burmese VS. Retic.

which is more aggressive? Burmese or Retic??? As an adult snake which is More pron to bite its owner?
Getting ready to get an adult retic just want to understand its temperment. Suppost to be docile but who knows what that means?

I think that as an adult the retic....as they are known of eating humans...lol:banana:

Being that you're asking such a noob question, when it comes to giants, I'm assuming you've had no experience with giant constrictors so far. So I would discourage you from getting an adult retic.

I'm not sure he was asking about getting an adult one. I think both can be very high maintenance. Have you cleaned up ball python crap yet? Imagine that only MUCH BIGGER!
As far as biting, well, proper husbandry can determine some of that but the individual nature of each animal can not be overlooked. I would love to have one but in my situation it wouldn't be prudent.

I would not buy someone else's snake, unless maybe you knew them very well and knew the snake very well. You have no idea what sort of problems your buying. Buying a problem on the ball python scale is bad enough. Buying a problem in a giant is a lot worse.

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Originally Posted by pastorj

which is more aggressive? Burmese or Retic??? As an adult snake which is More pron to bite its owner?
Getting ready to get an adult retic just want to understand its temperment. Suppost to be docile but who knows what that means?

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Retics are more flighty and love to move around once they are out of the enclosure. Burms are more gentle, though they do move around, just not as much as the Retics do. In general, either of them can be aggressive when they have no human interaction, which can be a major problem once they are their full size.

Docile (in my definition) means gentle, nice, tame, etc.
I like to use the word docile over tame.

I agree 100% with the above post saying you shouldn't get an adult Retic. From these questions, it does seem you haven't done nearly enough research. Once you get an adult Retic you'll realize that you have made a mistake if you don't even know how to get it out of the enclosure. Larger snakes are more costly (with set-up and food items as well as maintenance), so I hope you have the money for one of these giants. And I hope you do know that Retics are the longest snakes in the world, not that it is a bad thing but that does mean they do need a lot of space.

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Originally Posted by singingtothewheat

I'm not sure he was asking about getting an adult one.

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Originally Posted by pastorj

Getting ready to get an adult retic just want to understand its temperment.

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Tics are some of the smartest snakes IMHO. They watch your every move and have the most intense food response. I would highly discourage getting a full grown TIC to learn about giant constrictors. I would invest in a hatchling to start if you want to enter the realm of TICS. This would be better for you and for the snake. Also, if by chance a bite comes into play, a 2' TIC bite is like a BP's vs a full grown TIC bite that causes much blood to be drawn. Once again, this is just MHO.

thanks for the responses...i have experience with burmese. I have a sub adult burmese now that has great food response and very attentive. He is docile outside his cage.....thanks for all responses.

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Originally Posted by pastorj

thanks for the responses...i have experience with burmese. I have a sub adult burmese now that has great food response and very attentive. He is docile outside his cage.....thanks for all responses.

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You're welcome, but even though you have owned one giant doesn't necessarily mean you can own a Retic successfully. I think of Burms as a lot more docile than Retics since Retics can be quite the hyper ones. I would try to go to some places and handle adult Retics to get the feel of what they are like when you handle them.

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Originally Posted by CoolioTiffany

You're welcome, but even though you have owned one giant doesn't necessarily mean you can own a Retic successfully. I think of Burms as a lot more docile than Retics since Retics can be quite the hyper ones. I would try to go to some places and handle adult Retics to get the feel of what they are like when you handle them.

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Excellent advice...I know it may seem like some of us might be discouraging, but jumping straight into an adult TIC is a big leap from a tame Burm...Find a friend or a breeder who might let you get some experience with the larger TICS...I know my Dwarfs keep me on my toes and my SD's are down right hyper like school kids...For example, right now my Dwarf Lavender is crazy hungry all the time or looking for food...When I go in if I don't have the hook ready to let her know it's not feeding time, she'll lung straight outta the cage...or if I'm not handling her, she'll just slam into the glass (which makes me wonder if she thinks I'm food...:O:O:O)...And she wasn't like this when I got her...

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Originally Posted by pandp

Excellent advice...I know it may seem like some of us might be discouraging, but jumping straight into an adult TIC is a big leap from a tame Burm...Find a friend or a breeder who might let you get some experience with the larger TICS...I know my Dwarfs keep me on my toes and my SD's are down right hyper like school kids...For example, right now my Dwarf Lavender is crazy hungry all the time or looking for food...When I go in if I don't have the hook ready to let her know it's not feeding time, she'll lung straight outta the cage...or if I'm not handling her, she'll just slam into the glass (which makes me wonder if she thinks I'm food...:O:O:O)...And she wasn't like this when I got her...

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Thanks.
And for the OP I may as well add in that all snakes are unpredictable. You never really know when something will happen, no matter how docile the snake may be. Especially with pythons and boas, since they are so quick at striking (some need to be because some are ambush predators). So an unpredictable, large constrictor would be the last thing you would want to get into.
I'm not trying to make large snakes sound bad, but I am saying any snake is unpredictable and can be that wild animal like they are in an instant so it would be more dangerous to see that wild animal with a long, hyper Retic. I like Retics, but it wouldn't be something I'd own because I'm not into larger constrictors like that. Maybe a Burm, but a Retic is too hyper for my liking.

i definitely wouldn't suggest your first retic being an adult... you didn't raise it and won't know its personality, or temper... if you are going to get a retic get a baby... i personally prefer retics over burms any day...

I don't know why people classify retics as being "more aggressive" than burms.

I'd call them more ACTIVE for sure, but I'd say for % of the captive adult population that is in the "mean and wanting to rip your face off whenever you get too close", burms take the cake over retics. This is just from my limited up-close handling experience with a dozen or so individuals of both species, which is hardly a large enough sample size to draw conclusions, but I also get that feeling from watching vids and reading about people's collections.

I've never met or seen a retic that you can't handle (there are some out there for sure, but I just haven't met them personally). I have met burms in that category.

In addition, of all the captive giant constrictor deaths in the US, something like over half were from burms. This DOESN'T mean that they are more dangerous or more likely to be mean (though I do think too many people think of all burms as kitties and all retics as savages, neither is an appropriate analogy), but I think it does show that big burm temperment is often underestimated.

I wouldn't rate the difference between a big burm and big retic on a scale of "more likely to bite its owner".

I would say that one big difference is just how freaking tired you get from 5-10 minutes of handling a 15 foot retic over a 15 foot burm.

people just misinterpret their amazing food response with aggression... which is just due to a lack of experience with them...

1st,,snakes are not aggressive, they ARE defensive..Some of any or all species never ACCLIMATE or become accustom to OUR way..I feel safe to ASSUME that is because they are nervous or scared and will protect themselves the only way they know how..Retics are more alert or IN TUNE than Burms,, and as a fellow keeper stated a greater adversary..

Man the last couple posts are full of wisdom...My burms have drawn way more blood than my Tics...But my Tics have musked/poo'ed and pee'ed on me way more than my Burms...Some are teddy bears and some are the devil incarnate...Just like raising kids, each snake is different...For me I love the challenge of the more difficult ones and love the cuddling of the mellow ones...

Get a dwarf retic.

I trust a big burm more than I trust a big retic... Saying that i've cared for evil 15 foot retics and burms alike.

In my limited experience my tic is the devil and my burm a teddy bear, but thats just my experience.

Any snake can be passive, any snake can be aggressive. What's the difference? Size. Retic = Burmese x 2.