Am I ready for a retic?

Is there poop the size of a football?? :rofl::rofl:

you would be amazed at what a digested rabbit looks like lol. And I have heard some real horror storys about what diegested pig looks like

1. I suggest you start with a big boa, then maybe a burm, then a retic. There is absolutely no comparison between a 7 foot boa and a grown retic. Your retic is going to be bigger than that boa in the first year.

2. You have the room and the money, that's good.

3. Once it reaches about 15 feet, you will need to have another person to help you clean, move, handle, etc, every single time.

i started with burms, staying away from the retics as they had a "bad rep". back then, this was mostly true, all the retics i worked with at the time were little buggers to be nice about it....

however, retics in general have calmed down quite a bit, imo. as denial mentioned, they are much more active and alert than a burm or african rock or indian, and not as big boned.... the retics i've had in the last five years have all had very nice temperaments, but as with any retic, you had to be careful when going in the cage, lol. amazing feeding responses indeed!

i think that if you are serious enough to consider having a retic, and truly feel YOU fell that you're ready, a retic will be a wonderful addition to your family. :)

I would look closely- VERY CLOSELY- at my life plans for the next twenty years. Does a large, expensive snake that very few landlords would tolerate and which requires costly food and a massive cage and a committed helper for you fit into your life? If you cannot 100% with total honesty say that you can give this type of committment, then please don't get one of these magnificent animals. They deserve better than being given away or sold as adults, requiring rescue, or god forbid being dumped/released, and enough people do these things that it seems clear to me that very few people actually can cope with having one as a pet.

Put the animal first... and examine your life carefully. JMO. I don't and will almost certainly never own one of these glorious animals for these very reasons.

IMO if you have to ask then no. No one can tell you whether you are or are not ready for something. Thats something only you will know based on how you feel about it. :)

you my friend have a huge set of CAHOOOONAS that is crazy talk your not ready if u have to think about it that much its alot harder to get rid of a +15ft python than a 5ft ball imagine the size of space it NEEDS the foood it needs that you will have to clean up the smell of that pig or rabbit the gallons of urinn to clean up and just to move the python to the side you need a bunch of man power.....

you can do anything you want you can steer your car with your feet and your eyes closed but it dont mean its a goood idea :rofl:

Retics are glorious snakes. Active? Yes. Lots of space? Yes. Huge appetites? Yes. Big poops? Yes. Our local herp zoo had a 23 footer who once a year got a goat. The only thing more impressive than watching her eat it was seeing what came out after...

People say "start with a burm". If you only have room for one giant snake, then get what you want. If you start with a burm you could be waiting 20+ years before you can get that retic...

Chris

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Originally Posted by Denial

I moved out at the age of 16 because my fiance got pregnant and my parents would only let me stay if I talked her into an abortion. I refused and so I had to move out. I got a place and we moved in. I was very young and I have always been into animals always loved all of them and I have wanted a snake since I was a little kid but my parents refused so once our child was born my first fathers day my fiance bought me a ball python. And when I got home I had absoulty no idea what I was doing I didnt know how hot it needed to be I didnt know anything about them at all. So I stayed up all night reading and reading and reading but also at the same time I was seeing all these pictures of all these other snakes and I was just amazed at all the patterns and everything they had and I wanted so many of them. But when I found the giant snakes I really found my passion. I didnt have the ball long before I jumped into burmese pythons then I got green anacondas and then retics. I love my retics they are alot faster then the burmese pythons and anacondas and they seem to digest there food alot quicker also. I started very young but I worked my butt off I remember when I was going to school and then going to work at burger king and then coming home to care for a child and a room full of snakes lol. But It all payed off in the end. I dont think people should come to forums and ask if they are ready for a big snake or any snake for that matter. Because no one knows you better then yourself and you should be able to decide wheter you are ready or not to take care of a giant. I have a good number of snakes and it does get somewhat expensive. Its not to bad when you only have one or two but when you get into the 20's and 30's the food bill SKYROCKETS and when your retic goes from rats to rabbits it goes on up also lol. The food bill has gotten so bad with us we are actually in the process of breeding our own food. But you also have to include the electricity they use (our bill is insane every month. I actually shake when I open it lol) and make sure your really interested in the animal and you want this animal for its life. I will be the first to admit when I got my burms I couldnt wait for them to grow up I was going to show them off to everyone and I was going to be the cool kid with the big snakes. But now since I have the animals I will tell you from experience I hardly ever actually carry my animals anywhere. It becomes a struggle just to get them out of the cages to clean every week. We have to wrestle chloe into a rubbermaid to clean her cage and god forbid if she needs a bath or she has some stuck shed. We had to give zues antibiotics down his throat once and I hope I never have to do that again lol it was horrible. You have to have a partner because you cant concentrate on a syringe and a 12 foot angry snake at the same time lol. I spend alot of time with my animals just cleaning cages and disenfecting things and I spend even more money on them. But I wouldnt trade it for the world. I wouldnt know what to do if I didnt come home and not have someones cage to clean or water bowls to change. I consider this part of my life and its very rewarding to work with retics everyday. They are incredible animals and very smart. They have amazing feeding responses that can be very dangerous if you dont know what your doing. But I dont think you should take advice from people that have never met you to decide if you are ready for one of the worlds largest constrictors. Like I said the only person that can decide that is you. If you feel you are ready for that challenge then go for it. I wasnt ready when I jumped into them when I was 16 but I wouldnt change it for the world! Good luck with whatever you decide! Retics are great snakes and I think you would be pleased with it as long as you feel you are ready not people on the internet.

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Denial very good post. It has been quite some time since we have talked. by the way fantasy has 33 great eggs in the incubator