Preparing for a big snake

[Denial]

I am still confused to this day why people still refer to jamps as dwarfs? Ive seen them well up in the 15 16 foot range and theres nothing dwarf about a 15 foot retic. All three snakes you listed are all very different from each other. Out of the three I think the burmese are the best "starter" giant if there were such a thing. There alot more relaxed then retics and anacondas. Retics are always on the move and the pure power anacondas have are insane. Sometimes we struggle to get our anacondas back into there cages. My female green likes to wrap the end of tail right around your hand and just hold on. Shes 7 feet and feels more powerful then our adult male retics.

[brobertson]

Now, I'm no expert on large constrictors, but I have read about the various types, and I think the perfect snake for you right now is a boa constrictor. It may seem a little common, but it is a much more reasonable size jump, will save you lots of money, and give you an overall more handleable snake. Most of the boa constrictors that I have seen are puppy dog tame, and while most burmese are the same, an odd incident with a burm could be potentially life threatening.

Good luck, and have fun with whatever you end up getting.

[drama x]

As for a starter big snake i got a dumeril, shes about 3 ft and very tame. Im using her as my practice snake before i get a burm, conda, retic, etc.

I also have a 5 ft very aggressive rat snake i practice handling with my hands and a snake hook.

[mumps]

I'll have to agree with Daniel on the annie's strength... to a degree. Yes they feel as if they're about a hundred times stronger than a similar sized retic, but there are behavioral differences explaining this.

While retics are at least semi-arboreal, anaconda's are not and usually have every inch of their body either touching ground or water. When we hold our snakes, the retics are at ease because of their semi-arboreal habits and are assured that if they feel they will fall a quick flex of their muscles will keep them in place. An anaconda gets picked up and feels very insecure, at least until they learn this ritual.

I had at least 10 years of experience with burms and retics before I acquired a green. Definitely wonderful snakes, but I'm not so sure I would say go ahead and start with one.

If you can confidently acquire trust with your rat snake, and are able to "read" its intentions when you open its enclosure, then you're acquiring some of the skills you'll need to be a good giant owner.

Establishing trust with your Ornate will be similar, but a lot more patience is required with monitors.

Chris

[drama x]

I'll have to agree with Daniel on the annie's strength... to a degree. Yes they feel as if they're about a hundred times stronger than a similar sized retic, but there are behavioral differences explaining this.

While retics are at least semi-arboreal, anaconda's are not and usually have every inch of their body either touching ground or water. When we hold our snakes, the retics are at ease because of their semi-arboreal habits and are assured that if they feel they will fall a quick flex of their muscles will keep them in place. An anaconda gets picked up and feels very insecure, at least until they learn this ritual.

I had at least 10 years of experience with burms and retics before I acquired a green. Definitely wonderful snakes, but I'm not so sure I would say go ahead and start with one.

If you can confidently acquire trust with your rat snake, and are able to "read" its intentions when you open its enclosure, then you're acquiring some of the skills you'll need to be a good giant owner.

Establishing trust with your Ornate will be similar, but a lot more patience is required with monitors.

Chris

Thanks for the info mumps. Iv decided to hold off on the conda for awhile and maby start with a burm when i'm ready. Even training with this satan spawn rat snake is a tough challenge, but in time it will teach me to have quick reflexes and actually read a snakes body language, which i'm getting pretty good at, rat snakes are slick little biters.

And yeah i don't handle my monitor, hes just the center piece of my home for guests to look at. He has a giant enclosure all to himself and is fed like a king lol but whenever i do handle him to change his enclosure he never bites....weird. I just got that 1 lucky nile outta the bunch lol.

There some good info in this thread, i really hope its helping others before considering a big snake.

Thanks again guys!