Hi everyone, a question about burms

Hallo bp-net community, my name is Dave and I'm a snake addict.
This is my first post here and I din't know how to introduce myself :)

I'm 22 years old and I write from Italy. I own a couple snakes, 2.4 ball pythons and 1.1 corns, and a couple week ago I eventually bought my first male burm. :D

My question is, how big should I expect it to get?
I know males can get up to 12 ft or so, but I think it's like you ask how big your ball can grow and they tell you it can get up to 5 ft.

Some people with experience in large constrictors told me 12 ft, other people told me I have to overfeed to make it reach this size and 9 ft is a more reasonable size for a male burm with an average feeding schedule.
Another one said he should stay smaller since it's het green. :confused:

What have I to do and think now?
I have to tell you I'm going to establish a conservative feeding routine, but I don't want it to loose any inch...So I thought to feed it a medium sized prey every 7 days, every 10 when he'll reach 5 foot.


I hope your experience will help me and my new snake ;)

Oh, a couple pics...thanks.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...0_830021_n.jpg
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...19_71024_n.jpg

I have 5 burms of different ages and sizes. My largest is a 12 year old male (George) and he is 13.5 feet. I have a 4 year old female(Fluffy) who is already 10 feet. Males are generally 12-15 feet but I have personally seen a 18 foot male that was probed and was deffinatly a male. I have never seen a healthy male burm only reach 9 feet. George was underfed until the age of 7 at which time he was only 7 feet which is way small for that age and then we started feeding him frozen thawed rabbits which are mor appropriate for his size and now he is 13.5 feet....... Good luck but I think a healthy male burm will be much larger than 9 feet.

On an average males will be between 12-13 feet but that is not a guarantee. They can and do get larger-feeding schedule as well as genetics (how big the parents were) plays an important role in how big they will get.

As far as him staying smaller b/c he is het green-NOT TRUE!!!!! The genetic color and pattern traits have no have bearing on size.

Also, if you are going to cut him back to feeding him every 10 days after he reaches 5 feet make sure you up the size of his prey item from the medium sized to a larger sized of whatever you are using as he will get hungry and those extra 3 days he may get a little grumpy adjusting to going longer without food.

He is a gorgeous burm!!!!!

Yea, whoever you asked gave you inaccurate information. A male burm will easily get past single digits.

Yeah, 12-14' area for most males. Mine is 8' and 3 years old. He is small, but I am prepared for him to get as big as he does.

Ok, thanks for your informations
It sounded a little bit strange for me too, a male burm under 10 ft? :D
Anyway, when I bought him I wasn't expecting a dwarf, I'm prepared to a giant ;)

About being het green, I know genes don't have bearing on size...they just told me he could be a picky eater for that, especially during winter.


May I ask another question?
My burm is very docile...he just hisses a little bit when I pick up from his tub, then it calms down very quickly.
That said, I think you can't just thrust these animals...when should I start the hook training? Which size should my burm be?
About handling...I'm a ball python guy, I don't handle my animals if not necessary in order to avoid stress. But I've read it's really important with burm.
Do you think a couple times a week are enough?

Please forgive me for these questions...I made my homework but I'd like to be prepared to snakes like this ;)

Albino Green Male
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...n/DSC00712.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e5...n/DSC00718.jpg

The green gene gets just as large as any other burm (genetic or normal)

Most burms do hiss. Some grow out of it some do not

Very nice albino green! The yellow is amazing. How bis is he?

Quote:

---

Most burms do hiss. Some grow out of it some do not

---

I know that and I don't care about hissing ;) My question was about hook training and handling routine ;)

You can start hook training anytime. All of my babies that im raising to adults now are hook trained and my adults are hook trained also. I handle my babies a few times a week but once they get older and larger I usually only handle them once a week for cage cleaning.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dave86

May I ask another question?
My burm is very docile...he just hisses a little bit when I pick up from his tub, then it calms down very quickly.
That said, I think you can't just thrust these animals...when should I start the hook training? Which size should my burm be?
About handling...I'm a ball python guy, I don't handle my animals if not necessary in order to avoid stress. But I've read it's really important with burm.
Do you think a couple times a week are enough?

Please forgive me for these questions...I made my homework but I'd like to be prepared to snakes like this ;) About being het green, I know genes don't have bearing on size...they just told me he could be a picky eater for that, especially during winter.

---

As far as him hissing when you go to pick him up, he should outgrow that as he gets older and realizes you are not going to hurt him (think about how big you look to him and hissing and striking are his only defense-be grateful he's not striking!!!)

Start hook training him now-a light tap on the head before you pull him out and he will learn that means he's being picked up.

Handle him often now, remember to leave him alone for a couple of days after feeding so he has time to digest. As he grows you will learn more and more about his personality. Always remember to have someone else with you when you handle him as he gets bigger. You can handle him a couple of times a week so he stays calm and reamins used to it.

One of the reasons burms can be picky eaters especially during the winters months is because that is breeding season and some males will not eat at all during this time whether they are with a female or not. Greens, albinos, granites, etc... they all do it.

Don't apologize for all the questions-thats what we're here for!!!