Meet "Xanthess" - The 2017 25% Kalatoa Purple Albino Golden Child Retic

I have photos of the 87.5% SD babies when they are 8 mo old here:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ye-candy/page4

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

I have photos of the 87.5% SD babies when they are 8 mo old here:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ye-candy/page4

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Thanks for sharing, April! They're beautiful! Those guys seem quite a bit larger than both of mine. Definitely a lot more girthy. Do you recall what their feeding schedule and prey sizes were at that time? It sounds like they had the same size parents as both of mine as well...

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Thanks you guys... With regards to how big she will get, there isn't really any way of knowing for sure. I am choosing the middle ground with their feeding schedules, though. The breeders recommended that I keep them on a 14 day feeding schedule for their first 2 years then cut them back to once a month. I have chosen to keep them on a 10 day feeding schedule (maybe even slip in a feeding on the 7th day here and there) and i'll go from there in a year from now. This girl is a lot smaller than her boyfriend - "Sixx", who is also tiny. So, I may even just go ahead and put her on a 7 day feeding schedule for awhile. I want to keep their sizes manageable, but I don't want it to take 4 more years to get them up to breeding size, either. I would love for them to max out somewhere between 8' and 10' (a slender-ish 12' at the very most). I just don't want them to be fat, giant monsters... lol According to the breeders, I would have to power feed these guys and actually try to get them huge. To quote the breeder, he said, "If you feed them a lot they could reach 10'. But, if you just feed them every 2 weeks and every 4 weeks when they're a couple years old, they will only reach 6' - 7' and just a few pounds."...

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I'm not a Retic guy but I know that Kris from Vital Exotics is and I always have remembered this page from his site when I was looking at Retics and their sizes in the past so it should give you a ballpark figure perhaps.

"Reticulated pythons can be among the largest snakes and can potentially reach lengths of more than 20 feet and weights in excess of 250 pounds with heavy feeding. While some bloodlines of Retics can reach close to 25 feet, the claims of Retics readhing 30+ feet are rarely if ever verified and true. "Mainland" Retics stem from a larger growth bloodline and hence reach the largest sizes. If fed heavily a mainland female retic can reach 10-12 feet by year one. The average mainland female retic reaches 14-18 feet in captivity. Dwarf (Jampea) and or Super Dwarf Retics (Madu, Kayuadi, etc) are Reticulated Pythons that originate from small island populations in Indonesia. The smallest of the localities are the Madu and the Kayuadi that usually range anywhere between 6ft to a max of 12ft in pure bloodline form.

When looking into the sizes of Super Dwarf and Dwarf localities and morphs, the % of Dwarf and or SD that makes up the genetics and the feeding regiment (amount of food and frequancy of feeding) is a large factor for all the smaller sized bloodlines (Sd's and Dwarfs), with a good medium line feeding program (every 7-10 days) expect the following:

50% and higher Dwarfs: Males 6'-9', females 8'-12' with 50% and higher SD's: Males 5'-8' and females 6'-9'

In my collection and breeding groups, most of my dwarf males are in the 7'-8' range and Dwarf females around 10-11' with most of the SD breeder males around 6' and females around 8-9'.

Growth on all Retics can be rapid initially, but slows considerably after about two years of age depending on the care, feeding schedule, locality and genetics. While handling or feeding even "tame" or "manageable" large sized retics, it is highly important to have someone qualified in the household or close vicinity to lend a hand should a dangerous situation arise."

http://www.vitalexotics.com/reticula...on-care-sheet/


I don't know if this helps you, but hey, I figured I'd post it anyways.

Thanks for sharing, Kevin. That's great info! Parental sizes, genetics, SD percentages, prey sizes and feeding schedules are definitely all factors. I feel like wherever the offsrpring's parent on the SD side falls on the Filial generation scale could possibly have something to do with it as well. What do you guys think? I don't know which of these factors has the most impact in determining an SD's adult size, but based on all of the research i've done, I strongly feel that prey sizes and feeding schedules probably have just as much to do with it as any of the other factors. Jay Brewer of Prehistoric Pets has demonstrated many comparisons of mainland Retic sizes and it's amazing how small (yet perfectly proportionate) even mainlands can be kept with smaller prey sizes and moderate feeding schedules. Feeding schedules leading up to and during breeding season seems to have a lot to do with it as well. If you aren't careful they can pack on a lot of size during breeding seasons...

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To quote the breeder, he said, "If you feed them a lot they could reach 10'. But, if you just feed them every 2 weeks and every 4 weeks when they're a couple years old, they will only reach 6' - 7' and just a few pounds."...

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I can only image what Caesar would do if he was only feed once a month :O , are you sure that you can delay the food crazied feeding response retics are famous for? Just curious best wishes they are both fabulous I know you will do great :P

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Thanks for sharing, April! They're beautiful! Those guys seem quite a bit larger than both of mine. Definitely a lot more girthy. Do you recall what their feeding schedule and prey sizes were at that time? It sounds like they had the same size parents as both of mine as well...

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Fed once a week, started on mice, then rats (appropriate sized).

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Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

Thanks for sharing, Kevin. That's great info! Parental sizes, genetics, SD percentages, prey sizes and feeding schedules are definitely all factors. I feel like wherever the offsrpring's parent on the SD side falls on the Filial generation scale could possibly have something to do with it as well. What do you guys think? I don't know which of these factors has the most impact in determining an SD's adult size, but based on all of the research i've done, I strongly feel that prey sizes and feeding schedules probably have just as much to do with it as any of the other factors. Jay Brewer of Prehistoric Pets has demonstrated many comparisons of mainland Retic sizes and it's amazing how small (yet perfectly proportionate) even mainlands can be kept with smaller prey sizes and moderate feeding schedules. Feeding schedules leading up to and during breeding season seems to have a lot to do with it as well. If you aren't careful they can pack on a lot of size during breeding seasons...

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I would take what Jay Brewer says with a 'grain of salt' after seeing his 'big' burm which was a grossly obese snake. Also it will depend on the parents whether the mom or dad was the SD. Surf this site a bit and you will see comparisons of Caesar, Wallace, Phyllis and Gene. The closest comparison will be between Caesar and Wallace as Gio and i both got them from Kris Brown at Vital Exotics and they are only 1 month apart in age and both tigers. Wallace is higher percent dwarf than Caesar.

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Originally Posted by C.Marie

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I can only image what Caesar would do if he was only feed once a month :O , are you sure that you can delay the food crazied feeding response retics are famous for? Just curious best wishes they are both fabulous I know you will do great :P

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Lol it couldnt happen. I mean seriously, he would either hurt himself so bad he would need medical attention or he would break a door with his pushing. Some retic's feeding cant be controlled. It's easy to say feed them once every 2 weeks or once a month but it boils down to the snake in the case of retics. I made Caesar wait 2 weeks once and he literally had splits in his pits and split open lips and scrapes all over his lower chin from all the pushing. It started at night and just progressed to day time. once i fed him and got him back to every 7-10 days, he went back to being an angel.

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Originally Posted by AbsoluteApril

Fed once a week, started on mice, then rats (appropriate sized).

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Pretty much same schedule as Caesar when he was a baby. Now he'll be 2 years old this May and he still gets fed every 7-10 days lol. He is CRAZY foody.

Hopefully he'll grow out of it, sucks when they are like that. Both the SD parents get a small rabbit (maybe 3-5lb) every 2 weeks.