While we were at the Richmond Reptile show, we were looking around at all the different snakes at this one table. They had ball pythons, boas, retics, and burmese. I was asking my hubby if there was anything there that he liked and he said "We could always get a big snake." At first I thought he was joking and then when I asked him if he was serious he said "Well, I dunno. I like them but you always seem so against having bigger snakes."

Normally I am. I'm a small person (well only in the height department) and the idea of me handling a large snake kind of intimidates me. I have a columbian red tail boa, but she's still small so I haven't had the chance to get used to a snake any larger than a full grown ball python. When I asked him what kind of big snake he was thinking about he said a retic.

Can anyone give me any advice on big snakes in general? How did you get into them? What can you expect from a retic as far as temperament (I know all snakes are different)? What do you feed something that large? What are your rules when owning, caring for, and handling a large snake.

Now, I'm not going out tomorrow and getting my husband a retic, but I want some general information. If they seem like something I could get into, I am going to try and find someone who has these snakes and try and get some hands on experience before I consider getting one.

I personally love Olive Pythons and that is definitely on my wishlist.