burmese VS. Retic.

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Originally Posted by pandp

Excellent advice...I know it may seem like some of us might be discouraging, but jumping straight into an adult TIC is a big leap from a tame Burm...Find a friend or a breeder who might let you get some experience with the larger TICS...I know my Dwarfs keep me on my toes and my SD's are down right hyper like school kids...For example, right now my Dwarf Lavender is crazy hungry all the time or looking for food...When I go in if I don't have the hook ready to let her know it's not feeding time, she'll lung straight outta the cage...or if I'm not handling her, she'll just slam into the glass (which makes me wonder if she thinks I'm food...:O:O:O)...And she wasn't like this when I got her...

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Thanks.
And for the OP I may as well add in that all snakes are unpredictable. You never really know when something will happen, no matter how docile the snake may be. Especially with pythons and boas, since they are so quick at striking (some need to be because some are ambush predators). So an unpredictable, large constrictor would be the last thing you would want to get into.
I'm not trying to make large snakes sound bad, but I am saying any snake is unpredictable and can be that wild animal like they are in an instant so it would be more dangerous to see that wild animal with a long, hyper Retic. I like Retics, but it wouldn't be something I'd own because I'm not into larger constrictors like that. Maybe a Burm, but a Retic is too hyper for my liking.

i definitely wouldn't suggest your first retic being an adult... you didn't raise it and won't know its personality, or temper... if you are going to get a retic get a baby... i personally prefer retics over burms any day...

I don't know why people classify retics as being "more aggressive" than burms.

I'd call them more ACTIVE for sure, but I'd say for % of the captive adult population that is in the "mean and wanting to rip your face off whenever you get too close", burms take the cake over retics. This is just from my limited up-close handling experience with a dozen or so individuals of both species, which is hardly a large enough sample size to draw conclusions, but I also get that feeling from watching vids and reading about people's collections.

I've never met or seen a retic that you can't handle (there are some out there for sure, but I just haven't met them personally). I have met burms in that category.

In addition, of all the captive giant constrictor deaths in the US, something like over half were from burms. This DOESN'T mean that they are more dangerous or more likely to be mean (though I do think too many people think of all burms as kitties and all retics as savages, neither is an appropriate analogy), but I think it does show that big burm temperment is often underestimated.

I wouldn't rate the difference between a big burm and big retic on a scale of "more likely to bite its owner".

I would say that one big difference is just how freaking tired you get from 5-10 minutes of handling a 15 foot retic over a 15 foot burm.

people just misinterpret their amazing food response with aggression... which is just due to a lack of experience with them...

1st,,snakes are not aggressive, they ARE defensive..Some of any or all species never ACCLIMATE or become accustom to OUR way..I feel safe to ASSUME that is because they are nervous or scared and will protect themselves the only way they know how..Retics are more alert or IN TUNE than Burms,, and as a fellow keeper stated a greater adversary..

Man the last couple posts are full of wisdom...My burms have drawn way more blood than my Tics...But my Tics have musked/poo'ed and pee'ed on me way more than my Burms...Some are teddy bears and some are the devil incarnate...Just like raising kids, each snake is different...For me I love the challenge of the more difficult ones and love the cuddling of the mellow ones...

Get a dwarf retic.

I trust a big burm more than I trust a big retic... Saying that i've cared for evil 15 foot retics and burms alike.

In my limited experience my tic is the devil and my burm a teddy bear, but thats just my experience.

Any snake can be passive, any snake can be aggressive. What's the difference? Size. Retic = Burmese x 2.