How are people able to sell reticulated pythons at shows in Alabama?

[Erie_herps]

I am of the mindset that certain reptiles just weren’t meant to be kept in our homes. This is only my 2 cents and not to offend anyone but most of the giant snakes and definitely the venomous species really do belong in zoos. There has been multiple reports of keepers of venomous reptiles being tagged by their captives. Some reports of venomous reptiles that have escaped ! As far as the giant reptiles, can we really feed them adequately when you read about the sizes of prey that they are truly capable of swallowing?

I think that these animals can be kept just like any other reptile as long as many precautions are set, but I won't get into this too much. I think that most keepers shouldn't keep reticulated pythons since they need gigantic enclosures. I hate seeing where people keep them in enclosures so small (like 6') that they can't do much except curl up. But I think people should be able to keep them. If someone wants to dedicate an entire room to a gigantic enclosure then they can (I know of people doing this). But an important thing to note are super dwarf retics. They can be easily kept in a 4x2x3 enclosure, something that many keepers can provide. Many legislations fail to see this and just ban retics even though super dwarfs can easily be kept and mainlands can be kept (but not easily). Something else that hobbyist breeders might not think of is that not all of the eggs need to be kept. If you want to breed mainland retics you can easily just keep a few eggs just to have the experience of raising the babies. Unfortunately some breeders hatch hundreds of babies per year and don't tell buyers about how large they get as adults. I don't know of any breeders doing this but I'm sure that once a breeder has gotten overwhelmed with babies and didn't have the space or money to house them all and some were culled and thrown away.

I think it's not only about feeding giant snakes adequately (though that does get expensive) but also, how do you handle them safely*, & how do you house them securely & with enough space in a home environment? *It takes a team effort to do so safely, & that team needs to be experienced. An awful lot of people are attracted to these animals, only to later find themselves in over their heads & not willing to admit it.

Most retic keepers feed the snakes pigs or rabbits. 4-6 people are usually required to safely handle the snake.