How big is.....?

[Python-77]

Ok I have seen many many posts accross a ton of forums, One I notice that always comes up is " I looking for a new snake....how big does.....?"

The the replys people get are like this well the Red tail only gets 10ft.....the JCP only get around 8 FT. Many people have a hard time understanding what 10FT is so when I was at Home Depot today I walked past the "by the foot" chain rack and this gave me a great Idea pull out about 8 feet of chain and see jsut how long it is the 10 ft and so on puts a large snake into perspective I can say that much. Now here is a good way to judge what your cute little burm or retic will be like pull out 20ft of 1/4in link chain and toss it over your shoulders.

Oh and 4ft is longer than some people think.

[Kara]

Very well put, and important stuff to take into consideration. 10' can be pretty darn intimidating if that 10' is having an especially bad day or overactive feeding response. Shoot...depending on the animal it can stop being fun around 5' if they get really uppity. And it's amazing just how strong some constrictors really are.

Thanks for posting this!

K

[Hoomi]

My BP's are still around the 3 foot range, and it surprises the daylights out of me sometimes just how strong they are. When they decide to hold on instead of just relaxing and letting you place them back in the enclosure, it's an eye-opener just how muscular those little bodies are!

I can imagine one three times the length, and much more than three times the weight...

[Cody]

Haha, yeah...my little 4 month old Pelota is pretty strong for her age. A lot of times after handling, I'll try to put her in her cage, and she tightens up right around my hand. A few times she's done it so hard it cracked my knuckles in my fingers, lol. And this is just a 2 foot long baby. I can just imagine how strong she'll be when she's older.

[oorob00]

yeah you also want to think about how much they will weight when they get that big. I had a 4 year old burm that was about 9 feet long and weighed a little over 20 pounds. He had just about reached him max lenght and was starting to put on some gurth.

[Hoomi]

Think about Bob Clark's "Fluffy", who is pushing some 25 feet long and over 300 pounds (and still growing). That reticulated python is reputed to currently be the largest snake in captivity.

One thing I like about the maximum size of a ball python is that, if one of mine gets out of its enclosure, even if it's feeling obnoxious I don't need to call for reinforcements to put him or her back in. About the most you'd ever need for a difficult BP is a standard snake hook.

I also like the idea of being able to bring home meals for all four of my BP's in a lightweight bag in one hand. Four adult rats still weight a heck of a lot less than a pig large enough to satisfy something the size of Fluffy.

[Schlyne]

I agree. There are many reasons why I don't want a snake over 6 feet in length, mostly becuase I don't want to have an animal I have to have help with to handle.

[jotay]

yes that is my reason for wanting to keep it under the 6-7' range.
I won't always have someone around to help feed it or handle it if it's in a bad mood.
Figure a full size pick up has an 8' bed and then for girth look at your upper arm or calf and well that will tell ya that's a big snake to handle.
Also an avg room size is about 10'x whatever. To much snake for me!

[Ginevive]

I would not get anything bigger than a bci. The one I have is a male, and at three feet he is already something of a handful when you're replacing him back into his cage after handling. For his larger, lifetime cage, I plan on making something with sliding doors in the front to make it easier and less stressful when I am puttin him back in.

This pic of Gobby is the pic I always show people when they say "how big do Balls get?" I think that in pics, it is great to have something to compare the snake to for size reference.