Need some help.

Ok heres the deal... I am getting a 1.0 Tiger retic on Saturday and I am super stoked. I am doing a 1 for 1 deal with one of my BP's. As of now I am getting a 4 foot tank with 2 UTH's with the snake. I was just looking for some advise for someone who is going from BP's to Retics. I seriously cant friggen wait for Saturday.

Also she is about 5 feet already. Feeding well off of rats. And could someone please explain hook training? Would you recommend it? I know at 5 feet shes still pretty manageable, but she going to get bigger fast lol.

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Originally Posted by jonnydanger

Ok heres the deal... I am getting a 1.0 Tiger retic on Saturday and I am super stoked. I am doing a 1 for 1 deal with one of my BP's. As of now I am getting a 4 foot tank with 2 UTH's with the snake. I was just looking for some advise for someone who is going from BP's to Retics. I seriously cant friggen wait for Saturday.

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Retics are not a snake for a newbie ;).You might want to rethink this deal.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Retics are not a snake for a newbie ;).You might want to rethink this deal.

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I agree. Weren't you the same person that was posting in the classifieds looking to adopt any animal except a large snake ("cause you weren't set up for it"). And then posted another ad to get rid of a Ball that doesn't eat well?

I am not trying to come across harsh but it seems you need to slow down and think a bit about what your doing.

is a ball python the only snake you ever had?
retics have a strong feeding response. my is fine once she is out of her cage.
i poke her with a pole stick before i touch her, so she knows she isn't getting fed. do you know how much a retic eats? at 5ft it will need atleast 2 rats a week. i hope you breed rats or can get them cheap. and what are you going to do next year when you need rabbits to feed it?

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Originally Posted by nova2door

i poke her with a pole stick

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that doesn't sound like a smart thing to do:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by Royal_Rodents

that doesn't sound like a smart thing to do:rolleyes:

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yes it is. if a snake is sleeping and you reach in a startel it, it will bite you.
and i don't need to get bite by a 14ft retic.
everyone i know that has burms, retics, rocks, ect. touchs them with a board, stick, snake hook, ect. before handling them.
i am just trying to help this guy out.

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Originally Posted by joepythons

Retics are not a snake for a newbie ;).You might want to rethink this deal.

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2x,

If you really want a retic, and you feel as if you are prepared to handle the responsibilities of owning the world's longest snake. Then you have to be prepared, my best advice is to wait, and do tons of research.
Other than that here is a video on Hook training.
YouTube - Hook Training with Reticulated Pythons

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Originally Posted by Royal_Rodents

that doesn't sound like a smart thing to do:rolleyes:

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watch that vid he does the some thing i do, he just has a snake hook and i don't
that is a nice retic in the vid

Having had snakes since five and getting two retic at age 13-14 with the guidance of the colleges herp who has a phd, and a man in the herp society who had worked for the St. Luis Zoo and keeps many large snakes, I would suggest against it. They grow quick. Some are tempermental and bite. If the bite causes them to lose teath and get mouth rot you get to treat a bitting snake's mouth everyday. After two year I gave them to the former zoo keeper. When I got them it was very hard to find for sale in the states unless connected. The former zoologist only agreed to get them for me because I had delt with snakes 9 years, my dad built huge cages for them, I was friends with he and the local college's herpetologist/biology department head. I also promised to give them to him if I chose to get rid of, which I did after two years. I did get to experience nasty bites, force feeding and treatin for mouth rot. I am happy they stayed healthy and went to a highly qualified keeper.

Not trying to rain on your parade, just food for thought. And about food, as others mentioned it is not cheap for these huge snakes. Perhaps you might want to try a nice coastal python first.

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Originally Posted by nova2door

do you know how much a retic eats? at 5ft it will need atleast 2 rats a week. i hope you breed rats or can get them cheap. and what are you going to do next year when you need rabbits to feed it?

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Can start a 5' retic on rabbits right away. 1/2 pounders. It's recommended to get them on rabbits soon because some are a bit hard to switch over.

My last one would eat a rabbit 3-4 times a year, but ate rats every time offered.

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Originally Posted by lord jackel

Weren't you the same person that was posting in the classifieds looking to adopt any animal except a large snake ("cause you weren't set up for it").

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I would assume he meant not a BIG one at the moment.

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Originally Posted by jonnydanger

As of now I am getting a 4 foot tank with 2 UTH's with the snake. I was just looking for some advise for someone who is going from BP's to Retics.

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Ditch the tank. They suck, plain and simple, especially for large constrictors. Invest in a 4' long animal plastics/boaphile/vision cage (whichever you like more) and keep it in there. If she is fed well enough and grows like one should, he will outgrow it in 1-2 years. Then it will be time to upgrade to a 6' cage and it shouldn't outgrow that one.

Ball to retics can be a big step. Support is probably one of the biggest things. Not too many people want to be messing around with a 15'+ snake. If you don't have support, you can't own one. Someone has to be with you when you are feeding and cleaning the cage. Especially feeding time. Last thing you want is for a 16' snake wrapped around you concentrated on killing you because it mistook you for food. Food is amongst the top requirements needed for a retic. They eat more, their metabolism is faster, their food response is superior to any other snake I have ever had.

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Originally Posted by RKO

Can start a 5' retic on rabbits right away. 1/2 pounders. It's recommended to get them on rabbits soon because some are a bit hard to switch over.

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never heard that, i waited until mine was about 12ft to give it rabbits.
the first one took a minute or 2 then she realised it was food. now they barely hit the floor before she has them wrapped up.
i planned on starting my next one at the 8ft range if its still small when i get it.

Yeah, I'd say think this one through. Working for the local zoo, as well as volunteering with a reptile/wildlife rescue group, I can't tell you the number of times I see people trying to get rid of retics/burms because they're "too big" or "I"m scared of it" or any other number of lame excuses. Unfortunately, it's hard to find homes for these snakes once this happens. It won't be 5 foot for long, a tank with a retic is a bad idea, and once he gets larger you have to think you'll need 1 person for approximately every 6 feet of snake to handle it. Really think this through before you dive in. My .02