Retic has a "not so retic" feeding response: Not unheard of?

[retic720]

Hi there,

Based on the topic title, I'm referring to my favorite retic who would permit barehanded handling/picking up from the cage and is docile enough to permit little children to handle her freely. During feeding however, she's so "tame" that if it weren't for her horrible aim, I might as well feed her by hand.

I previously posted this pic in a local forum (don't worry; I post as blacklion720 in that forum ) to show how gentle that retic is.



Notes and Observations:

1) I believe she was a WC specimen; I "rescued" her from a place that crammed her and 50 other cagemates in a 50 gallon tank and I believe they were prepping her up for slaughter (I'm not a fan of snake meat, but in some parts of the Philippines, it's considered to be a delicacy, best enjoyed with beer/liquor).

2) After a week under my care, I had her examined by the vet and based on initial observations so far, she's "clean". She did give her antibiotics to help fight internal parasites tho. Yeah, sue me. I failed to get the brand .

3) On her second night in her new home (mine...hehehe), she eagerly ate a live mouse. Numbers 1 - 3 occurred 3 years ago.

4) Until her 2nd year of her stay, she was fed weekly appropriately sized rodent(s). Then from her 2nd year onwards, I decreased the frequency to 1 feeding/2 weeks (reading that disturbing post from nightflight gave me nightmares that make me shudder even today). Shed phases are excluded.

5) This was most noticed from her 2nd year onwards; Whenever she'd feed, I can see her strikes are not "enthusiastic" for a retic. AKA, with the way she strikes at her prey, a retic enthusiast might label her as "wimp" or "wuss".

6) My ball python male has a MUCH stronger feeding response that this retic.

7) However, she is far from sickly/lethargic; you can still feel strength and she does not "limp about" during handling.

8) She once messed up her face so bad due to cage pushing, regardless of how recently she fed. Cage pushing dramatically decreased as I increased handling sessions from 3x/week to 2x/day (weekends included)!

9) I once got tagged due to a SFE (I was texting my ex while feeding her...my bad). She did hold on but when I tapped her nose with my other hand, she released the food item and my fingers.


Questions:

1) Anybody else experienced this with their own retics/"notoriously nasty" snakes?

2) Is this a good reason for me to warrant a visit to the vet again?

Thanks

Appendix:

This is the link I was referring to that gave me enough reason to NOT overfeed my pets

http://community.livejournal.com/herpers/1595022.html

[Shawn]

as with all animals not all retics are such aggresive feeders . I have a WC java female that is now 5 yrs old and does not have the strongest feeding responce. all my retics have been gentle as lambs and have all been handled by children ever since they have arived after initial adjustment to new home. Retics IMO are far more trustworthy than many people say . I will try and post some pics with the kids later. as for the vet visit if you think you need to go then maybe you should . dont wait for some else to tell you to go always use your own judgement. Even if nothing is wrong you will know for sure and wont have to second guess yourself

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

hey man, im on the other forums as well (not sure if you remember me) but ive heard some wildcaughts arnt used to the (captive) way of living, and due to them being wild, they only eat minimal amouts of food, as they would in the wild...

[retic720]

hey man, im on the other forums as well (not sure if you remember me) but ive heard some wildcaughts arnt used to the (captive) way of living, and due to them being wild, they only eat minimal amouts of food, as they would in the wild...

Hi there,

If I'm not mistaken...bobclark's forums?

Oh. That retic could eat like a pig....I just stopped feeding her like one when I saw that link which I posted earlier

@Shawn:

Given my observations/notes, would you have her tested for intestinal problems? Or should I just be glad that I have a very rare retic who is "nice to everybody"?

Thanks again

[FIEND_FO_LYFE]

Hi there,

If I'm not mistaken...bobclark's forums?

Oh. That retic could eat like a pig....I just stopped feeding her like one when I saw that link which I posted earlier

Thanks again

yes from Bob's.
sorry, i didnt really answer your question...
YES id go to a vet. ittle be a win win situation..
there is nothing bad that could come from it, except a bill...

[Shawn]

Hi there,

@Shawn:

Given my observations/notes, would you have her tested for intestinal problems? Or should I just be glad that I have a very rare retic who is "nice to everybody"?

Thanks again

I feel its always best to use one's own judgement because no one knows your animal better than you. has she lost any weight? are her gums still good color? has her feces changed in any way, such as looser than normal or has it looked like there was a substance in it that looks like rice or worms?

[retic720]

I feel its always best to use one's own judgement because no one knows your animal better than you. has she lost any weight? are her gums still good color? has her feces changed in any way, such as looser than normal or has it looked like there was a substance in it that looks like rice or worms?

No to all of the above. if any, she's grown bigger(not big enough to take on rabbits/chickens tho...an adult quail or a baby rabbit perhaps) and her food acquisition's MUCH gentler than usual; remember what I said about my ball python? Even he strikes at food more aggressively than this retic. Slap me if I'm an idiot, but you believe this is because I got her used to PK prey (which I doubt....coz I give all of my pythons PK prey)?

With the typhoon alert (I live in the Philippines; my area's not that affected, but the same can't be said true for my less fortunate brothers/sisters), I'll give the vet a visit on Sunday MNL time (it's Friday evening right now).

@Fiend:

Yeah. Just to be safe. I'll drop by the vet's this sunday just to be safe. Too bad my retic already passed stools; not going to be "fresh" for the vet to examine.

BTW, you still have contact with some of the other regulars of bob clarks forums? Was hoping I'd get in touch with Moe and this other dude who once put up pictures of a retic that badly messed up her face thru pushing but healed very quickly after 2 weeks (and added that retics' healing abilities are often underestimated and usually requires no antibiotics...). Hope they've already found this forum

[mumps]

So you have a 3+ year old female retic and she isn't big enough to eat rabbits.

Something is definitely wrong. I tried to read the link but it wouldn't come up ("cannot display webpage").

Even with moderate feeding, a 3 year old female non-dwarf/superdwarf retic should be at least twelve feet...

Chris

[Shawn]

So you have a 3+ year old female retic and she isn't big enough to eat rabbits.

Something is definitely wrong. I tried to read the link but it wouldn't come up ("cannot display webpage").

Even with moderate feeding, a 3 year old female non-dwarf/superdwarf retic should be at least twelve feet...

Chris

this is not always true. I have a 5 yr old that is only about 11 - 12 ft java that did not start off all that well in its 1st and second yr. that pic in my avatar is the snake I am refering to. She is a WC that was sent to me by a dealer in the middle of december in 04 wiithout any heat pacs and was almost dead when she got to me. She did not eat for almost 8 months due to a severe RI and stomatitus never mind being yanked from the wild and shipped to a new home. Now had I known this dealer was going to do such a thing I never would have done Biz with him. She is my favorite retic and I could no0t be happier with her now, even though she started out so rough she is one of my gentle little lambs and she is loved by anyone that handles her.

[retic720]

So you have a 3+ year old female retic and she isn't big enough to eat rabbits.

Something is definitely wrong. I tried to read the link but it wouldn't come up ("cannot display webpage").

Even with moderate feeding, a 3 year old female non-dwarf/superdwarf retic should be at least twelve feet...

Chris

The link works just fine on my end. Friend of mine from Canada could also open it. Basically necropsy pix done on a few snakes that were force fed and another that had a LOT of fats inside.

As for the retic, well...for certain she's not of imported stock (I'm guessing somewhere based in the Philippines, where I live) but I'm quite sure she's not from the Indonesian/Thai mainland stock, and based the price the store offered me when I rescued her (if I'm not mistaken on the currency exchange, he agreed to let me have her for roughly $US16.00), I doubt if she's from the Jampea stock. The first few times I had her checked as part of her check up (see long post above), she's cleared so far. Nevertheless, I'm interested to have her checked again tomorrow (once the typhoon alert's lifted of course).

Feeding wise, she hasn't skipped meals ever (except shed) and her temperament can be comparable to a gentle corn snake/ball python.

Her pic in the first post was taken jsut a few months ago...I hope that gives you a rough idea on how "big" my retic in question is. My cousin who posed with her is roughly 5'5".