Dwarf/Super Dwarf Retic Questions!

[reptileexperts]

They stay relative thin but will still have girth. Males should not typically be wider than an XXl rat. Females may be as thick as a. 2-3 lb rabbit for 50% crosses on SD and up to a football thickness for dwarf females who are ready to breed.


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[Konotashi]

What's the AVERAGE size (length and weight) of captive reticulated pythons? (Normals, not D/SDs).

The more I think about it, the more I think I might be able to take on a full sized retic. (After I get more experience with owning snakes in general, of course!)
I'm realizing that I've set a lot of plans for myself. I've been wanting to breed rabbits and rats for a while, both to sell as pets and to keep as feeders for my animals. My ferrets eat an entirely raw/whole prey diet, but I figure a raw meal for my cat and dog here and there wouldn't hurt.

That being said, if I breed my own stock, I don't think I'd have an issue feeding a giant python. That's where another worry was coming from. Obviously I'm going to see where I'm at financially when I'm out of college and stable and whatnot, but these are my plans. (Hopefully everything goes as planned, haha).

I'm just having a LOT of trouble finding out what the WEIGHT of these snakes are. The length isn't as big of an issue for me as the weight is. All I can really find is a record breaking 300+ lb. retic. But I want the AVERAGE, not record breakers. :/

[Konotashi]

Can't edit that post, but are dwarfs available in the caramel color?

I keep thinking and swinging back and forth between dwarfs and normals, haha. Good thing I have a lot of time to do a lot of thinking!
Caramels are definitely my favorite morph, though!

[reptileexperts]

Caramels are only mainland right now. Not many people working them into SD / Dwarf lines simple because info caramel is so easy to get wc right now it seems and a lot of people are after that I suppose.

Average weight and length for a mainland is a very hard answer to generalize. Mainly because you have male and females that are so different in themselves then you have caging and feeding differences. Id suggest your average male to get around 13' and 30 lb and your average female 17' and 80-120lb depending on breeding or not.


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[Konotashi]

Caramels are only mainland right now. Not many people working them into SD / Dwarf lines simple because info caramel is so easy to get wc right now it seems and a lot of people are after that I suppose.

Average weight and length for a mainland is a very hard answer to generalize. Mainly because you have male and females that are so different in themselves then you have caging and feeding differences. Id suggest your average male to get around 13' and 30 lb and your average female 17' and 80-120lb depending on breeding or not.


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What's WC mean?

THAT'S IT???? (And I know that's a very, very general generalization).

And whoa, that's a huge difference between males and females, haha.

Again, I know this depends on the individual (sorry for all of the vague questions!), but as far as pets go, which of the two genders tends to be more mellow for pet purposes? Or does it really just depends on each individual snake?

[reptileexperts]

Females are a lot more mellow but get larger and heavier and require a lot more food. Add into that females tend to have a lot stronger feeding response.

Males on the flip side are generally calm but become devils during breeding season. I breezed out of an attack by my 10' tiger male who's in breeding mode a couple weeks back now. I prefer my females to my males any day of the week to be honest.


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[reptileexperts]

Also: WC = wild caught

And "that's it?" Is not a generally good response on such an inquiry. These snakes are large and very quick. They are not like a 200lb obese Burmese who sits still and lunges at threats slowly... These guys move quicker than any snakes I've ever worked with... Almost on par with some of the fastest striking vipers IMO


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[Konotashi]

Females are a lot more mellow but get larger and heavier and require a lot more food. Add into that females tend to have a lot stronger feeding response.

Males on the flip side are generally calm but become devils during breeding season. I breezed out of an attack by my 10' tiger male who's in breeding mode a couple weeks back now. I prefer my females to my males any day of the week to be honest.


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I'll have to look up videos or something on their feeding response. My ball and kingsnake I had in the past were slow and I had to wait around for them to take the mouse. I'm going to assume, from what I've read, that is definitely NOT the case with retics.

And I'll assume that their brains go into sex mode whether females around or not? If that's the case, I'll go the female route. (Probably dwarf). I intend on breeding my own feeders (both rats and rabbits - I planned on getting into rabbit breeding before I wanted snakes), so I can sell 'leftovers' as feeders or pets.

Also: WC = wild caught

And "that's it?" Is not a generally good response on such an inquiry. These snakes are large and very quick. They are not like a 200lb obese Burmese who sits still and lunges at threats slowly... These guys move quicker than any snakes I've ever worked with... Almost on par with some of the fastest striking vipers IMO


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Don't wild caught snakes tend to be more aggressive and less suitable for pet purposes? I know most people don't get retics as 'pets' per say, but just thought I'd ask that.

I apologize for responding that way. I was expecting them to weigh at least 100 lbs at that length, but I fully understand that given the size of these snakes, they will require the utmost respect and I'll need to take safety measures when handling them, no matter how much I may 'trust' one. I've been around burms, so I was trying my best to compare their size without really comparing the two, if that makes sense. The "THAT'S IT???" stemmed from my surprise that they weren't anywhere near as large (weight-wise) as I was expecting. My apologies.

[Pampho85]

I'll have to look up videos or something on their feeding response. My ball and kingsnake I had in the past were slow and I had to wait around for them to take the mouse. I'm going to assume, from what I've read, that is definitely NOT the case with retics.

I've seen retics that aren't very fast strikers, but most generally are I'd say. Definitely don't want to use your hands on a large one.

And I'll assume that their brains go into sex mode whether females around or not? If that's the case, I'll go the female route. (Probably dwarf). I intend on breeding my own feeders (both rats and rabbits - I planned on getting into rabbit breeding before I wanted snakes), so I can sell 'leftovers' as feeders or pets.

Doesn't matter if they are or are not, just like many other animals they will go into breeding mode.

Don't wild caught snakes tend to be more aggressive and less suitable for pet purposes? I know most people don't get retics as 'pets' per say, but just thought I'd ask that.

I apologize for responding that way. I was expecting them to weigh at least 100 lbs at that length, but I fully understand that given the size of these snakes, they will require the utmost respect and I'll need to take safety measures when handling them, no matter how much I may 'trust' one. I've been around burms, so I was trying my best to compare their size without really comparing the two, if that makes sense. The "THAT'S IT???" stemmed from my surprise that they weren't anywhere near as large (weight-wise) as I was expecting. My apologies.

Many tend to be aggressive, but there are ones that mellow out. People usually import for a new bloodline or for one that looks different than the others in hopes of being a new morph. And no matter if it's wild caught or CB make sure you have more than one person with you in the room when dealing with a large snake, retics have great feeding responses and if a large one latches onto your hand you won't be able to get it off alone. I know of some retic owners who keeps knives or guns in the pocket in case worse comes to worse but that would be the last option.

I don't own any retics but I've looked into them for a couple years now haha.

[Konotashi]

I've heard that alcohol is a good way to get a snake that latches on to let go. I'm not sure if that'll help much with the constricting part, but I imagine if you could get the head off, you could lead the rest off. (All just guesses, though! As I've said before, I have zero experience with giant snakes!) I don't doubt for a second though that if one of these snakes wanted to kill you, it could without trying. I would guess a good way to deal with the constricting part is to try and prevent it from wrapping around you in the first place? These are all just guess/questions, though....

Honestly, keeping a weapon just in case doesn't sound like a bad idea. As much as it would suck to have to resort to that (I couldn't imagine having to kill one of my babies to save myself), if I HAD to do it to save myself, then I would.

I think it'd be best to get my balls first, then boas (to get used to larger snakes), then maybe get a dwarf. If I can handle a dwarf, depending on how that goes, I MAY get a mainland.
All that being said, I do have a long way to go. But it's never too early to ask questions and research, right?