Which big snake should I choose?

I'm thinking of getting a big snake in the future and I'm curious as to what kind I should get? I'm looking at burmese, but open to other options. Space is not an issue (although, what size caging do I need?), neither is feeding costs (to an extent anyway). The only big snakes I really know about are burmese and retics, and I hear retics can be kind of moody. I have kids who would love to help me handle a big snake, so I want something that in general isn't that aggressive. Suggestions? TIA!

It would honestly depend on what your definition of "big" is, and what you're comfortable handling. I've seen some quite large boas that were a joy to handle, and even some big coastal carpets (albeit they are much more slender so they do not appear nearly as large). Both are wonderful pets, come in assortment of patterns and colors, and can make for an amazing display animal to boot!

I've had both Burmese and retics in the past (currently only a retic now), and they both have their ups and downs. I've found my Burmese in the past to be more mellow and content to hang around during handling sessions when larger, but my retics were generally much more active and wore me out faster. Both can be wonderful additions in my honest opinion. That being said, the majority of mine took a lot of consistent work to get them where they were, as when they are babies can be defensive (especially while still in their cages, and rightfully so - they know they are the bottom of the food chain and you are a perceived predator in their eyes). Retics also grow very fast, so that is something to consider; if not properly worked with, you could end up with a 6'-8' speed demon in a year or less that would likely not be suitable for children to handle. Now there are always exceptions to the rule, and some are perfectly calm from the get go, while others never calm down.

I personally had large boas before jumping into burms and retics, but there are plenty who went right for the bigguns and did just fine. Overall experience with herps as well as the ability and desire to learn the species you are dealing with (And your own particular snakes personality) go a long way, especially when dealing with large powerhouses such as the ones we are talking about. They demand a great amount of respect at all times. But in my opinion, nothing can match the personality and intellect of a retic - if done and handled/trained properly, they are an absolute joy to have and behold!

How old are the children that would be involved in handling if you don't mind saying?

I would suggest you start with a boa. Retics and burns can make great pets just so long as you have the time to spend with them. Nothing worse than a 17+ angry burn or retic. My first "big snake" was a boa and was a great stepping stone towards the retic I now own. My retic, although still a baby is a very defensive little guy, he'll tear you to shreds if your not careful when your poking around his enclosure. He's fine once he's out and understands that he's not about to get ate. So to recap, start with a boa and go from there! It always makes me really sad to see someone who get a burm or a retic and then can't take care of it. Well That's just my two cents.


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Every snake will have its own personality. Caesar my SD retic was a very mellow baby. He has never tried to bite or hiss at me. He did open his mouth at the hook though as he hates them. I use a twisted paper towel to boop his head if he's being 'bad'.

Be aware though that if you get a burm or mainland retic, you are going to need a 10x3 or 10x4 cage and they eat a lot. Caesar eats a 2XL guinea pig every 10 days.

As for being moody, Caesar sometimes pushes my hand away when I'm bugging him and he wants to be left alone or sometimes if I'm petting his head or neck and he doesn't want it, he will push my hand. But most of the time, he is happy to come sit at an open cage door while I clean poop or pee and just sits there next to me.

He's not a huge fan of being carried around like my boas but he does like interaction for sure.

I have never owned a burm but I hear they are pretty laid back. But they also get much more girth to them especially females.

My advice is if you have never owned anything on the larger side like a boa, but really want something, go for a high percentage super dwarf retic. Here's Caesar and hes a 37.5% super dwarf, 31.5% dwarf, 31% mainland and like I said, he is pretty laid back. I am pretty sure he wouldn't bite me unless he smelled food. Then I know for a fact he would bite me lol. He gets stupid during feeding time and bites first and asks questions after.

Oh and I forgot to add, also remember, it will take a lot longer to clean them too lol. It takes me about an hour to clean each of my 6x3 cages. Now I might be being too meticulous but that's what it takes me. That's why I usually do all the cage cleanings over a weekend.
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While I agree with Sauzo's recommendations, the one thing I will note is that a 10x3 or 10x4 is not usually needed except for the largest of female mainland Retics and female Burms (at least in my opinion and that of other owners which I know personally - the flip side to that is there are most definitely others that feel the opposite and agree on 10'+ cages as the "norm"). Male mainland Retics can be kept in 6'x3' enclosures, depending upon adult size (males typically stay much smaller and more slender, particularly in Retics - I have also seen 4 year old male mainland Retics fed appropriately sized meals every 10 days end up at only ~10'. I have also had a male in the past that didn't "need" larger than a 4'x3', as he stayed quite small and slender). All that said, a burm would typically need a slightly larger cage due to the girth the species takes on in compared to most retics, when comparing snakes of similar length. I have successfully kept both species in the past with 4' long to 8' long cage sizes, but that is not to say you cannot give them more room! Genetics and food will play into the overall size, which is why it varies so much.

However, if they interest you, I will second Sauzo's notion of getting a SD/D Retic - You get all the personality and intellect of a Retic, in a much more manageable size. Yet at the end of the day, they are still a "big" snake. There are also Dwarf Burms, but they are much less readily available than SD/D Retics it seems. I also agree in that they do eat - a LOT. This is something to consider, as the food bill can rival some single adults monthly total in the largest of animals with a more than average food drive.

I hadn't considered boas, what kind of boas are there that get on the bigger side? I am currently keeping a few racks of ball pythons, so that's the biggest snake I've handled, but I am interested in a bigger baby (after I do all my research of course!). My kids are 6 and 8 years old.

I think given your experience level in terms of species and your children's age, a boa would be a great choice (But other options are still there if you wanted as mentioned in previous posts). There are a few choices you could go with, ranging from Columbian Boas (BCI), To larger locality types, sometimes referred to as "true red tails" (BCC) such as those from Guyana, Peru or Suriname, or even a Dumerils Boa can get to be a considerable size.

Of the 2 "red tail" boas, the BCC typically get larger and have a little bit more stringent/demanding care (from my albeit rather limited experience - I went from boas to giant pythons rather quickly). These are the ones known for the more vibrant and striking red colored tails, especially ones such as Pokigron Suriname specimens, for example.

BCI are considered the more "common" boa, and they come in assortment of patterns and color morphs. This was my first type of boa way back in the day.

Depending on which boa type above you were to go with, you could end up with a boa anywhere in the range of 6'-11', and could end up with considerable girth and weight for the size, especially for females. Any of these boas ending up at 10/11'+ are definitely much more rare, and would almost exclusively be a female BCC (not that there are not exceptions to the rule). Hope this helps.

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Originally Posted by moonlightgdess

I hadn't considered boas, what kind of boas are there that get on the bigger side? I am currently keeping a few racks of ball pythons, so that's the biggest snake I've handled, but I am interested in a bigger baby (after I do all my research of course!). My kids are 6 and 8 years old.

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I wouldn't call them giants but they are more than enough to be labeled "big"

This is a male BI (BCI) he's about 6 years old and a little under 7 feet.

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I am in a similar situation, trying to decide between burm and retic, I also have kids and boas, though admittedly my boas are not very big yet. Although my decision is not made yet, lately I have been leaning more towards the Burmese because, number one, my kids were younger and I will not be able to be quite as attentive when the snake is around and so the more forgiving and placid nature of the burm is preferable. And number two, although I do enjoy active handling sessions, I also enjoy just hanging out on the couch watching a movie with my snake and from what I have gleaned there's not much "just hanging out" with a retic. But these are just observations I've made while researching and asking questions, if experienced keepers can correct me or add to what I've said, please do so.

There are other species to consider besides retics and burms if you want a larger snake than a boa but don't want one that gets quite as big a burm or retic as an adult. These include the olive python, Papuan python, yellow and green anacondas, etc. I have a yellow anaconda as well as retics and a female burm, and one of the nicer things about my yellow girl is that she's growing much more slowly than the pythons. She'll get big but it will take her 4-5 years to get up to full size rather than 18-24 months. Amazingly enough she also has a much better attitude than my burm female. While my juvenile yellow girl will nip if startled but is otherwise ok to handle, my burm at 8 months old still wants to rip my face off every time she's touched.

If you're looking for big, extremely chill, and overtly lovely (patterns look like flowers), go with a female Dumerils Boa. They are very laid back to handle and petable. Level of food aggression is very low as well. You'd be looking at around 7 feet and some girth. They don't chow down like retics. My adult female takes a large rat every 2.5-3 weeks, and sometimes she stretches it to a month. Poop and pee load is also less than the retics and burms.
I have her in a 72x30x15 with a shelf because she likes to stretch from the floor to along the shelf and she displays well. She was in a 48x30x15 with a shelf and that also worked well. Most Dumerils don't seem to care about a shelf, but Belletrix hangs out a lot, just relaxing. Dums slow grow, which is also a plus if you have younger kids. And you can get a really nice baby for around $150-$250.

Thanks so much for all the information here, keep it coming! I really appreciate the responses and now I'm looking at some pretty boas.

Okay now I'm being particular, are there affordable (under $500ish) white or super light colored boas? What are the morph names? Looking at the BCIs, want something that gets up to the 7-10' range. Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by moonlightgdess

Okay now I'm being particular, are there affordable (under $500ish) white or super light colored boas? What are the morph names? Looking at the BCIs, want something that gets up to the 7-10' range. Thanks again!

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It's not hard to find snow boas around that price range. But they can turn yellowish with age. Moonglows seem to stay whiter (from what I've seen anyway) but are gonna cost you a couple/few hundred more. The other white morphs are gonna cost you a lot more. If it doesn't have to be white look into albinos (there are two types, kahl and sharp) or Sunglows

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Originally Posted by moonlightgdess

Okay now I'm being particular, are there affordable (under $500ish) white or super light colored boas? What are the morph names? Looking at the BCIs, want something that gets up to the 7-10' range. Thanks again!

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For under $500, you would be looking at an albino or sunglow BCI.

There are kahl snows which are kahl albino anery and then there are Moonglows which are hypo kahl albino anery. They generally run around $700 for a kahl snow and $1000 for moonglow.

Then there are sharp snows which are sharp albino and anery and Snowglows which are hypo sharp albino, anery. They generally run about $900 for a sharp snow and $1200 for a snowglow.

Then there are the Princess Diamonds which are leucistic boas that will stay white their whole lives. But you are talking $6000-$10000 last i checked lol.

All albinos will yellow up to an extent with age. Sharps tend to hold their color more but thats not always true and with all the work with kahls people have been doing, there are lots of really colorful kahls like Corals which are a kahl only. There is no Coral sharps.

Also as a final note, if you want something that holds reds really well, get a jungle motley sunglow. Those are really nice but really expensive too lol. And if i were you and looking for a nice light colored boa that didnt break the bank, i would find a coral sunglow.

And to give you an idea of the change. Here are pics of my lipstick sunglow girl as a baby and 3 years later.
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To the OP, for my last boa I was also looking for light/bright colors but on a budget. I ended up looking for and acquiring a nice clean jungle, she is possible het for some stuff but I'm not breeding her I just wanted her for her and a good clean jungle will have nice popping collars a cool pattern and just gets prettier with age (in my opinion).
One thing I would like to add for your edification and also to solicit some advice from everyone else is that ours are very slow growers, especially if you feed them properly with their health as a priority. That, for me, is a bit of a negative. I love my boas to death but it drives me crazy to think of how long I'm going to have to wait before they have some real size and that is why the large pythons appeal to me so much. My understanding (and pleasecorrect me if I'm wrong on this or any other point) is that retics grow more quickly than burms, but burms grow very quickly compared to boas.

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

To the OP, for my last boa I was also looking for light/bright colors but on a budget. I ended up looking for and acquiring a nice clean jungle, she is possible het for some stuff but I'm not breeding her I just wanted her for her and a good clean jungle will have nice popping collars a cool pattern and just gets prettier with age (in my opinion).
One thing I would like to add for your edification and also to solicit some advice from everyone else is that ours are very slow growers, especially if you feed them properly with their health as a priority. That, for me, is a bit of a negative. I love my boas to death but it drives me crazy to think of how long I'm going to have to wait before they have some real size and that is why the large pythons appeal to me so much. My understanding (and pleasecorrect me if I'm wrong on this or any other point) is that retics grow more quickly than burms, but burms grow very quickly compared to boas.

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Never had a burm but i can definitely tell you retics grow fast lol. Caesar went from 2' long at 5 months old to now 7' at 1.3 years old. Just note that retics or at least Caesar is not a cuddly little lounger like the boas. He is a gogogo machine that is as nice as the boas but just doesnt really like to sit still unless in his cage. In his cage, he is laid back and i can reach in, pet him, push him around to clean poops and other stuff and he just goes with the flow. Feeding time though, he is crazier than the boas and the boas are pretty freakin scary at dinner time. I almost got tagged by Gina last night during feeding time. She smelled mice on my hand and shot at me twice lol. And Louie is like Caesar at dinner time. When he smelled his mouse, he shot straight in the air and grabbed the tong but wrapped the mouse lol. He let go of the tong and just stared at me while he held his mouse. He let go of the mouse and I reached in slowly with the tongs and picked up his mouse. He spun around, saw me taking his mouse and flew at it with mouth open and grabbed it haha. He's crazy when it comes to food.

Boas are a great choice... They are my favorite species to work with and generally have calm but curious personalities and like to explore / climb. They have a strong feeding response, so hook / tap training is helpful.

In your price range, I'd like for a coral albino / sunglow, a nice hypo jungle, or possibly an albino / sunglow motley. They sunglows tend to be around $400 and up, with "good" examples being around $500+ You could probably pick up a hypo jungle or motley for around $300 - $400 depending on lineage.

Boas do grow slowly, but in your circumstances OP, where you are just used to BPs, then a slow grower isn't necessarily a disadvantage. You could look for a yearling / 2 year old and start off with a boa that is larger (around 3'). But it is best to feed them on a proper schedule. On the upside, when you have a fully grown adult female boa that is about 7-9' and 20lbs, you will only have to feed her every 4-8 weeks...As opposed to a retic, which needs food very frequently. And, yes, boas produce less waste, so that's a winner in my book lol.

If you want a larger / heavier snake, go with a female. I think a female BCI will get big enough to give you a taste of working with larger snakes and you can then go from there. I purposefully chose males because I wanted leaner snakes. Females can get the width of a 2 liter coke bottle. (that said, keep in mind that boas should resemble a loaf of bread and never be round, if round, then they are over fed).

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Originally Posted by dkatz4

My understanding (and pleasecorrect me if I'm wrong on this or any other point) is that retics grow more quickly than burms, but burms grow very quickly compared to boas.

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My retic and burm both hatched in June of last year within 2 weeks from each other. retic is about 7 feet long. burm is maybe 5 feet but heavier than my retic. I can no longer wrap my hand around her thickest point and I don't have small hands. So I guess it depends on your definition of growth


Edit: forgot to mention the retic is a male mainland and burm is a female

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If you are in Ohio you need to look at your state laws regarding the big guys.

BI or BC are great and my favorite. I would go with one of them!

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Originally Posted by chip07

If you are in Ohio you need to look at your state laws regarding the big guys.

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Good catch, Ohio has a length limit of 12 feet.