Captive Bred Baby/Juvenile Retic Temperament

[influence]

Hi everyone,

I am considering getting a CB 2013 juvenile male platinum tiger retic which is about 3ft plus (probably on maintenance feeding).
The question is, when asked about the snake's temperament, the seller said that when they are small they are bitey and will only tame down after reaching 4ft.
I am wondering if this is true? Since the snake is from a reputable breeder in the US (i'm getting it from a reseller in my country) and I have seen/heard of very tame (puppy dog tame) retic babies and juvies before.
I would appreciate your experience and advice. Thanks!

P/S: I stand by the Retic, Anaconda and Burm Nation!

[bcr229]

We have a platinum female CB2014 that we purchased directly from the breeder after she'd taken five meals. She was a tiny little thing when we got her. We specifically asked for one that was chill, and she has never offered to nip or shown any defensiveness. It's a good thing she's got such a great attitude as she's only nine months old and around six feet long now.

If the one you're getting has only been maintenance fed then it's no wonder that it bites. Our girl has a voracious appetite.

[reptileexperts]

That is incredibly small for such an old mainland . . . its probably aggressive due to food desire. Most will calm down with time, more so when you start off with them young. However it is untrue that all are grumpy little snakes. Many will take to handling after their first shed. Some, from feisty parents or WC parents, might have a little more fear thus a little more bite to them, but its more the exception rather than the rule.

[influence]

Thanks for the advice, so is it safe to say that with proper feeding and regular handling it will calm down.
I wouldn't like to have an 18ft grumpy serpent later on
But just wondering, what does it actually mean by maintenance feeding a retic or burm?
Is there a way to "maintenance feed" which doesn't end up in a snappy python?
I currently feed a medium rat to my 2+ft long burms on a weekly basis and they are super nice and cute
Does that count as "maintenance feeding"?

Thanks again!

[bcr229]

"Maintenance feeding" any critter means giving it barely enough to keep it alive, the critter won't grow much, if at all. Some breeders do it to save money on food costs and on caging - smaller critters need less space.

There's no way to know if the one you're looking at buying will change if you feed him properly. If he's nippy because he's hungry then he'll probably settle down. If he's nippy because he's naturally defensive then he might settle down with careful and patient handling - or he might not.

[reptileexperts]

Could be yes... could be no lol

But yes as stated when you maintenance feed its considered to be the bare minimum to keep a snake looking healthy but actually being fed just enough to keep its body processes going. For SD animals this is actually OK to an extent because in the wild this style of food regulation is what created the diversity in size we see today (low food availability / smaller prey items available). Adaptive radiation at its finest.

[artgecko]

If it was me... I'd want to know that the snake would have a good temperament... Even if that means going with another breeder, or getting one from a show where you can handle it.... Especially when we're talking about a baby that will become a very very large adult that could inflict damage and be extremely hard to rehome in that situation (I can imagine the CL ad now... 14' "fiesty" retic to good home)... Just my opinion, but that's what I would want lol.

The only snakes that I have purchased so far that have been a gamble temperament wise were sand boas... So it's not a big deal if they, at a whopping 3' adult size, are nippy... I have just ordered a Motley CA boa... That I haven't seen in person, so I don't know what he will be like yet, but I may end up regretting that decision lol, but again, we're only talking a 5-6' animal at adulthood.. Much easier to rehome if he doesn't end up being a good pet.

[influence]

Thank you all for the advice.

However, a slight misunderstanding arose between me and the seller. He thought that i had no experience with serpents before, and was thinking i was referring to 'bitey' as to compared to cats' docileness
Problem solved! the snake is a well behaved one. However, there seems to be a little bit of peeled scale/skin on his head and i was wondering if anyone had this experience with retics before?
The snake is not purchased yet, so pictures will not be available. Its like a white/grey 'dot' on his head, due to the missing scale/skin i presume, but the scaleless patch is small.
I wonder if it will heal with time or the snake will be scarred for life? and maybe its caused by a bad shed?

Advice and tips are welcome!

[Sauzo]

Most BCI are calm and mellow by nature. My normal BCI is like a 6ft puppy dog and my little sunglow is already sitting on my shoulders/neck and behaving and I've only had her just under a week. Never had a retic but like others have said, I really wouldn't want a 14' grumpy snake. I would probably shop around more and maybe look for one that is "tame" and not classified as "feisty" aka likes to bite

[reptileexperts]

Thank you all for the advice.

However, a slight misunderstanding arose between me and the seller. He thought that i had no experience with serpents before, and was thinking i was referring to 'bitey' as to compared to cats' docileness
Problem solved! the snake is a well behaved one. However, there seems to be a little bit of peeled scale/skin on his head and i was wondering if anyone had this experience with retics before?
The snake is not purchased yet, so pictures will not be available. Its like a white/grey 'dot' on his head, due to the missing scale/skin i presume, but the scaleless patch is small.
I wonder if it will heal with time or the snake will be scarred for life? and maybe its caused by a bad shed?

Advice and tips are welcome!

It will likely stay most of its life - but get smaller and smaller with every shed. Retics are terrible about pushing in their enclosures and messing their faces up. But it'll be fine.