Gerald Super Dwarf Ultra Ivory Retic Progression

[CALM Pythons]

I don’t even care about money at this point. The value of my sanity cannot be quantified in dollars. The sooner I can relax and breath again the better, even if I give him away.
I think at the time of either of our purchases Gerald might have been a little pricier but there’s a fair number of platinum and platinum related SD morphs out there and being an incomplete dominant trait it doesn’t seem to hold the same market value as a recessive morph like any of the albino strains.
All I know at this point is that I’m very done with having to armor my torso and arms every time I have to change the damn paper in his cage, which is like twice a day anymore. You can’t even try to touch him when cleaning or he lashes out and thrashes about the entire cage and comes lunging out the door


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That sucks... maybe their is someone that is more interested in a Breeder than a Pet out there for him.


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[jmcrook]

That sucks... maybe their is someone that is more interested in a Breeder than a Pet out there for him.


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I rehomed him a few weeks ago. As cool of a snake as he was, it was a sigh of relief. He was never a calm snake to handle and was always pretty spastic. His violently combative behavior was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. I’m not too proud to say that he had exceeded my abilities as a keeper and had become a liability to my own safety as well as his own. The last thing this hobby needs is another “man maimed by large constrictor” headline or something similar and I didn’t want to tempt that fate.
Guy that’s caring for him said he calmed down as soon as he was away from Phyllis. Go figure. But Phyllis was here before Gerald was so she takes priority.


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[CALM Pythons]

How big did he get since you had him? Id never keep a large breed snake that was actually trying to do damage.


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[jmcrook]

How big did he get since you had him? Id never keep a large breed snake that was actually trying to do damage.


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He was 8’+ and about 13lbs. Definitely not a huge retic but his dental equipment was no joke. Easily could have slashed my hands/wrists/arms to ribbons. He just turned on me at the drop of a dime and that was the deciding factor for me. He was never easy to read, but that coupled with extreme combative behavior was just too much for me being a solo keeper.


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[CALM Pythons]

Retics have crazy Slashers period.. what your describing is how they all were back when I started buying snakes 29 years ago, you never even considered Retics back then...Good choice. I would never gamble with any snake like that. You actually held on way longer than I would of... It isn’t about being scared, its about being smart and Im no Dummy hahahaha


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[jmcrook]

Dude I rehomed Gerald to a year and a half ago reached out a few days ago to say that Gerald’s doing well. About 9’ and eating like a pig. Also says he’s still not a fan of being handled, very tense and quick moving, but no striking or aggressive/defensive behavior. I think his proximity to Phyllis was a contributing factor in him lashing out at me. Happy to hear that he’s doing well at his new home.


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[Gio]

Dude I rehomed Gerald to a year and a half ago reached out a few days ago to say that Gerald’s doing well. About 9’ and eating like a pig. Also says he’s still not a fan of being handled, very tense and quick moving, but no striking or aggressive/defensive behavior. I think his proximity to Phyllis was a contributing factor in him lashing out at me. Happy to hear that he’s doing well at his new home.


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Wallace is probably not quite as bad as your guy was. He still bites the snake hook now and then, but I lather it up with hand sanitizer now and he seems to dislike that immensely.

I think he's primarily keyed for food and is just ready at any moment. If I could ever get him out of his perches I'd handle him more, but he's perched so frequently that I rarely get a chance to get him out.

I'm glad Gerald is doing well and kind of wish you still had him, but you ended up with a double whammy of bad retic experiences.

Enough is enough!

[jmcrook]

Wallace is probably not quite as bad as your guy was. He still bites the snake hook now and then, but I lather it up with hand sanitizer now and he seems to dislike that immensely.

I think he's primarily keyed for food and is just ready at any moment. If I could ever get him out of his perches I'd handle him more, but he's perched so frequently that I rarely get a chance to get him out.

I'm glad Gerald is doing well and kind of wish you still had him, but you ended up with a double whammy of bad retic experiences.

Enough is enough!

He honestly wasn’t ~that bad until the last month or so I had him, but it was definitely too much for me at the time. I could probably get him back from the guy if I really wanted... but as much as I love retics I think for the time being I’ve moved on from them. Not completely counting them out of the picture in the future, but I think I’ll stick with boas and carpets for now and my ball python Geoffrey of course.


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[Skyrivers]

He honestly wasn’t ~that bad until the last month or so I had him, but it was definitely too much for me at the time. I could probably get him back from the guy if I really wanted... but as much as I love retics I think for the time being I’ve moved on from them. Not completely counting them out of the picture in the future, but I think I’ll stick with boas and carpets for now and my ball python Geoffrey of course.


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I really hate that you had such a hard time with him. I feel so lucky that my 2 females are easy going. I agree that they are not for most people. They can be food oriented but for me that is easy enough to deal with. I think most pet owners who have them struggle with housing or pushing the most. After Rainbow broke 1/4 inch sheet glass this weekend I upgraded to 1/2 inch plexiglass. I need to get her huge enclosure done asap for sure. If you are ever in the area let me know and would be happy to let you meet Rainbow and Aurora and enjoy some really well behaved animals.

[wnateg]

After Rainbow broke 1/4 inch sheet glass this weekend

That's scary for me, as I would die if my retic got out and ate my cat. I may need to preemptively change to 1/4in plexiglass at some point. She broke it by striking or?