Big snakes

[Jay_Bunny]

While we were at the Richmond Reptile show, we were looking around at all the different snakes at this one table. They had ball pythons, boas, retics, and burmese. I was asking my hubby if there was anything there that he liked and he said "We could always get a big snake." At first I thought he was joking and then when I asked him if he was serious he said "Well, I dunno. I like them but you always seem so against having bigger snakes."

Normally I am. I'm a small person (well only in the height department) and the idea of me handling a large snake kind of intimidates me. I have a columbian red tail boa, but she's still small so I haven't had the chance to get used to a snake any larger than a full grown ball python. When I asked him what kind of big snake he was thinking about he said a retic.

Can anyone give me any advice on big snakes in general? How did you get into them? What can you expect from a retic as far as temperament (I know all snakes are different)? What do you feed something that large? What are your rules when owning, caring for, and handling a large snake.

Now, I'm not going out tomorrow and getting my husband a retic, but I want some general information. If they seem like something I could get into, I am going to try and find someone who has these snakes and try and get some hands on experience before I consider getting one.

I personally love Olive Pythons and that is definitely on my wishlist.

[Denial]

Retics are great snakes they do get large and will eventually need rabbits or pigs although I have a very large snake that is still eating rats and will not switch so you never know lol. Retics are pretty active snakes mine are usually a little more harder to handle then my burms they just want to go everywhere and get very exitced when they get out of there enclosures.

If you do get one just make sure you have a locked secured enclosure and you use common sense when handling and feeding and you shouldnt have any problems. I dont get mine out a whole lot I usually handle mine once a week for cage cleanings and they stay tame. I would recommend hook training with any large snake though. Retics seem to be alot faster then my other large snakes and they are always hungry lol.

But good luck with whatever you decide im sure if you get a retic you will not be dissapointed!

[abuja]

Maybe you could get a jampea reticulated python! Those only get to be 10 feet to 12 feet.

[dc4teg]

or a super dawrf just so you get some expience with some mid sized snakes before you jump into a full sized retic

[Denial]

ive seen some pretty big jamps and besides 12 feet is still a pretty big snake

[Jay_Bunny]

Well I have a boa that will reach 7-9 feet and she's having some aggression issues. How long does it take a burm or retic to achieve full size? They look so little when they are babies.

Which ones tend to be more aggressive, burms or retics? I saw some beautiful burms at the show. I love the granite and the albinos are just stunning. My husband still likes the retics more though so I'm doing more research on them than anything.

[Denial]

Ive seen people get there burms and retics up to about 10 feet in there first year but It all depends on the snake and the owner. I feed all my baby burms once a week but sometimes you get the snake that decides it doesent want to eat for a few weeks and so of course thats going to slow his growth down. Once they hit about 4-5 feet I try to get them on rabbits and once they go on rabbits you start to see a signifcant increase in size.

Burms and retics can both be aggressive depending on the snake but usually when you start with a cbb baby you should have no problems. I have burmese pythons reticulated pythons and green anaconda Ive also had a large rock python in the past and I believe the easiest to care for are the burms. Mine are just so layed back. I can usually clean there cages without asking for help because usually when I pull them out they just let me put them in a tub. My retics however want to go everywhere when they are out of there cage lol and so sometimes its a struggle to get them moved around and cage cleaned. Ive also noticed my retics seem to high a very fast digestive system compared to my burms and my anaconda but I also thank that comes from them being so active where as my burms and anaconda are not so active

[Jay_Bunny]

Thanks for all the info. My husband and I will be doing some research together. We definitely wont be getting one until we own a home and that gives us plenty of time to decide if its right for us.

[AjBalls]

A buddy of mine has quite a few large Jampea retics, here are sizes of his I pulled off another forum (and this post is a couple years old):
Female Jampea 15' - 9" at age 6 1/2. (This was from last July. She has to be near 16’ now.)

Female Jampea 14’ – 7” at age 6. (My son and I tried to get an up to date one today but she kicked our butts. I’m betting she is over 15’ but will have to wait for another day to find out. Last accurate measurement was last April.)

Male Jampea 13’ - 1 1/2" at age 6 1/2. (This was from last August.)

Here is a picture of one of his larger Jamps
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...9/Dsc00684.jpg


Also, I hear from everybody that Jampeas are far more active than any other retic locality. Here is a video of my buddies trying to get the handle on a 16' Jampea
YouTube - Big Jampea

[Denial]

thank you! Loved the video great looking animal. Ive never felt jamps were dwarves. Is that jacob in that video?