Jampea

As an FYI a Jampea can still get huge. Samson Pruitt posted pics of his 18 foot female. If you want a smaller one look at the super dwarf localities.

Kind of weird they still deem it a dwarf if it can still get up to the normal retic size. I'll lean more on the mainland and controlled feeding and before the time comes when I have to make my choice, I'll see what works best for me.

Thanks for the help, guys.

So the issue is that the different designations for retics, like mainland, jampea, kalatoa, are geographic, not genetic designations. Meaning that within each group there is a widely significant spectrum of potential genetic sizes. So you could have one genetic line of jampea individuals that exist at the high end of the genetic spectrum, and a group of mainland animals that exist on the smaller end, and thus have similar sizes. This is why you can't definitively know sizes of a particular animal without knowing the details of their parents and specific line. Adding into the confusion are breeders who list an animal as 'dwarf' when it might only have a small percentage of true dwarf genes in its ancestry.

Alright, so that's going to be something to look at. I'm defiantly going to look into the parents and hopefully I can find a trustworthy breeder with a mainland that won't get too big.

Good stuff. Sounds like you are going about this thoughtfully.

Lots of stuff posted. Most of the things have been answered. Couple of key things:

Jampeas are the largest of the dwarf locales - but these large ones are the oddball. However, it still remains a possibility. The largest of the large will be females, however, so looking into males you will be just fine.

My 50% Jampea Goldenchild Male is full grown. Breedable. Getting fat if I push anymore food down him. He's a very comfortable 9' roughly and IMO a perfect sized snake. Small enough to be handled by one person, but large enough to be confident in a group of people where it's still "wow" but controllable.

Locale specifics do push to genetic difference. In my understanding it comes from their ability to regulate metabolism differently. Smaller island chains result in smaller and less frequent feeding pools. Jampea in particular is reliant on bird breeding populations that come in once a year. It can feed heavy and then slow its metabolism down the rest of the year. It results in a smaller growth rate, and a smaller breeding size. Potential is there though if you do not maintain this metabolism phenomena. Those who see Giant Jampeas. generally have a heavy feeding schedule and attempt to grow them large. I have a 75% Jampea het Anery poss het albino tiger female that was born in 2013 late. She's been fed a different feeding plan than my normal grow outs (typically I feed every 4-7 days till 6 months old, then every 7 days till about a year then every 7-10 days skipping a meal during sheds). She's been fed a moderate sized meal every 7-10 days since I took her in to watch the growth. In contrast at this age, my 62.5% Jampea Purple Albino was pushing 5' and some change. The tiger, is still around 3' and a very very healthy weight. She'll likely breed around 10' where my purple albino Jampea is now around 14 ft and will breed this winter (we typically can see locks between October and January).

The personal stuff is up to you. Only you know when you are able to take it in, and how you will handle it throughout the future. Don't be discouraged as a lot of folks have started at a young age and done just fine. But, a giant snake is a giant responsibility, land lords, dorms, and bills are all things to consider, but again I only offer you information to absorb and use with your own knowledge of yourself. Keep in mind, unless you were a USARK member prior to March or April of this year, you will NOT be able to move a retic across stateliness. And no one can move retics INTO Florida or Texas with the current state of the law in regards to the Lacy Act. More things to consider.

Shoot me a message if and when you get closer to the decisive moment and I'll offer what information I can. New youtube videos are in the works - it's been a painfully slow process this past year to get any updates done.

I thought retics were not on the Lacey act, only pending. I'll look into that later when the time is nearing, and when I feel better because ho boy I am sick and I want to curl up and die right now. The one thing I do worry about is the feeding because if I'm successful with breeding live mice, that won't be a problem in the earlier months when it's small, but rabbits can get pretty pricey and it was a lot of money for just the mice stuff, so I don't know about breeding them.

I know by the time I get another snake I'll be working part time somewhere that can get me money for food but there's still a lot of other factors in the world to consider. Gas, medicine, food for myself, etc. I don't think my parents are going to back me up for that long. Hopefully when I get the snake, it'll accept f/t because as much as I like live, it's a hassle to go out to the store and get one, care for them when the snake doesn't eat, etc. But then I'd have to get frozen mice for the snake when it's younger to keep it used to that type of prey, and I can probably find some pet store that'll take in young feeder mice if I breed too many babies.

I'll defiantly try to remember to message you when the time is coming and I think I'll look into getting a mainland retic, just because it's said that they're more likely to be more docile. I have to learn about this USARK program, too.

Thanks.

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Originally Posted by Nixon

I thought retics were not on the Lacey act, only pending. I'll look into that later when the time is nearing, and when I feel better because ho boy I am sick and I want to curl up and die right now. The one thing I do worry about is the feeding because if I'm successful with breeding live mice, that won't be a problem in the earlier months when it's small, but rabbits can get pretty pricey and it was a lot of money for just the mice stuff, so I don't know about breeding them.

I know by the time I get another snake I'll be working part time somewhere that can get me money for food but there's still a lot of other factors in the world to consider. Gas, medicine, food for myself, etc. I don't think my parents are going to back me up for that long. Hopefully when I get the snake, it'll accept f/t because as much as I like live, it's a hassle to go out to the store and get one, care for them when the snake doesn't eat, etc. But then I'd have to get frozen mice for the snake when it's younger to keep it used to that type of prey, and I can probably find some pet store that'll take in young feeder mice if I breed too many babies.

I'll defiantly try to remember to message you when the time is coming and I think I'll look into getting a mainland retic, just because it's said that they're more likely to be more docile. I have to learn about this USARK program, too.

Thanks.

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They are very much on the lacy act - but it is part of the law suit and the injunction filed granted us a temporary relief from the ban on interstate transport. However, part of the agreement was that it would exclude Texas and Florida from this injunction due to the higher risk in these states (Thanks USGS HSUS PETA and everyone else out to get me). Nevertheless, city's have laws and ordinances as well. And some states have their own laws regarding retics. Best to study ALL possible places you wish to go to school or live. If you plan to stay in your current town, read the city ordinances and find out what they allow and don't allow. People fail to realize that the government can say yes, a state can say yes, a county can say yes, your mom can say yes, but then it happens - the City itself, says no. Ordinances are extremely out dated in most cities, but they are still law. Learn them.