New Addtion.. and it's not a ball!

Congrats, he's a handsome guy! I love my ST girl and you'll love yours :)

thanks for the advice reptileexperts! i can't wait to see him grow. he's got such a personality on him, and a heckuva feeding response.

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

I'm assuming it's a male? So you can actually house it it's entire life very comfortably in a 6x3x1.5 vision 632. Or one of the 6' Animal.

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yep he's a male. i do have one question though. I should be getting my tax return back the beginning of march, and while i have the extra money i was going to go ahead and buy him his adult cage. i've been leaning toward APs T25, and since i ordered a rack from them and they're still building it, i was going to see if they could just ship them together to save on shipping. the cages have the option of sliding glass doors or sliding acrylic. which do you think would be the better option? i hear acrylic scratches easily, but i'd hate to get glass and have him go crazy on feeding day and smash through the glass. would this be an issue?

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Nice pick up! Be ready for their wicked fast growth and amazing feeding response - i.e. feeding aggression. My mainland male is actually the most laxed in feeding in comparison to super dwarfs and dwarfs even. Heck my mainland grabs his food slow now, and my super dwarfs about attack me for opening the cage with rats in the room just to get them fed :-). Welcome to the giant owner kingdom! As with research that has suggestively been done. Remember a few things.

1) Feed feed feed feed. Not to overdue it and cause obesity by any means. But make sure you keep it fed. A well fed retic is a calm and happy retic. A hungry retic is VERY aggressive IMO. They let me know when I miss a feeding by 1 day.

2) Lead by example! With all the legislation bull attacking the community, be a responsible keeper from day one. Get in good practices and keep a well mannered properly housed snake. You'll need at least a 4x2 enclosure by the end of the year. I'm assuming it's a male? So you can actually house it it's entire life very comfortably in a 6x3x1.5 vision 632. Or one of the 6' Animal.

3) Forever means forever. A lot of people are under this odd assumption that when a retic grows too large they can simply move it on to another keeper or heck a zoo! It's not always easy finding homes for giants. I've seen more giants on kingsnakes that were 11-13' with no where to go and a $75 price tag just because the person needed it gone. Perhaps it was food cost, or housing capabilities. A retic is a commitment.

4) Use easy to change substrate. When these guys pee. . . its like Moses parting the red sea except it went all over your cage. A pile of feces is easy to clean, but its the pee that will keep you changing the substrate so make it easy on yourself! My bigger retics are kept on newspaper or recycled composite paper that I buy in rolls. Fast and sanitary!

5) Always respect. Always learn. Watch your snake. Grow with him as he grows. Get to know what his postures mean, how he reacts to certain conditions. These guys are one of, if not the, most intelligent species of snake. They are always inquiring around them. And they will read you so to speak. So read him. Learn how he says no to avoid accidents, and respect him when he says no.

6) Last one I promise, ask questions. Anytime something comes up just ask a question someone can help. Denial keeps retics on this forum and while he doesn't respond too often now, he's a good source. As is the retic nation group. These guys are passionate about retics and it shows. The support community that revolves around these giants is amazing.

and yes - genetically its a Tiger mutation and Albino Mutation combined.

cheers

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This is an excellent post and a reason why I love being a part of this community and hobby. Thank you. Congrats on the addition, beautiful young snake! I stick the smaller end of the spectrum so don't have much to add but glad you did your research and enjoy your beautiful new guy!

Congrats on the new pick-up!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by reptileexperts

Nice pick up! Be ready for their wicked fast growth and amazing feeding response - i.e. feeding aggression. My mainland male is actually the most laxed in feeding in comparison to super dwarfs and dwarfs even. Heck my mainland grabs his food slow now, and my super dwarfs about attack me for opening the cage with rats in the room just to get them fed :-). Welcome to the giant owner kingdom! As with research that has suggestively been done. Remember a few things.

1) Feed feed feed feed. Not to overdue it and cause obesity by any means. But make sure you keep it fed. A well fed retic is a calm and happy retic. A hungry retic is VERY aggressive IMO. They let me know when I miss a feeding by 1 day.

2) Lead by example! With all the legislation bull attacking the community, be a responsible keeper from day one. Get in good practices and keep a well mannered properly housed snake. You'll need at least a 4x2 enclosure by the end of the year. I'm assuming it's a male? So you can actually house it it's entire life very comfortably in a 6x3x1.5 vision 632. Or one of the 6' Animal.

3) Forever means forever. A lot of people are under this odd assumption that when a retic grows too large they can simply move it on to another keeper or heck a zoo! It's not always easy finding homes for giants. I've seen more giants on kingsnakes that were 11-13' with no where to go and a $75 price tag just because the person needed it gone. Perhaps it was food cost, or housing capabilities. A retic is a commitment.

4) Use easy to change substrate. When these guys pee. . . its like Moses parting the red sea except it went all over your cage. A pile of feces is easy to clean, but its the pee that will keep you changing the substrate so make it easy on yourself! My bigger retics are kept on newspaper or recycled composite paper that I buy in rolls. Fast and sanitary!

5) Always respect. Always learn. Watch your snake. Grow with him as he grows. Get to know what his postures mean, how he reacts to certain conditions. These guys are one of, if not the, most intelligent species of snake. They are always inquiring around them. And they will read you so to speak. So read him. Learn how he says no to avoid accidents, and respect him when he says no.

6) Last one I promise, ask questions. Anytime something comes up just ask a question someone can help. Denial keeps retics on this forum and while he doesn't respond too often now, he's a good source. As is the retic nation group. These guys are passionate about retics and it shows. The support community that revolves around these giants is amazing.

and yes - genetically its a Tiger mutation and Albino Mutation combined.

cheers

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This was an excellent post, I hope you have copied this to repost to other new retic owners. It was clear, cogent, and reverent. Cheers!

Lots of keepers use glass without worry. Stephanie laumeyer at the snake pusher prefers her AP over the visions. Should be no worry about busting through! Cheers

I wish someone would surprise me with a Retic one day! Your boy is beautiful. :) I held a baby at a show and fell in love; I especially liked how he seemed to "size me up" as we looked at him. Definitely different than Balls or even boas.

I saw you and your boy there! Congratulations on the new family member!

I saw that snake as well, beautiful. I thought it was a female though. That's a pretty big size difference.

Very small show though, I was mildly dissappointed.

I just my ap cages. Go with glass. You will not be dissapointed! Ask for the finger slides for the glass too. What a looker! Good luck and keep us posted on him.

Go with the glass doors. Plastic tends to mar and scratch easier.