchased Wallace from Kris at Vital in September of 2016, Sauzo got his boy, Caesar just a bit after I received Wallace.

I looked on the website and was surprised to see this. Not only today but yesterday and prior to the message I noticed the stock for sale had been dwindling to just larger breeder snakes.

*Store Unavailable

This store is currently unavailable due to maintenance. It should be available again shortly.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused.*


I'm not a Facebook member but was able to look on my wife's account and noticed they have no new postings except for a few monitors that were posted for sale in April of this year.

Does anybody know if they are out of the reptile business?

I know Kris was working on a bison farm right when I was purchasing Wallace, and I'm curious if that is what he's doing full time now.

I'm in interested to know if anybody has ordered from Vital or had contact with them recently.

They were a reputable retic outfit and I'd be sad to see them out of the bizz.

----------


## Sauzo

Yeah i think he quit snakes for a while or possibly for good. I talked to him about a SD ultra but he told me he was done with snakes for now and is concentrating his efforts on his bison ranch.

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C.Marie (06-06-2018),Gio (06-05-2018)

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## Gio

> Yeah i think he quit snakes for a while or possibly for good. I talked to him about a SD ultra but he told me he was done with snakes for now and is concentrating his efforts on his bison ranch.


Hmmm,

Well that's too bad but I see it happen a lot with breeders and keepers alike.

There are not many long time breeders in the retic world. 

Depending on the locale, they get large to very large, not many keepers have them for long, long periods either. 

Kris did an exceptional job with the species and I'm happy to have purchased from him.

----------

_jmcrook_ (06-05-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-06-2018)

----------


## Sauzo

> Hmmm,
> 
> Well that's too bad but I see it happen a lot with breeders and keepers alike.
> 
> There are not many long time breeders in the retic world. 
> 
> Depending on the locale, they get large to very large, not many keepers have them for long, long periods either. 
> 
> Kris did an exceptional job with the species and I'm happy to have purchased from him.


I'm actually surprised to tell you the truth. While retics are large, they require no where near the space large monitors do. And i think Kris was breeding water monitors. They get big. I had a Nile Monitor about 30 years ago which i got as a hatchling from a local breeder. He was the most laid back lizard i have seen except when around one particular buddy of mine which he REALLY hated and took a shot at him with his tail. He was about 5 feet at the time and lucky for my buddy, he was quick. The tail put a nice dent/break in the sheet rock wall lol. I ended up having to re home him as he grew beyond my financial abilities being i was an 18 year old kid living on his own in an apartment along with a few geckos, pacman frog and a BP lol. I miss him though and still think about him. He was hands down my favorite pet especially since i got him as a little tiny hatchling who would chase crickets around the cage lol.

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C.Marie (06-06-2018),Gio (06-06-2018)

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## Gio

> I'm actually surprised to tell you the truth. While retics are large, they require no where near the space large monitors do. And i think Kris was breeding water monitors. They get big. I had a Nile Monitor about 30 years ago which i got as a hatchling from a local breeder. He was the most laid back lizard i have seen except when around one particular buddy of mine which he REALLY hated and took a shot at him with his tail. He was about 5 feet at the time and lucky for my buddy, he was quick. The tail put a nice dent/break in the sheet rock wall lol. I ended up having to re home him as he grew beyond my financial abilities being i was an 18 year old kid living on his own in an apartment along with a few geckos, pacman frog and a BP lol. I miss him though and still think about him. He was hands down my favorite pet especially since i got him as a little tiny hatchling who would chase crickets around the cage lol.


100% agree and I think he's selling the last of the monitors as well. 

I am interested in the monitors, I actually love them but I'm not able to keep them. Too much work, which is why snakes are perfect for my situation.

I'm a bit bummed that the Vital Webpage is down completely. I liked the care sheets and descriptions that were listed there for various types of retic SD and dwarf populations.

Maybe the hobby, or at least the breeding part of it, ran its course.

----------


## Gio

Even into adulthood, the arboreal habits of retics don't seem to disappear.

Wallace has been right here for 3.5 days.



When I move about the room, I'll see his head drop down for a potential ambush. 

He seems to be very comfortable using his perches, which is nice because I love watching him do his thing.

Good stuff!

----------

_67temp_ (06-11-2018),C.Marie (06-11-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-11-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-12-2018)

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## Gio

He fed from the perches tonight and was insane. Never came down, until much later tonight.

I'm having some issues transferring pictures so unfortunately I don't have anything to show.

But our long time in the canopy came to an end after feeding today.

----------

C.Marie (06-11-2018),_Dxw425_ (06-12-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-11-2018)

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## Gio

Some beautiful, NEW, post shed pictures.

Wallace is 2 years and a month old now. 7.5 to 8.5 feet long and filling out. 

He's looking like the tiger I've always wanted.



The head and neck tie in area is looking full and solid. 



Interesting item to look at here: A few new, black markings on his head. I like them.


Closer and some tongue.



Handsome boy!

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_jmcrook_ (06-25-2018),_richardhind1972_ (06-25-2018),Valyrian (06-25-2018)

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## Valyrian

God Damn it... Now I definitely have to get one of these!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

----------

Gio (06-25-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-25-2018)

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## Gio

> God Damn it... Now I definitely have to get one of these!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


You might as well. Got the Burm already,,,,, Time to round out the large Asian python quest!

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Valyrian (06-25-2018)

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## richardhind1972

Thats one stunning snake gio ,his markings are incredible 

You should of gone up Doncaster Sunday  Valyrian there was loads of really cool retics,like the ones I posted pics of in off topic cafe, peter rice had some incredible retics 


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Valyrian (06-25-2018)

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## Valyrian

> Thats one stunning snake gio ,his markings are incredible 
> 
> You should of gone up Doncaster Sunday  Valyrian there was loads of really cool retics,like the ones I posted pics of in off topic cafe, peter rice had some incredible retics 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


I've been thinking about going to the next one. Only one thing makes me question going. 

This forum is cool but a lot of the reptile community seem to be idiots to each other online. Are there a lot of those kinds of people at the show or are most of them ok?

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_richardhind1972_ (06-25-2018)

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## richardhind1972

No they all fine mate, not many people speak to each other really , theres so much to see at the racecourse inside show ground is huge ,everyones too busy trying to look at all the stalls and take it all in ,theres loads of stalls with equipment and animals ,not just snakes there
Obviously the breeders will speak to you  if you have any questions 


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

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Gio (06-25-2018),Valyrian (06-25-2018)

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## Gio

> I've been thinking about going to the next one. Only one thing makes me question going. 
> 
> This forum is cool but a lot of the reptile community seem to be idiots to each other online. Are there a lot of those kinds of people at the show or are most of them ok?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


That depends on the Forum and the moderators. 

I have found most forum conversation friendly. 

Facebook, which I dont have is another story. 
Also if you approach things from a pet owner standpoint you are more likely to get help. Coming in and talking like a breeder seems to ruffle the delicate feathers of some. At least I have observed it watching some of the dynamics over time. 

You would enjoy an expo.

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Valyrian (06-26-2018)

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## Gio

How big?

He's the longest, but you be the judge.

I'm not the smallest dude, fairly muscular and athletic to boot but I'm no NBA sized fella either. 

When people need to see some type of reference for size, quarters, cellphones and dollar bills don't always cut it.

I'm not much for posting pictures of myself on the web, but I have a couple modified pictures with 2 different snakes here.


The first is the retic, Wallace. He's my longest snake and I'm guessing he's 7.5 to 8.5 feet in length. If you think a male SD x Dwarf x Mainland retic at 8 feet is big you may feel differently after seeing this.




If you follow the boa constrictor forum, you've seen these. Sniper, my 6 year old male BC. He's MAYBE 7 feet long. Possibly under, or doubtfully just over.



The density of a BC at a shorter length makes the boa seem huge IMO. They are so strong too.



That said, the boa is a much better handling animal.

Wallace often becomes annoying in a short time and handling becomes unrelating.

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C.Marie (07-10-2018),_Dxw425_ (07-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-29-2018),_richardhind1972_ (06-29-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-30-2018),Valyrian (06-30-2018)

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## richardhind1972

Both look great gio.
Your big sniper really got some decent depth to his girth ,I bet you know you got him on your shoulder especially compared to Wallace even tho he is bigger

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Gio (06-30-2018)

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## Valyrian

Awesome pictures. The only problem with Boas for me is the crazy slow growth rate. Have to wait years for them to get any size lol 

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Gio (06-30-2018),_richardhind1972_ (06-30-2018)

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## PiperPython

This makes me want a retic so badly.  Wallace is super handsome!

I am also concerned about buying a super dwarf and it ending up being a monster  :Very Happy:

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Gio (06-30-2018)

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## jmcrook

> This makes me want a retic so badly.  Wallace is super handsome!
> 
> I am also concerned about buying a super dwarf and it ending up being a monster


Hahah thats exactly what happened to me! 



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C.Marie (07-10-2018),_Dxw425_ (07-01-2018),Gio (06-30-2018),_richardhind1972_ (06-30-2018),_Sauzo_ (06-30-2018),_Stearns84_ (07-01-2018)

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## Gio

> Hahah thats exactly what happened to me! 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That's a big one JM!

I love both the boa and the retic, and the carpet,,,,, and,,,,,,,,,,,, even my son's royal.

The BC feels the best when handling, the carpet seems the most friendly, and Wallace is hit or miss.

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C.Marie (07-10-2018),_jmcrook_ (06-30-2018),_richardhind1972_ (06-30-2018)

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## Sauzo

> Awesome pictures. The only problem with Boas for me is the crazy slow growth rate. Have to wait years for them to get any size lol 
> 
> Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


Not true. You can overfeed it and powerfeed it and end up with a huge boa in a short time, wont live long but it will be big and grow fast lol.

And i think Wallace has outgrow Caesar haha. He doesnt seem to be putting on anymore length and pretty much stopped at around 7-8 feet. And Phyllis is just a freakin monster. I think Gene is probably more of Caesar's size. It's like Caesar had a huge insatiable appetite, pushed when not fed and grew like a weed. Then just quit pushing, quit being so demanding for food and is now 12 days from his last feeding and still mellow. Although he does find new things to do to annoy me or make noise.

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C.Marie (07-10-2018),Gio (07-01-2018),_Stearns84_ (07-01-2018),Valyrian (07-01-2018)

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## PiperPython

> Hahah that’s exactly what happened to me! 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


On man, so worth the risk though - that snake is BEAUTIFUL.

I better get back over to the regular pythons forum...............


P.S. I miss minneapolis - that's home to me.

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Gio (07-02-2018)

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## Gio

I lined him up on the deck rail and he stretched out. It was a constant battle to keep him in one spot.





It was very humid here yesterday. He probably felt somewhat at home.


I've been digging his colors a lot lately, and outside with some clouds and green grass made them look nice.



Hopefully he is topping off. He's close to the perfect size.

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C.Marie (07-10-2018),_Dxw425_ (07-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (07-01-2018),_richardhind1972_ (07-01-2018)

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## richardhind1972

Looking great,his markings are so cool


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Gio (07-01-2018)

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## Gio

> Looking great,his markings are so cool
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


Thank you👍   Im just loving the white stripes on the sides.

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_richardhind1972_ (07-01-2018)

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## richardhind1972

I think there my favourite part too
they like his go faster stripes

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Gio (07-01-2018),_jmcrook_ (07-01-2018)

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## Gio

> I think there my favourite part too
> they like his go faster stripes
> 
> Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk


I'm not sure why, but ever since I saw my first Tiger retic, I thought the pattern was simply the most attractive pattern I've seen.

True, it is a morph and I'm more into locale animals and natural patterns, but I do believe Carl Herman's Tiger came from the wild and the pattern was an anomaly.

The Tiger patterned retics I saw were huge and I figured I'd never own something like that.

My guy is in a much smaller package and I'm pretty confident he'll not grow much more than 2 feet in the next several years.

I treat him with respect, but minus an unexpected neck wrap, he couldn't be able to do a lot of damage to me.

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C.Marie (07-10-2018),_jmcrook_ (07-01-2018),_richardhind1972_ (07-10-2018)

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## Team Slytherin

What an awesome shot! Hes one of the most impressive tics Ive seen, even in a smaller package! I love tigers, but he is even an exceptional example of the morph.

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Gio (07-01-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> I'm not sure why, but ever since I saw my first Tiger retic, I thought the pattern was simply the most attractive pattern I've seen.
> 
> True, it is a morph and I'm more into locale animals and natural patterns, but I do believe Carl Herman's Tiger came from the wild and the pattern was an anomaly.
> 
> The Tiger patterned retics I saw were huge and I figured I'd never own something like that.
> 
> My guy is in a much smaller package and I'm pretty confident he'll not grow much more than 2 feet in the next several years.
> 
> I treat him with respect, but minus an unexpected neck wrap, he couldn't be able to do a lot of damage to me.


You know what the tiger stripes are really? Racing stripes. These guys can move. LOL. Looks great.

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Gio (07-02-2018)

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## 67temp

The outside photos really make his color and pattern pop. 

ps it's july....you forgot to take down your xmas lights.  :Razz:

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Gio (07-02-2018)

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## Gio

> The outside photos really make his color and pattern pop. 
> 
> ps it's july....you forgot to take down your xmas lights.


They stay up year round. Late nights on the deck with blue lighting can be fun. 👍

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C.Marie (07-10-2018)

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## Gio

Looking at another shed in the next few days. 

Hes slowing in growth and Im quite pleased with his size. 

This retic has been a very easy keep.

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_jmcrook_ (07-10-2018),_richardhind1972_ (07-10-2018)

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## C.Marie

Such a handsome fella,  and agree why put in all that work to put up pretty lights for only a month? Love seeing Wallace he really is an amazing critter  :Good Job:

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Gio (07-10-2018)

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## Gio

Whether you call it intelligence, instinct, personality, its hard to deny reticulated pythons are something special.

Wallace shed over the night and he was ready to eat today. I feed ALL of my snakes conservatively and as close to "Mother Nature" level as I can.

I tend to look at body size, their shape, tone and check for signs of hunger or overly content and lethargic behavior.

Back to the topic. Very few snakes species will greet you like a retic. King Cobras come to mind when I think of how Wallace checked me out today. The immediate response he had today was fantastic. When I got into the room this morning he was looking at me, and as I approached his cage he came out quickly and then stood up straight and looked at me eye to eye the best he could while being confined to a 2 foot tall cage.

No posturing, no glass striking or anything that would lead me to believe he was starving. It was just his basic routine/behavior that has evolved over our time together.

I'm very happy with this guy and the progressive interactions we've shared.

Here are the feed pictures.

1 large F/T rat, perfect!

This particular retic is highly arboreal.


I can't avoid telling people how much I like my caging and setup. It makes the whole experience outstanding.


This is standard for a green tree python or an emerald tree boa, guess what? It appears retics love to hunt from the trees too.




I'm not sure he's an 8 footer yet, but he is slowly increasing in size.


Some things never change, as he made quick work of his prey. My carpet python goes through some type of long examination period before eating. She sniffs around and seems to gloat over her accomplishment after constricting. Wallace is all business. Strike, constrict and eat. 

The retic mouth is so wide, a proper strike will get the prey 1/4 of the way down LOL!


I used outer lights, a flash and no flash when I took these. This is obviously no flash.



Wallace is really becoming a great captive. I still keep on my toes, as anybody should be with any decent sized snake, however we are becoming pretty predictable during our interactions.



Thanks for looking!

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_jmcrook_ (07-12-2018)

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## C.Marie

He is a genius  :Wink:  he knew how to give you sweet puppy dog eyes and it paid off with a delicious dinner,  great pictures thank you ever so much for sharing and best wishes always.. :Good Job:

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Gio (07-12-2018)

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## Gio

> Whether you call it intelligence, instinct, personality, its hard to deny reticulated pythons are something special.
> 
> Wallace shed over the night and he was ready to eat today. I feed ALL of my snakes conservatively and as close to "Mother Nature" level as I can.
> 
> I tend to look at body size, their shape, tone and check for signs of hunger or overly content and lethargic behavior.
> 
> Back to the topic. Very few snakes species will greet you like a retic. King Cobras come to mind when I think of how Wallace checked me out today. The immediate response he had today was fantastic. When I got into the room this morning he was looking at me, and as I approached his cage he came out quickly and then stood up straight and looked at me eye to eye the best he could while being confined to a 2 foot tall cage.
> 
> No posturing, no glass striking or anything that would lead me to believe he was starving. It was just his basic routine/behavior that has evolved over our time together.
> ...


Thanks, C.Marie

I'll have to reply with my own quote. Looks like my picture post was the last addition to the previous page. 
Nobody will see the pictures if they start here LOL!

Wallace is a good dude. I recommend the species to folks that are in this long term and are serious about keeping and enjoying a snake that presents a slight challenge.

Remember my guy is NOT a full mainland (18%). He has high percent dwarf combined with a decent amount of SD.

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C.Marie (07-12-2018),_jmcrook_ (07-12-2018)

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## jmcrook

Dude, youve got it made there with display type and activity levels of that snake. Thats gotta be a blast to observe. Cheers!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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C.Marie (07-12-2018),Gio (07-12-2018)

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## Gio

> Dude, youve got it made there with display type and activity levels of that snake. Thats gotta be a blast to observe. Cheers!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes!

I'm very happy with how I set everybody up here, even the royal. I love being able to walk into the room and instantly enjoy the view. I don't need many animals, actually 4 is the perfect number. Farming VS Enjoying?

I think you have provided a lot of insight to folks showing what its like when things ARE NOT easy. 

Pushing, cleaning, going to the vet and dealing with things that stifle your ultimate goal of enjoyment.

We started with my son's royal, and after that I started looking at pictures and videos of different snakes and different setups.

A big part of this hobby at least for me, is the caging and display aspect.

I'd rather look at 4 snakes set up the way I find very pleasing, VS too many (that "too many" number differs for everyone) and not being able to enjoy the reptile room and relax.

I can't imagine dealing with more than one snake that is doing what Philly is doing. 

I really do think once she's in a very large cage with a lot of options, she'll be fine. I also know you aren't in the market to buy a zoo to make that happen.

Hopefully a deal can be made where the two of you can relax and enjoy each other's company.

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_jmcrook_ (07-12-2018)

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## Gio

Real sunlight makes this guy pop.

He spent a bit of time in the grass, but didn't sit still for long.




There's just something about the tiger pattern!

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_Dxw425_ (08-03-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (08-03-2018),_jmcrook_ (07-16-2018),_richardhind1972_ (07-16-2018),_Sauzo_ (07-16-2018),_Starscream_ (07-16-2018)

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## richardhind1972

He really is stunning gio


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Gio (07-16-2018)

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## Gio

> He really is stunning gio
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


Thank you!

I feel the same, and noticed a lot of retics seem to get better with age as far as coloring. He's getting new black patches on his snout now.

This grass escapade was supposed to finish off with some waste elimination and an empty tummy. 

It usually works magic every time. Nothing doing though, instead he waited until he was back in the cage and gave me an extra couple of chores today.

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_jmcrook_ (07-16-2018),_richardhind1972_ (07-17-2018)

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## Gio

This guy is starting to top off in size. I'm guessing 7.5 - 8 feet, but now the mass is coming. He's a lot more heavy than he was a few months ago.



The one handed camera shots did go well with this active boy. I was not able to avoid the blur effect.


The SD x Dwarf does make him a little edgy but he is fairly tolerant of handling. 



His pattern is getting better with age.

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_dakski_ (08-03-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-03-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-03-2018),_Sauzo_ (08-03-2018)

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## Skyrivers

Looks amazing. Love his stripes. Good tiger! Did not know the Dwarf and SD make them more edgy?

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Gio (08-04-2018)

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## jmcrook

Hes looking good, Gio! Seems like he and Gerald are probably right about the same size and mass. Gerald is quite the edgy critter when handling too. Though the other day I let mom chill on the floor next to me and he was surprisingly calm about it. No darting or running or anything 


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Gio (08-04-2018)

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## jmcrook

> Hes looking good, Gio! Seems like he and Gerald are probably right about the same size and mass. Gerald is quite the edgy critter when handling too. Though the other day I let mom chill on the floor next to me and he was surprisingly calm about it. No darting or running or anything 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


*let HIM chill on the floor... damn predictive texting 


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Gio (08-04-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

Wallace is looking GREAT Gio! I really love the outdoor pics and I just noticed the purple tongue.  :Smile:

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Gio (08-04-2018)

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## Gio

This was a first for me here.

I was feeding Wallace today, actually he is still swallowing as I type. He knew I was prepping food earlier and instinctually went up to his perches. He was draped the length of the cage. When I figured out where his head was, I opened the opposite door and dangled the rat. 

That's when things went south. He swung around, shot out toward the rat, completely missed it, and instead he caught his own back half. He actually thought he had the rat and started to constrict himself. 

I was dumbfounded and wasn't sure what my next move was going to be. Luckily, he released his bite, but was still so worked up he started constricting his hide. 

I was like, dude,,,,, you are making an absolute fool of yourself!  He eventually found the dropped rat, moved to constrict it, but never bit it. He instead sat focused on my bigger heat signature. 

He's all done now, and I'm trying to find out if he damaged himself at all. I don't think so.

He's a complete nut at feeding time, like psycho nuts. Makes my boa looked well mannered. My carpet is starting to act like Wallace and she's a bit more keyed in these days. Don't get me wrong, the boa is still fired up, but by comparison he's easy.

These are from last night before Wallace went mental.



I know he's not capable of feeling embarrassment but he should be embarrassed LOL!



He is hopefully topping off. I don't find him the easiest pet here. We have our moments for sure.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (08-08-2018),C.Marie (08-08-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (08-07-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-07-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-08-2018)

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## Zincubus

He's absolutely stunning .
No other word .


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Gio (08-07-2018)

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## jmcrook

Get a retic they said... Theyre so interesting and intelligent they said... lmao! Sounds like that boy keeps you on your toes to say the least! Gerald is my wild card here. Feeding him is an ordeal sometimes. Will be easier once hes in Phylliss 6 cage 


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Gio (08-07-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

And now the little voice of doubt and second guesses speaks up, "Why didn't you get that retic Ziggy? "  :Confused: 

W is the real deal Gio. Your care for your critters shines through. They're all hearty, healthy and I'd dare to say happy. Good job sir.

On the feeding front my all my snakes hit the tongs pretty hard too, the Olive is the fiercest of them all now, but the most insane feeding frenzied critter I've had were my frkn kingsnakes. They went bananas. Better a 4ft king than a 7ft retic though.  :Wink: .

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Gio (08-07-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-07-2018)

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## Gio

> And now the little voice of doubt and second guesses speaks up, "Why didn't you get that retic Ziggy? " 
> 
> W is the real deal Gio. Your care for your critters shines through. They're all hearty, healthy and I'd dare to say happy. Good job sir.
> 
> On the feeding front my all my snakes hit the tongs pretty hard too, the Olive is the fiercest of them all now, but the most insane feeding frenzied critter I've had were my frkn kingsnakes. They went bananas. Better a 4ft king than a 7ft retic though. .


You called it Zig, I was thinking King Snake as they will actually eat themselves.

JM,,,,,  Oh boy isn't that the truth,,,, they are not "beginner snakes LOL!

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_jmcrook_ (08-07-2018)

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## Gio

I forgot to mention while he was swallowing his rat I reached in to reset his hide.

He pulled a monitor lizard move. He totally tail whipped at me, and blasted coco husk across the room. 

Hes still pretty pissy tonight. Hes struck the glass twice when Ive been near the cage. 

Seems attacking himself has resulted in a ruined evening. 

Lights out buddy, Ill see you in a couple of days.

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_richardhind1972_ (08-08-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

Way to respect the beast and give him some space G. I'm sure he'll be back to his normal self in a few days.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (08-08-2018),Gio (08-07-2018)

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## jmcrook

> I forgot to mention while he was swallowing his rat I reached in to reset his hide.
> 
> He pulled a monitor lizard move. He totally tail whipped at me, and blasted coco husk across the room. 
> 
> Hes still pretty pissy tonight. Hes struck the glass twice when Ive been near the cage. 
> 
> Seems attacking himself has resulted in a ruined evening. 
> 
> Lights out buddy, Ill see you in a couple of days.


I get that move from Gerald all the time, a bit from Phyllis as well. They are NOT fans of having their tails messed with lol. Havent had anyone strike the glass in months though. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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## Gio

> I get that move from Gerald all the time, a bit from Phyllis as well. They are NOT fans of having their tails messed with lol. Havent had anyone strike the glass in months though. 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hes Mr. Testosterone tonight. 

I wasnt up for breaking out the vacuum but he left me no choice. His best bet is to settle down soon. 

I like being kept on my toes a bit but my tolerance level for his psycho behavior today is about maxed. 

Since when do we bite and constrictor ourselves? 

I was just looking at him like dude,,, seriously?

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C.Marie (08-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-08-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-08-2018)

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## jmcrook

> Hes Mr. Testosterone tonight. 
> 
> I wasnt up for breaking out the vacuum but he left me no choice. His best bet is to settle down soon. 
> 
> I like being kept on my toes a bit but my tolerance level for his psycho behavior today is about maxed. 
> 
> Since when do we bite and constrictor ourselves? 
> 
> I was just looking at him like dude,,, seriously?


🤣🤣🤣 I actually did laugh out loud, and loudly, after reading that. Thats too funny man! I look at Gerald the same way when it takes him literally 20+ min to figure out how to begin swallowing his rat... after taking 20 minutes to constrict the damn thing. Sharp as a tack that one is... 


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Gio (08-08-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Since when do we bite and constrictor ourselves? 
> 
> I was just looking at him like dude,,, seriously?


He attacked himself in rage? Wow that is nuts. I visited my friend who has Monty and took him out to hold him. My friends dog walked by, keep in mind Monty is less than 2k grams still, Monty constricts my arm as tight as he can and goes in full attack mode at anything that moves. I had to be careful to remove him from my arm and get him back in his enclosure. He even bit the stick I used to keep him from attacking me. They think they are 10 feet tall sometimes.

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Gio (08-08-2018)

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## Gio

> He attacked himself in rage? Wow that is nuts. I visited my friend who has Monty and took him out to hold him. My friends dog walked by, keep in mind Monty is less than 2k grams still, Monty constricts my arm as tight as he can and goes in full attack mode at anything that moves. I had to be careful to remove him from my arm and get him back in his enclosure. He even bit the stick I used to keep him from attacking me. They think they are 10 feet tall sometimes.


He didn't necessarily attack himself in rage, it was more a complete loss of control over food. In the wild he would have missed his prey and flopped around in the tree branches until he figured out he had nothing but his own body. How "intelligent" are you when you have such a blatant loss of control? LOL!

I can only liken it to somebody blindly running into freeway traffic to cross the interstate because they smelled french fries across the street at Mickie D's.

In all seriousness, the reaction was purely instinctual, and I think some folks confuse instinct and behavior with intelligence. Busier snakes "seem" more intelligent to us because they interact more. I don't think Wallace is any more intelligent than the other 3 snakes here. One could argue, the royal python, that stays hidden and only pops out to eat, drink and empty out is the smartest of all. Stay out of sight, ambush, eat survive!

The tail whipping later in the night isn't a normal move for Wallace. He does buck occasionally however I believe the whole feeding fiasco set him up for an ill tempered evening.

He settled a bit later on. Though here, you can see he's creeping toward the glass to have another go at something.



Nothing like the LED moon light mode!



He's back up in the perches this morning and the above pictures were from the end of the night last night.

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C.Marie (08-08-2018),_Dxw425_ (08-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-08-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-08-2018)

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## AbsoluteApril

Yeah I've had boas in crazy food mode miss the rat and grab themselves, fully coil death ball themselves. Gotta just step away until they realize and unlatch and relax. Not a fun thing to watch though and all I can think of is 'come on, don't be stupid, that's your own body!'. Ug, doesn't happen often but I hate it when it does.

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C.Marie (08-08-2018),Gio (08-08-2018)

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## Gio

> Yeah I've had boas in crazy food mode miss the rat and grab themselves, fully coil death ball themselves. Gotta just step away until they realize and unlatch and relax. Not a fun thing to watch though and all I can think of is 'come on, don't be stupid, that's your own body!'. Ug, doesn't happen often but I hate it when it does.


Secretly love the enthusiasm but yes,,

Dial it back a little big fella.

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C.Marie (08-08-2018)

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## C.Marie

I absolutely love that lighting,  wow looks like he is out roaming under a full moon :Good Job:  how many colors do they turn magnificent set up for an amazing critter.  :Razz:

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Gio (08-08-2018)

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## Gio

> I absolutely love that lighting,  wow looks like he is out roaming under a full moon how many colors do they turn magnificent set up for an amazing critter.


There are too many colors to list, mostly variations of these basic 3. Plus White.

Greens


Reds


Blues.


Normal. 
Although because of a bad staple I have some blues activated in the normal day time mode. I guess it adds character.


Thanks,

I do put a lot of effort into the caging. My kids and their friends love going to check the animals out. I'm a little tentative letting folks know we have 4 snakes, but on the other side of that, I like seeing kids that are interested and unafraid of these guys.

My daughter's friends were able to see first hand the joys of retic keeping. Wallace musked and P'd in my face. I even had a slightly open mouth which really brought on the hysterics.

He's a treat, but at least he's over the rear end defense tactics.

----------

_AbsoluteApril_ (08-08-2018),C.Marie (08-08-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (08-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-08-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-12-2018)

----------


## Gio

I find it enjoyable to see a snake on the move.


Apologies for the blurry pictures.

I took the pictures with the glass doors closed.


Other than getting him out of the cage, he is still relatively well mannered. He's somewhat annoying to handle but his "in cage" activity is worth the price of more involved handling.

----------

_jmcrook_ (08-12-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-12-2018),_Sauzo_ (08-12-2018)

----------


## Gio

I had two leftovers from the other nights handling session.

They are different photos but similar to the ones in another thread.



He looks a bit darker here.

----------

_EL-Ziggy_ (08-22-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-22-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-23-2018)

----------


## Gio

Normally I don't feed during a pre-shed but he was game and I had a refused F/T rat.

Wallace is pictured here taking a rat in his dark phase.




Cloudy eyes and all, he made short work of this meal.



I still totally dig his cage and setup. He seems very at home here whether it be on the floor or in the perches.

----------

_67temp_ (08-27-2018),C.Marie (08-27-2018),_Dxw425_ (08-26-2018),_jmcrook_ (08-26-2018),_richardhind1972_ (08-27-2018),_Starscream_ (08-27-2018)

----------


## Skyrivers

He is looking great. I have had no issues getting any of my retics to eat. Shedding doesn't seam to bother them as much as other species. Happy he is doing well.

----------


## Gio

He's still doing well here. Actually he's been fairly mellow when coming out of the cage.

He does like to cruise now and then though.





Closing in.


Ummm dudes,,,, I'm like hungry!


And that's Wallace.

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_jmcrook_ (09-08-2018)

----------


## PiperPython

do you have photos of the way your cages are decorated?  I just got a whole host of PVC in and right now they're looking sort of empty  :Sad:

----------


## Gio

> do you have photos of the way your cages are decorated?  I just got a whole host of PVC in and right now they're looking sort of empty


Yes. 
Check back further in this thread or search my started threads. I have a bunch of cage photos.

----------


## Gio

> Yes. 
> Check back further in this thread or search my started threads. I have a bunch of cage photos.


Back home now. If you are not into searching here are some photos of various setups.






This is the retic cage. 6' wide, 30" deep and 2' tall. I use a huge water bowl and 1 floor hide. The perches are a mixture of real tree branches, thick wood dowels and a fence post (the big kind) wrapped in twine.


These are the 4 footers of various depths and heights.
Every cage sans the top 4 footer has a durable, rubber, rock background. 

All are furnished in a similar fashion. I enjoy semi arboreal setups and the snakes seem to thrive with the options they are afforded.



All four cages.


Hope that helped.

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_Dxw425_ (09-08-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (09-08-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-08-2018)

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## PiperPython

Wow that looks great! Thanks for the ideas and obviously saving me some digging.  But I will certainly look back into your threads! Thanks!

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## Gio

I just dig the arboreal stuff. 

Wallace likes to ambush from the canopy.




He will likely never eat a rabbit, so quail and large rats fit the bill. Quail is a nice change.


He figured out gravity helps when dealing with quail. They are more difficult to eat.




Thanks for looking.

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_jmcrook_ (09-09-2018),_richardhind1972_ (09-09-2018)

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## richardhind1972

His markings are so cool,looks like he's enjoyed the quail

Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk

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Gio (09-09-2018)

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## jmcrook

Youve got it made there brother. Looking good


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (09-09-2018)

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## Gio

Thanks guys.

I actually missed posting part one of the feed fest.


These ended up pretty clear.



And for the cage enthusiast, another updated picture of the jungle.

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C.Marie (09-14-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-09-2018),_richardhind1972_ (09-09-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

I love your critters and enclosures Gio. I need to add some branches and lava lamps to my setups.  :Smile:

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Gio (09-09-2018)

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## Gio

> Youve got it made there brother. Looking good
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hey bud,

I really hope you can keep Phyllis and enjoy the retic experience. I talked to a very experienced retic buddy and he says some just push and there isn't much you can do.

I ended up being lucky, at least so far with Wallace. I certainly would not keep more than one of these. I love having him, but I'm like you are. I enjoy the relaxation and easy handling of my boa and coastal carpet. 

If Wallace handled a bit better I'd be thrilled.

He produces minimal waste. He's like the carpet though he eats more frequently, not a lot more often but a little bit.

His size is still increasing but most of it is girth. I could deal with another foot, but really don't want and never did want a true giant.

As of now the cage is perfect, he is just the right size. A much larger animal would really limit what I could do with my setups.

Keep Philly if you can, and look at a nice, Brisbane locality coastal to fill the other cage.

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_jmcrook_ (09-12-2018)

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## Gio

> I love your critters and enclosures Gio. I need to add some branches and lava lamps to my setups.


When I'm not working, and the house is quiet, I sit down there with a beer (soda works too if you don't drink) and chill out. A lot of the time I key up some rainforest sounds on the MAC and sit in my rocking chair and relax.

Even my wife will hang for a bit when I do the lights up like that.!!

Zig, I think I could see you having an exciting room with your lineup!

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_EL-Ziggy_ (09-09-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-12-2018)

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## Gio

The absolute most arboreal snake in the collection.

These are from last night. It was not a feeding night or anything special, just a regular night of cruising.



I love watching him.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (09-14-2018),C.Marie (09-14-2018),_CloudtheBoa_ (09-13-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-13-2018),_richardhind1972_ (09-13-2018)

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## CloudtheBoa

Retics are great.  Theyre like giant ratsnakes, even when they get big theyre just always on the move and wanting to climb.  And theyre exceptionally good at it.

Wallace is coming along quite nicely!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Gio (09-13-2018)

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## Gio

> Retics are great.  Theyre like giant ratsnakes, even when they get big theyre just always on the move and wanting to climb.  And theyre exceptionally good at it.
> 
> Wallace is coming along quite nicely!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Good to see you popping in!

I agree they are like the colubrid of the boas and pythons.

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_CloudtheBoa_ (09-16-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

I can see why you love watching him. He's frkn amazing!

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## Gio

> I can see why you love watching him. He's frkn amazing!


I want to hear the scrub comparison. 

Ill bet your guy will be highly entertaining.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (09-14-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

@ Gio- I'll say the scrub is my most intriguing critter. He's very alert and almost always looks poised to strike, which keeps me alert, but he's really as cool as a fan. I love to handle him. He's active but not flighty and he's pretty calm. He's only tagged me once and musked me twice when he first arrived but nothing since. He's in a QT tub for now but I can't wait to give him more space as he grows. He'll end up in an 8x2x2 or 8x2x4 if I can. He perches most nights and hides most days so I can see him spending time in the trees and on the ground. I'll definitely add an arboreal hide to his adult enclosure. Oh, and of course HE LOVES FOOD! 
I LOVE Wallace, he and Jewel are two of my forum faves, and I knew if I ever got a retic it would be a tiger or GC. I'll admit I was a little intimidated by their teeth and potential ferocity so I went with a slightly less monstrous option  :Smile: . The pee and poop stories didn't help either. I'm content though. I love seeing the beauty and diversity of all these awesone critters.

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Gio (09-15-2018)

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## Gio

> @ Gio- I'll say the scrub is my most intriguing critter. He's very alert and almost always looks poised to strike, which keeps me alert, but he's really as cool as a fan. I love to handle him. He's active but not flighty and he's pretty calm. He's only tagged me once and musked me twice when he first arrived but nothing since. He's in a QT tub for now but I can't wait to give him more space as he grows. He'll end up in an 8x2x2 or 8x2x4 if I can. He perches most nights and hides most days so I can see him spending time in the trees and on the ground. I'll definitely add an arboreal hide to his adult enclosure. Oh, and of course HE LOVES FOOD! 
> I LOVE Wallace, he and Jewel are two of my forum faves, and I knew if I ever got a retic it would be a tiger or GC. I'll admit I was a little intimidated by their teeth and potential ferocity so I went with a slightly less monstrous option . The pee and poop stories didn't help either. I'm content though. I love seeing the beauty and diversity of all these awesone critters.


Hey Zig,

I may be mistaken, but I believe scrubs have every bit the teeth length that retics have and then some.

I don't expect Wallace to grow more than 9 feet maybe not over 8.5, hard to say what he's at now exactly. He's not a heavy waste elimination monster. He's on par with both the carpet and boa. I tad more if I feed him more, but that would hold true if I fed the boa and carpet more as well.

I would really love to own a scrub and my retic I have an interest in both. I'm really not surprised the retic is so arboreal, but am surprised he's the most arboreal in the house.

I think both species are very similar, which is why I'd like to hear from somebody who has both.

I think the fact my fella has a significant amount of dwarf, and a decent amount and SD keeps him lean, mean and active. There is only 18% mainland in his genetics.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (10-19-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (10-05-2018),_jmcrook_ (09-15-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018),_Reinz_ (10-05-2018),_richardhind1972_ (09-16-2018),_Starscream_ (10-06-2018)

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## Gio

That feeling when you know you are being stalked.



He was deep in his hide when I went into the room, I turned my back for a minute or two and then caught Wallace zeroing in on my activities.


Needless to say, I decided it might be time to thaw some food!

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_EL-Ziggy_ (10-05-2018),_jmcrook_ (10-05-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018),_Reinz_ (10-05-2018),_richardhind1972_ (10-05-2018),_Starscream_ (10-06-2018)

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## Reinz

That sneaky buster looks great Gio!

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Gio (10-05-2018)

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## Gio

> That sneaky buster looks great Gio!


WOW,

Long time brother!

Thanks,, he's been pretty decent for me!

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## Reinz

> WOW,
> 
> Long time brother!
> 
> Thanks,, he's been pretty decent for me!


Yeah, I figured I better check in these past few days.  :Smile:

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Gio (10-06-2018)

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## Gio

I tried getting some stretched out photos, but they really didn't amount to what I was hoping for.



He was hidden behind his water bowl for the most part, and my angle was not good. I think he's 8.5 - 9 feet long. He has to be topping off now as his mid/lower body thickness is coming up a lot. His head is giant compared to the rest of the crew here as well.

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_CALM Pythons_ (10-18-2018),_Dianne_ (10-18-2018),_jmcrook_ (10-18-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018),_richardhind1972_ (10-18-2018)

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## richardhind1972

He looks so great especially in that natural Viv set up

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Gio (10-18-2018)

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## Dxw425

Looking good!! That setup is so nice.

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Gio (10-18-2018)

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## Gio

Thanks,

That setup is pretty easy. The floor is fairly clear. One water bowl and one hide.

Level 2 was a bit more involved but certainly worth the effort!

Thanks for looking.

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_richardhind1972_ (10-18-2018)

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## Reinz

Beautiful setup for a beautiful snake. My favorite Retic pattern. Its amazing how fast Retics grow, just incredible. Looks like you picked a winner for sure.  :Smile:

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Gio (10-19-2018)

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## Gio

Some folks just like to eat!

Hope the video link works.
https://i.imgur.com/kqDdIIX.mp4 







He's into his food, but he's well behaved.



We went with the green lights last night.



Wallace is doing great, thanks for looking.

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_Dianne_ (11-13-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (12-15-2018),_jmcrook_ (11-13-2018),_Pengil_ (11-13-2018),_richardhind1972_ (11-13-2018),_RickyNY_ (12-15-2018)

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## Gio

Another relaxing night in the jungle.

Winter is here and I've dropped cage temps a few degrees during the day. I keep the night drop the same year round.

I also limit the daylight hours a bit. I use the blue lights until we black out at the end of the night.

I never get tired of this.

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_Dxw425_ (12-15-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (12-15-2018),_jmcrook_ (12-15-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018),_Reinz_ (12-16-2018),_RickyNY_ (12-15-2018),_Sauzo_ (12-15-2018)

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## richardhind1972

Great video, his stripes show up really well on the video, viv looks great too


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

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Gio (12-15-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018)

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## RickyNY

> Another relaxing night in the jungle.
> 
> Winter is here and I've dropped cage temps a few degrees during the day. I keep the night drop the same year round.
> 
> I also limit the daylight hours a bit. I use the blue lights until we black out at the end of the night.
> 
> I never get tired of this.


How beautiful those blue lights look, is got to be so soothing for the sneks, like moonlight  :Wink: 
I also do this Gio, I have the lights in the sneak room on 2 timers. The main light goes off at 6pm and the "stars" light up for 2 hours before going off as well and they have complete darkness, except for the blue light of the herpstat 4  :Very Happy: . 
I got to explain what the "stars" are; I have a strip of Christmas lights on the upper edge of the room's walls.

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Gio (12-16-2018),_MR Snakes_ (12-15-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

What a beautiful beast! Great setup too Gio!

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Gio (12-16-2018)

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## Reinz

It looks relaxing indeed!

Enjoy :Smile:

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Gio (12-16-2018)

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## Gio

Out and about.
https://imgur.com/8mcsBVj

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_jmcrook_ (12-22-2018)

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## richardhind1972

Love his white bits they show up so much, looks great gio

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Gio (12-22-2018)

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## Gio

> Love his white bits they show up so much, looks great gio
> 
> Sent from my TA-1024 using Tapatalk


Thanks,

I love the whites as well. 

Looks like the link worked!  Thanks for looking.

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_richardhind1972_ (12-22-2018)

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## Gio

These are not the best photos but they show a little more progression in size.

Wallace is a moderate percentage of SD, a larger percentage of Dwarf, and has a minimal amount of mainland.

He's not a monster by any stretch, but he is certainly not what the typical SD male would spec out at.



At this point I like how he handles and I feel confident in taking out alone. That said, I don't particularly like him near my neck. He has a bit of the SD/male twitchiness. At times it makes him annoying to take out.


This species of snake is active and fairly rewarding to keep. I think males tend to be more of a challenge than females, yet that really depends on the individual. I have not had the issues with Wallace that JM had with Gerald.



I'm not expecting or hoping for a lot more growth with this guy.

I still observe arboreal behavior nightly, and often during the day with Wallace.

Hopefully these pictures give a perspective of size.

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_Dianne_ (12-27-2018),_EL-Ziggy_ (12-28-2018),_jmcrook_ (12-27-2018)

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## RickyNY

Wallace is looking good Gio. 
What is he eating?

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## Gio

*"Wallace is looking good Gio. 
What is he eating?"
*


Hey Ricky, thanks. Wallace eats large or medium rats and large quail. I tend to feed without a schedule. Sometimes he will get fed weekly, and then I will let hime go 3-4 weeks before I feed.

I quoted my last post so folks wouldn't need to flip back to see the latest photos.






> These are not the best photos but they show a little more progression in size.
> 
> Wallace is a moderate percentage of SD, a larger percentage of Dwarf, and has a minimal amount of mainland.
> 
> He's not a monster by any stretch, but he is certainly not what the typical SD male would spec out at.
> 
> 
> 
> At this point I like how he handles and I feel confident in taking out alone. That said, I don't particularly like him near my neck. He has a bit of the SD/male twitchiness. At times it makes him annoying to take out.
> ...

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_jmcrook_ (12-27-2018),_RickyNY_ (12-29-2018)

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## RickyNY

Cool brother, keep up the good work and keep posting pictures of Wallace and Jewel please.  :Good Job:

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Gio (12-29-2018)

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## EL-Ziggy

Wallace looks awesome Gio! He's a pretty big boy and still fairly young. Is he usually pretty laid back? It's nice when they handle well.

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Gio (12-29-2018)

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## cletus

He's looks good Gio!!

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Gio (12-29-2018)

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## Justin83

He looks great! How old is he now? My SD Hector is about 14 months and 4ft long.

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## Gio

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

Wallace is 2 and a half years old. He turns 3 June 1st.

He handles fairly well but does have a "flighty/twitchy" side.

He's only bitten me once and that was at an early age. The second time I thought he bit me was not a bite. I actually snagged my hand on his teeth when he was backing out of my hand.

If he grows more, I'm hoping it is not more than a foot maybe 2.

He's a good captive, but the boa and carpet are more relaxing to handle.

That said I'm happy I have Wallace!

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_jmcrook_ (12-29-2018),_Justin83_ (12-29-2018)

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## Skyrivers

> Thanks for all the kind words everyone!
> 
> Wallace is 2 and a half years old. He turns 3 June 1st.
> 
> He handles fairly well but does have a "flighty/twitchy" side.
> 
> He's only bitten me once and that was at an early age. The second time I thought he bit me was not a bite. I actually snagged my hand on his teeth when he was backing out of my hand.
> 
> If he grows more, I'm hoping it is not more than a foot maybe 2.
> ...


He looks great. This is one of my favorite species to work with as well. 3 of them in my care and the 2 females seam calm and inquisitive when out. No bites from them yet. The male is always hungry and hard to get out to hold but does well once out. I love their intellect and personality. I also love the awesome size of these animals. Good job taking care of him. 

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

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Gio (12-29-2018)

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## Gio

> He looks great. This is one of my favorite species to work with as well. 3 of them in my care and the 2 females seam calm and inquisitive when out. No bites from them yet. The male is always hungry and hard to get out to hold but does well once out. I love their intellect and personality. I also love the awesome size of these animals. Good job taking care of him. 
> 
> Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk


Yes a lot of fun. Your new one looks great. Just saw it yesterday👍

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## cletus

I'm still really wanting an SD Retic at some point.   Probably a year or so away.   I'm waiting on a Pucalpa baby in the summer first.

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Gio (12-30-2018)

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## Gio

Well, Monday night didn't go my way.

After feeding Wallace earlier in the evening, I decided to change his water due to the amount of kicked up debris/substrate that landed his bowl post strike.

He was quite fired up when I opened his door but I expected that. I tapped him with the hook and he stopped moving and tracking me. I should have know better and made sure he was going the other direction before reaching in.

As I got my right hand on the bowl, he refocused on me and tagged my left hand while it was on the way in.

He's not a "baby" any more and is 8.5 to 9 feet long these days. 

Here's the damage.


Wiped up and treated picture.




It did smart a bit but it was nothing like it could have been. He released immediately and I was thankful he did. If he'd decided to bite and wrap, I'd have worse looking wounds.

He did get me in the knuckle bone, and there was a fair amount of bruising.

After 2 days, I only notice mild irritation.

You can see he's got a decent sized mouth. He got my index finger, knuckles and made it to the ring finger.

I wasn't too bothered by the incident but certainly don't want it to happen again.

I had him out today and he was great.

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_Dxw425_ (01-11-2019),_jmcrook_ (01-11-2019),_Sauzo_ (01-11-2019)

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## Dianne

Ouch!  Glad it wasnt more serious...theres so many veins in your hands that bites by the big guys can get ugly.

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Gio (01-10-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Did you bite him back? JK. 

Never let your guard down. These guys can get in all kinds of trouble for sure.

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## EL-Ziggy

So glad it wasn't worse Gio. Next time let the water wait til morning please.  :Smile:

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Gio (01-15-2019)

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## Gio

> Did you bite him back? JK. 
> 
> Never let your guard down. These guys can get in all kinds of trouble for sure.


Nah,

He was just hungry is all. He instantly dropped the association between my hand and food when he tagged me. 

The key with Wallace is to have him moving in the opposite direction after you hook tap prior to reaching in.

I don't typically meddle with him or items in his cage right after he's eaten however on this day his water needed attention.

----------


## Skyrivers

> Nah,
> 
> He was just hungry is all. He instantly dropped the association between my hand and food when he tagged me. 
> 
> The key with Wallace is to have him moving in the opposite direction after you hook tap prior to reaching in.
> 
> I don't typically meddle with him or items in his cage right after he's eaten however on this day his water needed attention.



Got to love retics! Nothing small about them. I am lucky mine are easy for the most part. The male being slightly a jerk from time to time. Just always hungry.

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## Gio

> Got to love retics! Nothing small about them. I am lucky mine are easy for the most part. The male being slightly a jerk from time to time. Just always hungry.


I agree,

The males can be a bit more testy. Add in some SD blood and dwarf blood and they tend to be a bit more busy.

Wallace handles well although busy, and I like that he calms down out of the cage.

I've never been able to measure him due to his constant motion but he's on the larger end for a SD X Dwarf I believe. 

He'll be 3 in June. 

Hope your critters are well. The new one is beautiful.

----------


## Sauzo

Haha. I took a feeding bite from Caesar a few weeks ago. Luckily he let go quick also. Amazing quick their brains go from friend to food lol. And yes I see teeth marks all over but that is a single bite.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

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callumdegg (03-01-2019),Gio (01-11-2019),_richardhind1972_ (01-12-2019)

----------


## Skyrivers

> I agree,
> 
> The males can be a bit more testy. Add in some SD blood and dwarf blood and they tend to be a bit more busy.
> 
> Wallace handles well although busy, and I like that he calms down out of the cage.
> 
> I've never been able to measure him due to his constant motion but he's on the larger end for a SD X Dwarf I believe. 
> 
> He'll be 3 in June. 
> ...


Thanks. She is a prise for sure. Super mellow to boot. 

Sent from my N9560 using Tapatalk

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Gio (01-11-2019)

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## RickyNY

Glad you're OK Gio. 
Is this your first bite?

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## Dxw425

Glad you and Wallace are both doing well! Considering his size that couldve been much worse. Thanks for the pictures!!

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## Gio

> Glad you and Wallace are both doing well! Considering his size that couldve been much worse. Thanks for the pictures!!


I think a true feeding response with a wrap would have been pretty nasty but not a day breaker. Even at 8.5 - 9 feet (estimate) he's fairly light bodied compared to a mainland.

Sauzo has a male about the same age and size as Wallace. Actually his boy is from the same breeder.

Most bites are not that bad, but some are.

I'm hoping this was my last bite.

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## Gio

Time for an update.

He's close to topping off and has his 3rd Bday June 1st. He's never been measured but I'd guess between 8-9 feet. 

Wallace took a F/T LG rat today.



Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of feeding pictures. Unfortunately its the easiest way I can get good pictures of him inside the cage. 

I will get some sunny weather pictures of him this year.



For now these must suffice.



His morph colors are starting to pop. Raspberry/Lime Ice Crystal is the gene I believe.  :ROFL:  Gotta love LED lights!


I cleaned the room up a bit and made some in cage adjustments to the boa cage. I must say, I think it looks pretty nice in the man cave.

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_AbsoluteApril_ (04-09-2019),_Dianne_ (04-09-2019),_EL-Ziggy_ (04-09-2019),_jmcrook_ (04-09-2019),_richardhind1972_ (04-10-2019),_WhompingWillow_ (04-10-2019)

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## jmcrook

Nice, lean, sturdy lookin critter! As always, I dig your set ups too, man. Someday Ill deck mine out once the boas are in their forever cages. Just dont feel like investing a bunch of money in cool backgrounds for small enclosures theyll grow out of. 
Cheers dude!


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Gio (04-09-2019)

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## EL-Ziggy

Wallace is looking as handsome as ever Gio. Every time I see him a little piece of me kinda regrets not getting a retic in my last trio of critters   :Smile: . Your enclosures are awesome too bro!

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Gio (04-09-2019)

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## Gio

Thanks guys,

JM, the boas love climbing so make sure you have perches in the final cages.

Zig,

I love this guy, but 1 is enough. My experience has been good compared to JM's but if I were to only have the opportunity to get 2 species, I'd gladly take boas and carpets.

That said, Wallace is awesome in many ways.

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_jmcrook_ (04-09-2019)

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## jmcrook

> Thanks guys,
> 
> JM, the boas love climbing so make sure you have perches in the final cages.
> 
> Zig,
> 
> I love this guy, but 1 is enough. My experience has been good compared to JM's but if I were to only have the opportunity to get 2 species, I'd gladly take boas and carpets.
> 
> That said, Wallace is awesome in many ways.


Im hoping my boas grow into the climbing habit. Dare I say, Leonard is more of a pet rock than my ball python, Geoffrey lol! Mirabelle cruises the cage pretty regularly but doesnt venture too high on her grapevine. Either way they will definitely be afforded the option as their grow out/final homes are already equipped with perch mounts and shelves and such.


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## Gio

> Im hoping my boas grow into the climbing habit. Dare I say, Leonard is more of a pet rock than my ball python, Geoffrey lol! Mirabelle cruises the cage pretty regularly but doesnt venture too high on her grapevine. Either way they will definitely be afforded the option as their grow out/final homes are already equipped with perch mounts and shelves and such.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'll get some Sniper climbing pictures up this summer.

I will say Wallace is the most arboreal creature I have.

The semi arboreal part of this hobby is something I love. Also the activity, which is why Wallace is pretty cool!

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## reptileexperts

Looking great!


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Gio (04-09-2019),_jmcrook_ (04-09-2019)

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## Gio

> Looking great!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


This post is like Graceland!

You are, IMO THE authority on the species here!

And yes folks, somebody that actually does have a biology major with the focus on animals.

Cody, I'd love to see more from you in regards to this species, but I know your venomous collection is time consuming.

I'm actually flattered you posted in this thread.

Thank you, and great to see you here!

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_jmcrook_ (04-09-2019)

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## reptileexperts

> This post is like Graceland!
> 
> You are, IMO THE authority on the species here!
> 
> And yes folks, somebody that actually does have a biology major with the focus on animals.
> 
> Cody, I'd love to see more from you in regards to this species, but I know your venomous collection is time consuming.
> 
> I'm actually flattered you posted in this thread.
> ...


I just posted a small update showing the ones we still keep. I still love our giants and they play a massive role in our education events. The bigger hiccup was moving and changing my reptile room up so its hard to get in there and shoot videos or even some newer photos. So I utilize when I have them tubbed to get photo updates for my own records and of course to share. Youre doing good with yours. Keep it up! 


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Gio (04-09-2019)

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## Gio

> I just posted a small update showing the ones we still keep. I still love our giants and they play a massive role in our education events. The bigger hiccup was moving and changing my reptile room up so its hard to get in there and shoot videos or even some newer photos. So I utilize when I have them tubbed to get photo updates for my own records and of course to share. Youre doing good with yours. Keep it up! 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm glad you haven't abandoned the board. I'd love to see another educational and informative update on these SD X Dwarf retics.

I think Wallace is close to being topped off at 8-9 feet. I do not feed weekly, actually every 2-4 weeks seems about perfect.

This board, and particularly the Giant Python forum has been lacking without your participation.

You made my day by posting here!

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_jmcrook_ (04-09-2019),_reptileexperts_ (04-09-2019)

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## richardhind1972

Looking really great gio, I really do love them vivs , there like a piece of art 


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Gio (04-10-2019)

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## Gio

> Looking really great gio, I really do love them vivs , there like a piece of art 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


I like setting up the vivs almost as much as getting new animals. 

Glad you enjoy them. 

I feel like when family members and friends go down to that room they can really enjoy it because of the zoo like feel.

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## WhompingWillow

I absolutely love your setups! They look phenomenal. I tried zooming in to see how you have the perches/climbing dowels attached but am still not sure. Would you be able to do a quick run down on how you installed them and what you used? (Or if you've already done so in a different thread, point me in the right direction?) I don't have any shelves in our PVC enclosures and am trying to think of ways to better utilize the space.

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## Gio

> I absolutely love your setups! They look phenomenal. I tried zooming in to see how you have the perches/climbing dowels attached but am still not sure. Would you be able to do a quick run down on how you installed them and what you used? (Or if you've already done so in a different thread, point me in the right direction?) I don't have any shelves in our PVC enclosures and am trying to think of ways to better utilize the space.


Page 6 of the Caging forum has the information you want. 

The post is called New Kingdom 👍🐍

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_jmcrook_ (04-10-2019)

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## Gio

He's been pretty good since this meal.
No flash.

Flash

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_CALM Pythons_ (04-21-2019),_richardhind1972_ (04-13-2019)

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## richardhind1972

That stripe really is so cool 

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Gio (04-13-2019)

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## Gio

> That stripe really is so cool 
> 
> Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk


I love the tiger pattern and love the white stripes too.

I do tend to like the tiger patterns that have a more blacks on the sides. Wallace doesn't have the real contrasty look, but still he's beautiful.

Thanks for the nice comment.

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_richardhind1972_ (04-13-2019)

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## Gio

What dramatic changes in the last few years.

A young Wallace, right out of the bag. (2016)


Well behaved as a little guy.




He grew quickly.




The length came, but he did stay slender and fit.




No more one handed handling.


And here he is in 2019.


He's about perfect in size, maybe slightly larger than I was hoping for, but he's not huge. I'm hoping he doesn't change much in the next year.



3 years old.


A lot of repeat photos, actually they all are however I needed to update the "progression" thread. 
Now you can see where he started and what he looks like this week.

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_jmcrook_ (06-07-2019),_Reinz_ (06-07-2019),_richardhind1972_ (06-07-2019)

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## richardhind1972

His markings have got so much better with age, just love them white lines on him, he's stunning gio 

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Gio (06-07-2019)

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## Reinz

Hard to believe that he was so small. He sure got more handsome as he aged.

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Gio (06-07-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Is he still fairly easy to handle most of the time?

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## Gio

> Is he still fairly easy to handle most of the time?


Thanks Richard and Reinz!

Sky,

Yes and no to that question. He's so busy and quick that he's semi difficult to handle. On the other side of that, he's light and not overly long.

A friend of mine who sticks with mainland retics feels they are more mellow and even though the size is much larger, they handle better. That's a generalization of course.

I know a 10 foot, 60 pound boa constrictor would present less of a challenge than Wallace.

The beauty of the SD X Dwarf stuff, at least in my case, is the excitement they bring to the display cage.

He's always doing something whether it be roaming the cage floor, climbing the perches or waiting at the door for food, he's very, very active.

This is the reward for putting up with the irritation of his handling antics.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (06-10-2019),fadingdaylight (06-07-2019),_jmcrook_ (06-07-2019),o.r hill (06-25-2019),_Reinz_ (06-07-2019)

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## Skyrivers

Thanks for sharing.

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## o.r hill

Thanks Glo with all your updates.    I do enjoy reading about your progress with Wallace.

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Gio (06-25-2019),_jmcrook_ (06-26-2019)

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## Gio

> Thanks Glo with all your updates.    I do enjoy reading about your progress with Wallace.


Thank you!

He's beautiful and fun to watch, but he's not much fun to handle.

I'm hoping he doesn't grow much more than he has.



I love his colors and pattern. I would not recommend the species to folks that have minimal experience with snakes.

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_CALM Pythons_ (07-23-2019),_jmcrook_ (06-26-2019),_Reinz_ (06-25-2019),_richardhind1972_ (06-26-2019)

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## richardhind1972

Really looking fantastic gio
I just love his markings, them colours are so cool and striking 

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Gio (06-26-2019)

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## Gio

Well, its been a bit since I have posted anything regarding this fellow.

I think Wallace is somewhat out of the jackass stage, although I don't ever trust him, I have handled him without gloves since his attack on the snake hook and Listerine soaked rag.

He's had a stretch of 15 days between meals. Today he was fed 1 large F/T rat.

His iridescent coloring is very prevalent in a couple of these pictures.






He's a whacko when it comes to feeding.


This last shot was taken through the glass. Thanks for looking.

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_dakski_ (08-19-2019),_EL-Ziggy_ (08-20-2019),_jmcrook_ (08-19-2019),_Reinz_ (08-19-2019)

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## jmcrook

Thats a very fit and well raised critter youve got there, regardless of how much he enters jackass mode. I admire your fortitude in dealing with his shenanigans. Cheers, buddy!


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Gio (08-19-2019)

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## Gio

> Thats a very fit and well raised critter youve got there, regardless of how much he enters jackass mode. I admire your fortitude in dealing with his shenanigans. Cheers, buddy!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks buddy!

I had some of the same feelings you had with your male. I was tempted to place this guy but have upped my game a bit.

I've come to realize he's not going to be a relaxed animal.

It's OK as long as he keeps his current size.

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_jmcrook_ (08-19-2019)

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## EL-Ziggy

He's an exceptional specimen Gio! I love his large but manageable size and his lean-n-mean body structure.

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Gio (08-20-2019)

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## Gio

> He's an exceptional specimen Gio! I love his large but manageable size and his lean-n-mean body structure.


Thanks Zig!

My best guess is he's 8.5 to 9 feet but lean. Lean as in muscular and healthy as you noted.

Sadly, this particular snake hasn't let me measure his length which is in contrast with all of the others here. 

I still haven't gone the route of buying the armor type gloves, but the new hook was a great purchase.

I recently bought a huge plastic storage bin to temporarily contain him when I'm cleaning his cage.

As you well know from your own python collection, some of these guys require a bit more work.

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_EL-Ziggy_ (08-20-2019)

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## Skyrivers

> Thanks Zig!
> 
> My best guess is he's 8.5 to 9 feet but lean. Lean as in muscular and healthy as you noted.
> 
> Sadly, this particular snake hasn't let me measure his length which is in contrast with all of the others here. 
> 
> I still haven't gone the route of buying the armor type gloves, but the new hook was a great purchase.
> 
> I recently bought a huge plastic storage bin to temporarily contain him when I'm cleaning his cage.
> ...


When it comes to measuring my retics I use floor tiles to get an estimate. They are way to active to do it any other way but that is one thing I love about them.

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## Gio

> When it comes to measuring my retics I use floor tiles to get an estimate. They are way to active to do it any other way but that is one thing I love about them.


I have a phone app that probably can do it. I need to get him in the grass and have my kid use the app.

Someday I'll be a bit more motivated to give it a whirl.

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_jmcrook_ (08-21-2019)

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