Thinking about getting a retic.

[Neal]

So i've done quite a bit of re-searching and looking up information. The best bet is probably a dwarf, but I checked out some tiger retics, and the few that i've seen have had good temperments. So either i'm going to get a male to stay in the low double digits, or I will purchase a dwarf. Only bad thing about a dwarf is they cost like $300, and I haven't gotten the money for that since I just spent $3,000 repairing a motorcycle. I would be more then grateful to anybody who would post pictures of their tiger retic, age/length/weight/sex so I could just verify some information.

[mumps]

You seem awful concerned about temperament. Is size an issue? A tame 15 foot tiger is a lot bigger of a handful/responsibility than a mean 6 foot super dwarf...

If you know how to raise a tame snake then temperament upon purchase should not be an issue. Many big breeders don't have the time to handle all of their babies, so they will come to you mean. But like I said, if you know how to raise a snake to be tame that's not an issue.

Also you say $300 is out of your price range. Have you thought about housing/feeding your new pet? $300 for the snake to begin with is a drop in the bucket. I think all giants should be at least that so "fly-by-nighters" are discouraged from killing these magnificent animals.

If your only experience with large snakes is the yellow that you've had since October then I would not even consider a retic if I were you...

Chris

[mainbutter]

I'm going to have to agree with mumps about my concerns for your budget.

I have always spent more on husbandry and housing for all my pets I have ever had than the actual animals themselves, and I think that should be doubly true for giant snakes.

The very first thing I suggest you do is price out caging, food, and other husbandry needs. Snakes with high metabolism that grow fast and will eventually need large prey items have significant costs in feeding alone that are worth calculating, especially if you are already possibly straining your pet budget just with the price of a new animal.

[Neal]

I have no problem with food and bedding, my friend owns a pet store so i get bedding and stuff at the same price he does. Yes I would rather a regular retic over a dwarf because I know that the dwarfs have a tendancy to be meaner. Size isn't an issue, well as long as it doesn't get 20 ft. Which i've yet to see any male get that long. I just have to buy from an appropriate person who sex's accurately. I've dealt with more then a yellow, i've dealt with greens & burmese, so I know how to tame down a snake perfectly fine.

Also I said the money is right now, after about a month I should be good and back situated. I had a motorcycle wreck that threw my whole situation off because it costed $3,000 in repairs. Caging and all that isn't expensive either. Because I have 2 big tanks already that were purchased from the reptile expo from one of the person that sponsors the shows and sells them.

It's also not so much about $300 being too much, I can afford it, and even if I weren't watching my budget for the next month I still don't believe in spending anything over $200 for a snake, that's just me. I'm not talking about supplies and food, i'm talking about the snake itsself.