slow growth rates

Hi well i was thinking what if you have a big boid and you want him/her to be healthy but not grow alot in the first cupple of years i was thinking feed your snake once every two weeks so it wouldent grow soo fast but i was talking to some people and im a little confused so whats your opinion on keeping a big boids staying small and healthy
(big boids such as burms,green condas,retics)
-thanks :salute:

I don't know that much about giants, but my thought is this. You have to do your research and you have to be prepared. And in being prepared you have to be prepared for the largest possible size that each particular snake could get to be. I feel that the best thing for any animal is to feed them properly so they can grow at a proper rate. Any growth that comes too fast or too slow is unhealthy as far as I know, and if not unhealthy at a present time can present problems for that animal in the future. So IMO, I would research and see what the best feeding schedule is for that animal to thrive, whether it be every 5 days, 7 days, 10 days, or whatever the case may be for any particular animal. You should not feed on a schedule to prevent growth, you should feed on a schedule that allows that animal to thrive and grow properly.

hmm good point you got me thinking yea so when i get my burm im going to feed him once every 10 days chould a changing scedual be good?

I don't know much about the giants either, but I have seen you mention this on several different threads. You want a burm, but you don't want him to grow quickly. Put bluntly, don't get a burm. The final adult size should be something your ready for, so the growth rate shouldn't matter much. It looks like you already have some larger snakes, so if you think your ready for a burm, maybe get some hands on experiance, then go for it. But if you want it, but you just want it to stay small, I think you might start looking at getting a different, smaller kind of snake.

get a dwarf burm...i saw a couple ads on kingsnake saying that they only get about 6 feet or so

I too commented on the other thread that you absolutly have to feed an animal at a safe/proper rate for that animal. doing anything but that is irrisponsible.

what are your reasons for wanting such a large snake if you want them to restrict their growth that calls for their species? Imagine if your parents only fed you once every other day to "keep you small" I usually think about it in terms like that. If you *need* a 12x12 enclosure but someone only has 12x8 then they shouldnt have that particular animal. i would stick to something smaller if i were you.

also keep in mind you have balls right? you might be pleased with the end result when they top out in size, you just have to be patient

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Originally Posted by tweets_4611

I don't know much about the giants either, but I have seen you mention this on several different threads. You want a burm, but you don't want him to grow quickly. Put bluntly, don't get a burm. The final adult size should be something your ready for, so the growth rate shouldn't matter much. It looks like you already have some larger snakes, so if you think your ready for a burm, maybe get some hands on experiance, then go for it. But if you want it, but you just want it to stay small, I think you might start looking at getting a different, smaller kind of snake.

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well im not trying to be anyoying just saying im just trying to learn about all kinds of things that can happen before i actually do something thats y i ask so much questions and im just kind of confused because some people say burms get to 20 ft and they usually dont but just in case if i get one i dont want mine to get 20 ft i want mine to be less then 13 1/2 ft they say an average for males is 8-13 ft and females may get up to 16 ft so im just wondering if some people feed their snakes once every 2weeks

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Originally Posted by Chubbz

get a dwarf burm...i saw a couple ads on kingsnake saying that they only get about 6 feet or so

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hahah no.! theirs no point in getting one thats gonna be that small i just might as well get a jcp i want something around 8-13 ft i seen some burms that stoped growing at 12 ft and some that were 18 ft mostly females get the biggest soo im hopeing i can tell the sex by looking at some certain things
and the dwaf cost like 3,000 from 1 add i saw and the add said they come from 3.5 ft -7ft and they were only 50% dwaf burm

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Originally Posted by AshleyB

I too commented on the other thread that you absolutly have to feed an animal at a safe/proper rate for that animal. doing anything but that is irrisponsible.

what are your reasons for wanting such a large snake if you want them to restrict their growth that calls for their species? Imagine if your parents only fed you once every other day to "keep you small" I usually think about it in terms like that. If you *need* a 12x12 enclosure but someone only has 12x8 then they shouldnt have that particular animal. i would stick to something smaller if i were you.

also keep in mind you have balls right? you might be pleased with the end result when they top out in size, you just have to be patient

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well im moving into a bigger place soo so by the time i get the snake ill have enought space to have a huge vision tank and like i said on my other repilies i only want him to get as big as 13 1/2 ft maybe 1 ft bigger at most if it gets to 15ft ill never hear the end of it from my mom but like i said again i have seen some burms that stayed aroun 10-14 ft and ill be happy with that


thanks- you guys help me wit the eating part
you learn as you go :salute:

We feed our burms every week. When we have our clutches the babies eat weekly until we sell them. A burm can live 20 plus years and chances are its going to be big. We only have one older snake that hasn't gone over 13 feet and that is a rescue male we have.

what are the average sizes for you burms burmmamma

im still thinking rather i get the regular lab or a albino lab im leaning alot to the regular

So lets say you do get your burm.

Then its gets 15 feet you just going to dump it?

From what it sounds like...you really don't want to feed it a lot its first year so it grows slow. These guys have big appetites and a 7-10 day feeding schedule is very important IMO as long as the prey items are appropriate sizes they will thrive on a 7-10 day schedule.


Mike

no not what it sounds like what i said was if it grow around 15 ft ill never get the end of it from my mom ill still keep it but she will just nag at me for the rest of my life i dont think she will mind as long as i pay for food and cageing witch i will soo yea it works out really

no offense but 5' isnt going to make much of a difference when your talking a snake that size. Good for you for doing the research but really when it comes down to it your not keeping the animals best intrest at heart because you keep coming back to this idea of wanting a smaller, giant snake. just my opinion, your 14 you have to go by your parents word and she needs to know what commitment your getting into with an animal that size. small animals (Dogs/cats) can and will be at risk if there was ever an escape from a large snake who wasnt fed appropriately. I would count my blessings and be appreciative of the wonderful collection you already have.

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Originally Posted by bonheki

hahah no.! theirs no point in getting one thats gonna be that small i just might as well get a jcp i want something around 8-13 ft i seen some burms that stoped growing at 12 ft and some that were 18 ft mostly females get the biggest soo im hopeing i can tell the sex by looking at some certain things
and the dwaf cost like 3,000 from 1 add i saw and the add said they come from 3.5 ft -7ft and they were only 50% dwaf burm

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i saw a super dwarf at about 15 hundred

good point ashleyb but the whole point to this thread was to see what some opinions on big snakes but small versions and the thing i wanted to find was could you make a big snake a little smaller but with out actually hurting the snake in anyway my dad doesnt mind and my mom doesnt mind all that much but from what i saw on some care sheets is that males get 8-14 ft and females around 10-18 ft so i just wanted to see some info and again this is just wondering whitch i should get the chondro or the burm i might not even get any soo yea thanks for all the help every one

It's good that you're asking all these questions.. good for you!

Burms are a huge commitment.. they can live over 20 years as well as grow to be huge. Male burms can top 13'.. I have a picture of one on my computer which is 15' and 100lbs.. and yes, it's a male. That's a lot of snake.

A couple of things to keep in mind..

Once the snake is over 8' or so you're going to want to have a helper with you whenever you have that cage door open. Better safe than sorry, it's just not safe to handle a big burm by yourself. Do you have someone willing to do that with you?

Secondly.. what are you going to do with the snake if you go to college? Think ahead.. big burms are hard to find homes for, they fill the reptile rescues.

Best of luck with whatever you choose.

big snakes=big attitudes=big appetites=big urates=big poop=big enclosure 8x2x2=alot of space=alot of patience *Retics/afrocks*=lots of money on food bill... i'd just suggest a boa. they get to descent manageable sizes. when that burm hits 7 or 8ft + your gonna need someone else for safety. in my opinion, giants definetly require more then just food, water, and heat.

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Originally Posted by bonheki

what are the average sizes for you burms burmmamma

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There is no average size for a burm-all depends on the snake, the gender of the snake, feeding schedule, lots of factors.

make sure you check local laws AND your homeowner's insurance or rental agreement.

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

make sure you check local laws AND your homeowner's insurance or rental agreement.

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well the place im moving to is like a block away from my reptile shop and they have a giant retic around 12 ft im im sure soo if they have a reptile shop in that city the should allow snake too soo yea

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Originally Posted by K80tik

big snakes=big attitudes=big appetites=big urates=big poop=big enclosure 8x2x2=alot of space=alot of patience *Retics/afrocks*=lots of money on food bill... i'd just suggest a boa. they get to descent manageable sizes. when that burm hits 7 or 8ft + your gonna need someone else for safety. in my opinion, giants definetly require more then just food, water, and heat.

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yes i do have people to help me i have freinds who come by all the time and i have my parents my mom and dad arent afraid of snakes i dont really have a prolblem with that and i was thinking of the burm and a hypo rtb i like one that they have at the reptile shope i got to

bonheki, you live in Miami, thats only miles from where I live and I know they are getting ready to put restrictions on having these large snakes (if they arent already standing laws because of all the snakes down here that have been "let go" in the everglades), fines and licenses are going to be required before long seriously consider looking it up. Also, just because your local shop has snakes doesnt mean they dont have a license for it or on the flip side, doesnt mean they are doing it legally either.

You are obviously stuck in your mind set on this situation almost to the point of being stubborn, we arent bringing things up to keep you from buying an animal, were all just passionate owners who want to see you (and every herp or animal owner) make the right, responsible choice, keep in mind this is an animal who doesnt simply go away, and as many others have said this is a LONG time commitment. You have come up with countless comebacks to validate you getting this animal and in my opinion, your 14, you dont know it all and there are many many members here who have offered good advise and information to take into consideration.

Thankfully minors cant just go and purchase animals anywhere they please. :please: please take this information into consideration, this isnt meant to be mean/rude/exc. I just really want you to make an informed choice.. and from this stand point.. it doesnt look like it, with all the "yeah, yeah, yeah' im ready, i know, exc)

fishmommy: that was an excellent point.. i hadnt thought of that!!!

definetly check you HOA, rental agreement, exc.. thats a biggy! you could get your family evicted or fined housing an animal like this..

just get a RTB

well i very intrested in the rtb here they have a good selection of rtb's if they have the kind of rtb i want ill prolly get it but i also have my mind on the burm and chondro and ashleyb im seeing goods and bads to burms ive actually seen a 14 ft burm in real life and i know you need to have a helper with a snake that big. you see here i actually wanted to see what kinds of things burms are capabel of goods and bads im mostly getting negative responces here but what i could of done is just stop replying to this thread and just say hey i want a burm ill just get it and not really care what other peopl think right but i dident i think i doing right by actually righting back and argueing a little bit just to see what some peoples opinion soo i decided not to go with the burm ill prolly get the burm after college and for the giant boids you have to get a microcip on them and umm like insurance but im going to move out of florida after im gonna study herpotoligy soo i will prolly move to a place that has a good herpotoligy center
and here are my final choices for the snake i want
dwaf retic,yellow anaconda,red tail boa soo ill check up soo info on these

I think its a great choice to wait until your done with college before getting a snake that size, You are doing the right thing by getting as much information as you can but you have to understand from the stand point of an adult looking in from the outside.. its easy to have compulsive feelings in wanting a certain animal *right now* but to be honest with you the reward is so much sweeter when you get an animal (or anything) when the time is right.. i wanted red eye tree frogs since i was a kid and now at 23 i finally got them.. I would love to some day have a giant snake but know with small children now is just not the time..

I also think you'd be better off with a nice RTB. They're really fun snakes (I have 5 and they're just awesome) and a much more manageable size, but still big and 'cool'.