What's the attitude of your SD retics?

[TheSnakeGeek]

I think retics are really cool looking but don't really have any interest in a 20ft snake lol.

mainland males average 12-14 feet

If you 'slow grow' or 'maintenance feed' a male I suspect based on no experience that it will be hungry all the time and try to eat your face. I think hook training is key. There are a number of safety precautions that probably make it easier - but a lot of times when I see videos or hear people speak about the truth of keeping them, they're pretty wild.

if you starve it it may be hungry all the time, but you can grow it "slowER" without power feeding it or starving it. i've seen videos online where people will only feed their full grown retic a smaller meal once a month, and those animals look way too thin. granted i've only had my mainland a few months, i noticed no difference in his feeding response from when i was power feeding him 2 large meals a week to when i switched to one meal a week that was about as round as his thickest girth. if anything, he may have chilled out a little because he only expects food on sundays (feeding day). i do agree that hook training is necessary and can be a very useful tool. when you say, "but a lot of times when I see videos or hear people speak about the truth of keeping them, they're pretty wild," it sounds like the only videos you believe to be "true" of retics are the ones of people with aggressive ones. i don't sell retics and gain nothing monetarily from sugar coating them, just figured i'd chime in to say mine is now my favorite animal to work with and has never shown one sign of aggression asides from the typical feeding response, and even now that he's starting to realize the hook rubbing means "no food" isn't that big of a deal. i'm still on my toes whenever i'm taking him out, as they should be respected, but then again, so should any animal, especially snakes.

There are lots of people that think they have a dwarf of super dwarf and the animal hits 10 feet and continues growing strong. What do you do then?

super dwarfs are life hets, if you buy from a well known and trusted breeder who's been doing this a while and knows what to expect you shouldn't have this problem.

Mike,
hopefully reptileexperts will chime in. i don't have any experience with dwarves or SD and i know he has quite a few. one thing i've found out is no amount of reading will give you the experience like hands on interaction. people often advise against retics, which i think does have it's time and place, ESPECIALLY if a person considering getting one has little or no experience with snakes, but i've also noticed 90% of the people doing the advising against getting a retic are people who have never owned one themselves and experienced how truly amazing these animals are. you're a snake guy. you know what it takes to keep them healthy and happy. if you've been thinking about this for a while and it's not a impulse buy, i say go for it. you won't regret it. if you get a higher % SD from a respected breeder, you won't have to worry about eventually having a "monster," or better yet, a giant, on your hands. and plain ole purple albinos are pretty cheap now, you'll just have to pay for getting that super dwarf blood mixed in there.