What have i gotten myself into

[Buttons]

wait WHAT??? wut happened to the guy in this vid then:

that's a little something called.... sarcasm

[h00blah]

Haha, I hope you realize he was being extremely sarcastic.

ya i can't read sarcasm LOL. thx for clearing that up



EDIT: quote: that's a little something called.... Sarcasm


ya thanks. and not for the condescending manner =p.

[wRobio]

I have not read this entire thread, but I thought I would give my 2 cents.

I started with small snakes, but even from day one I knew where I would end up. I had been eyeballing retics since I was about 6. I used to work for a large scale educational facility, and at one point we purchased several tiger retic and albino tiger retic hatchlings. They were some of the nicest snakes I had ever met. As luck would have it, I ended up at a reptile show and the breeder of those retics was there, and he had one of their siblings. A great little tiger retic male. Took the little bugger home and he was about 2'. as friendly as my balls, and as inquisitive as my corns. I had considered the option of getting an unwanted large snake, and now that I have the experience (owning a retic/ working with giant snakes for several years), I would certainly take one in that needed a good home, but I am overwhelmingly happy that I got my first giant snake as a juvenile. We can read him like a book. Today he is right around 11' and although I am not worried about him injuring me, or my girlfriend, we always make sure we are both home when he comes out. Just in case. He does hold on real tight.

[SGExotics]

Heres A Rule That I Would Follow:
ALWAYS buy giants as HATCHLINGS!
~Brandon

[TimmyG]

Read the whole thread thus far a few things to say.

People are more apt to respond positivly to advice delivered in a professional manner

My general rule with keeping snakes is "you will get bit"

I think starting with a hatchling would be much better but he probably knows this by now

Lastly, "Instantly the boa bites his face" Im watching this video and could tell the boa was tracking the foolish keeper for a good 6 seconds and knew he was going to be bit 6 whole seconds before it happened. two things to always watch for, especially when others are around, is tracking behaviour and S shapped necks.

[T&C Exotics]

Ok so this is dead and beaten to a pulp but I will put my 2cents in just because I can. I currently have numerous bp's, numerous boas, corns, kings, and whatnot, most are rescues, I have had the huge snakes and I loved them and yes i did raise them from baby to adult and i did breed them. The reason I do no have them anymore is 1 I moved cross country and could not take them and 2 the person I was moving in with had no experience with any snakes.

Now fast forward 3 years and the person is now my wife and she wants a tiger retic. My first thought was awesome lets go get one and then i considered it a little more we do have the room and i do have more than one enclosure big enough for an adult as well as feeders, my neighbor breeds rabbits and gives them to me free to my biggest boas and my carpet who loves them, but my problem was my wife thinks she can handle one alone no matter the size and i refuse to put her life on the line. I have since convinced her not to handle one alone by bringing her to a friends house who has a few burms and retics and had her handle a little 12 foot retic and within 2 minutes she was asking for help because little baby retic wanted to move and she, the wife, wanted to hold her, the snake, still and that will not work. After me and my friend stepped in, we were within 2 feet of the snakes head at all times, I opened its mouth and let her see the teeth and that convinced her to rethink her abilities.

I have been working with snakes since I was about 6 and in the past 22 years have learned a lot and still have a lot to learn but my biggest rule is for every snakes under 5 feet one handler after they get to 6 feet then its is up to 2 handlers and every 2 feet after that adds another handler. If you are going to get a big snake please do everyone a favor and get a baby, watch it grow, enjoy it and have help at hand at all times when you are around it when it gets bigger. Be aware of the fact that your favorite neighborhood dog could end up in the snakes stomach if the enclosure is no beyond escape proof and that you or someone you love could end up dead because of the animal.

So i ramble a lot kill me. Take this apart and piece it together and take from it what you will.

[Moofins07]

wilomn's post may of came off harsh but it is %100 correct. He is telling it how it is and it is hard for people to take it in but its the harsh reality. Nobody has any business having a giant if they are not %150 ready for one and have prior experience with one.

... How does one GET prior experience unless they start somewhere by getting one?

[wilomn]

... How does one GET prior experience unless they start somewhere by getting one?

Friends who have them.

Rescues that have them.

Volunteering at a shelter that has them.

Working for or volunteering at a store that has them.

There are 4 good ways.

That should suffice for now.

[JohnAvilla]

anyways back to the op. id say your on the right track, take your time.

Are you nutts? I agree that some people could be nicer but to say it sounds like he is on the right track is just irresponsible. What we do not want to do is scare the OP away. It sucks that he went out and bought an 8' snake instead of a hatchling or maybe a blood python (looks impressive but can't kill you) but if he has made up his mind to do this lets be nice, gain his confidence and talk him into a hatchling so at least he will have a place to turn for the help he will need. If he continues to talk to other keepers he will have an easier time finding the people near him who can help as his snake becomes a monster. Also, if we are "mean" to him he will not listen to pleas to get a baby first or any other advice. A lot of good advice has been given but the psychological noise alongside that advice has made it impossible for him to recognize it. More flies with honey.

[JohnAvilla]

I have read forward from the post I quoted and have found my post to be redundant