Time to move on. Semi graphic.

Sorry to hear that your experience turned out that way Gio. Thanks for sharing and doing the right thing with Wallace.

Now your Comment on another thread makes more sense about acquiring a Rio Bravo Boa.

Wow Gio, sorry to hear that it didn't work out with Wallace. You did the best you could for him and have had a lot of patience the past year. His presidential penthouse suite is proof of how much you cared for him. I loved reading the progression threads when I first joined. I commend you for finding him a good home and making this thread.


I wonder how much the market will be flooded with retics in coming years now that the morph craze has hit. Every reptile show I go to no less than 3 vendors are pushing retics :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: no mention of their temperament.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 67temp

Wow Gio, sorry to hear that it didn't work out with Wallace. You did the best you could for him and have had a lot of patience the past year. His presidential penthouse suite is proof of how much you cared for him. I loved reading the progression threads when I first joined. I commend you for finding him a good home and making this thread.


I wonder how much the market will be flooded with retics in coming years now that the morph craze has hit. Every reptile show I go to no less than 3 vendors are pushing retics :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: no mention of their temperament.

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Yea I always thought it was crazy that you can pick up the world's longest snake for under $100.

Anyway, I'm sure you made the right move. It's not always the right fit, especially with large snakes, when the wrong move has bigger consequences.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 67temp

Wow Gio, sorry to hear that it didn't work out with Wallace. You did the best you could for him and have had a lot of patience the past year. His presidential penthouse suite is proof of how much you cared for him. I loved reading the progression threads when I first joined. I commend you for finding him a good home and making this thread.


I wonder how much the market will be flooded with retics in coming years now that the morph craze has hit. Every reptile show I go to no less than 3 vendors are pushing retics :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r: no mention of their temperament.

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I can't paint the whole species as bad eggs, but I've noticed that I'm not the only person to have issues. The SD ingredients and male testosterone addition seem to make a bad combo. I know breeders want to sell, but the average keeper should not take the species lightly and impulse buy a pretty morph or color pattern. A lot more comes with the purchase.

The breeder I placed my fella with said he was scaling back and noted that the demand for retics was dwindling. I don't really know, but I would not be surprised.

I typically see the progression that I had. The first few years are interesting and great. Then things get real and people find out quickly that the species is long lived, demanding and requires help. If you watch the boards, the threads go blank. I figured I'd just let people know I'm done.

Had my guy been food aggressive only I would have likely held on to him but food wasn't the answer.

The constant challenges and face-offs were a huge turn off. He was handled and cared for very well early on and into his "teens". He changed drastically with maturity and I simply wasn't interested in that type of experience without a second party to help.

For the right person, retics are the most interesting, demanding and rewarding species but they require 100% commitment IMO.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

...He was handled and cared for very well early on and into his "teens". He changed drastically with maturity and I simply wasn't interested in that type of experience without a second party to help...

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This is not the only wild animal that this happens with- like when people get charmed by a cute little raccoon & sometime in the future meet a whole different adult that suddenly makes a terrible "pet". It sure didn't help that he grew bigger than what you had intended to acquire. I give you lots of credit for knowing when to quit, especially without another person to help.

I feel you Gio. Sometimes you gotta know when to move on brother. I'm not a fan of getting bit and have a huge problem with animals that bite the hand that feeds them. Wallace was a beautiful boy but not worth taking a serious bite. I'm keeping a close eye on my scrub for the same reasons. He musks more than he bites these days, and he has gotten a little better, but he's still very unpredictable and is ALWAYS poised to strike. He's NEVER relaxed. And he has such a huge strike range that it's tough to always keep the sharp end away from my face. Wild animal or not if he ever bites my face it's game over for him. I'm hoping we never get to that point and if I don't see things get better in a year or two I may re-home him as well. I've already accepted the fact that he'll be more of a hands off/display animal, and that doesn't bother me, but I won't tolerate an animal I have to fight constantly fight with. My Olive and Argentine Boa will both be pretty large snakes too but I'm very happy and comfortable with their temperaments. I'm happy you found a good home for Wallace and I'll miss his thread, he was one of my forum favorites, but I'm sure you did the right thing. You should have gotten a re-homing fee for all your efforts though to offset the costs of the next critter to fill that beautiful, large, vacant enclosure. :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I feel you Gio. Sometimes you gotta know when to move on brother. I'm not a fan of getting bit and have a huge problem with animals that bite the hand that feeds them. Wallace was a beautiful boy but not worth taking a serious bite. I'm keeping a close eye on my scrub for the same reasons. He musks more than he bites these days, and he has gotten a little better, but he's still very unpredictable and is ALWAYS poised to strike. He's NEVER relaxed. And he has such a huge strike range that it's tough to always keep the sharp end away from my face. Wild animal or not if he ever bites my face it's game over for him. I'm hoping we never get to that point and if I don't see things get better in a year or two I may re-home him as well. I've already accepted the fact that he'll be more of a hands off/display animal, and that doesn't bother me, but I won't tolerate an animal I have to fight constantly fight with. My Olive and Argentine Boa will both be pretty large snakes too but I'm very happy and comfortable with their temperaments. I'm happy you found a good home for Wallace and I'll miss his thread, he was one of my forum favorites, but I'm sure you did the right thing. You should have gotten a re-homing fee for all your efforts though to offset the costs of the next critter to fill that beautiful, large, vacant enclosure. :)

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Thanks Zig,

I'm relieved and didn't realize how much stress that animal was causing me until now. Every water change, or waste cleanup was a 100% concentrated effort to avoid his ill intentions.

I had to check around a bit to place him. There is no market up here for a snake like that. I felt lucky to have one connection that was a perfect fit.

I had been in touch with Garrett Hartle last summer and he was kind enough to offer help if I needed it, but that option would require shipping and some other challenges.

If all goes well my next animal will be VERY affordable. As in too good to be true.

That is a wait and see situation and my wife is less than impressed with what just happened here. She's changed a dressing or two on me and isn't interested in seeing me get another.

However that beautiful 6 foot cage is perfect for the current BC or Carpet and that opens another cage for something small and young.

I can now circulate my larger animals in and out of the big cage to give them something new to explore.

I hope your scrub works out.

That olive sounds very well mannered and that's wonderful.

I do miss the beauty of Wallace but that's where it ends.

I really hate you had such a bad experience with him. I know you did everything you could. Every day I am more and more grateful for my 2 girls being calm. Best wishes with your future endeavors.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I can't paint the whole species as bad eggs, but I've noticed that I'm not the only person to have issues. The SD ingredients and male testosterone addition seem to make a bad combo. I know breeders want to sell, but the average keeper should not take the species lightly and impulse buy a pretty morph or color pattern. A lot more comes with the purchase.

The breeder I placed my fella with said he was scaling back and noted that the demand for retics was dwindling. I don't really know, but I would not be surprised.

I typically see the progression that I had. The first few years are interesting and great. Then things get real and people find out quickly that the species is long lived, demanding and requires help. If you watch the boards, the threads go blank. I figured I'd just let people know I'm done.

Had my guy been food aggressive only I would have likely held on to him but food wasn't the answer.

The constant challenges and face-offs were a huge turn off. He was handled and cared for very well early on and into his "teens". He changed drastically with maturity and I simply wasn't interested in that type of experience without a second party to help.

For the right person, retics are the most interesting, demanding and rewarding species but they require 100% commitment IMO.

---

Quote:

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Originally Posted by EL-Ziggy

I'm keeping a close eye on my scrub for the same reasons. He musks more than he bites these days, and he has gotten a little better, but he's still very unpredictable and is ALWAYS poised to strike. He's NEVER relaxed. And he has such a huge strike range that it's tough to always keep the sharp end away from my face. Wild animal or not if he ever bites my face it's game over for him. I'm hoping we never get to that point and if I don't see things get better in a year or two I may re-home him as well. I've already accepted the fact that he'll be more of a hands off/display animal, and that doesn't bother me, but I won't tolerate an animal I have to fight constantly fight with.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gio

I'm relieved and didn't realize how much stress that animal was causing me until now. Every water change, or waste cleanup was a 100% concentrated effort to avoid his ill intentions.

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Yea, scrubs are no joke. I had to check her nose because it looked a little strange and it makes a simple task a lot more challenging. Definitely understand that when routine maintenance causes a lot of stress that it's time to make a change.

https://i.imgur.com/N8cfh8u.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by wnateg

Yea, scrubs are no joke. I had to check her nose because it looked a little strange and it makes a simple task a lot more challenging. Definitely understand that when routine maintenance causes a lot of stress that it's time to make a change.

https://i.imgur.com/N8cfh8u.jpg

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That adds a unique look to the tat LOL.