Considering getting lavender albino reticulated Python

[Suprakeith]

Hello haven't posted much of this forum but have been reading bits and bobs. Went to a specialist snake breeder Monday and am considering getting lavender albino male reticulated Python.
And was wondering if members who own these snakes can put up and tips and advice please. Was told the male would get to about 8ft.
I currently have 6ft Brazilian rainbow boa who have had now for 18 years, have had Royal Python and 9ft red tail boa in the past. My only concern is that my misses is little bit weary of bigger snakes
Thank you in advance to all that reply and give helpful information.

[redshepherd]

I'm assuming you mean a dwarf retic, which is about 8 feet.

Normal retics get much larger than that... The average for males seems to be between 15~20 feet.

I don't have any experience besides holding a hatchling, but I thought I'd bring that up.

[Ax01]

i'm considering and starting to read about Retics also, tho i'm only interested in SD's.

Cody (aka ReptileExperts) is our resident Retic guru. look him up, read one of his threads. here's one on helping a do a control Dwarf Retic pee into a bathtub - http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-a-dwarf-Retic lol Dwarfs are still a handful!

[bcr229]

Mainland males can get big. My adult tiger is 13', my purple albino is 9-10 feet but still pretty slender.

[Yodawagon]

If you get a retic under the impression it will stay at 8 feet, you will be disappointed. At least a mainland. It's possible, but there's no garuantee.

[Suprakeith]

I can't remember if they said was dwarf species, going to try get as much information 1st before purchase it as don't want to get snake bigger than I can control as misses is very unsure with bigger snakes

[wibihihi]

i think that must have dwarf or superdwarf blood, if it only max at 8 ft
my male normal mainland retic grew 6 ft in a year so you can get the idea
superdwarf will be much more manageable if you want retic, but afraid of giant snakes
and keep in mind, male can be agresif in breeding mode

[reptileexperts]

Ok brief run down. . . Feel free to Direct Message me for specifics when needed.

First generation crosses into superdwarf (Kalatoa F1) from crossing a wild kalaota to a mainland anything will result in a male that has potential to grow almost as large as a mainland. I have a 50% F1 MALE that is over 10'.

To get albino into dwarf, a lot of work goes into it, and if its cheap its likely a lower % cross (think around 25% is pretty common). So at the quickest rate, you can cross a wild caught jampea to a Lav albino. This makes 50% Jampea F1 (my 50% Jampea F1 male is 9' roughly, I have not measured him lately he turned 3 this past feb.). OK take siblings, and back cross them. Now you have 50% Dwarf F2 albinos and poss hets. These you could say are dwarf albinos. Do people do this though? Well, Travis kubes did and produced excellent animals. Unfortunately, what most do is take the F1 50% hets and cross them back into Mainland albinos so they are able to guarantee their hets and produce more visuals. However, some folks still refer to these as dwarf even though their lines are now only 25% Dwarf (still grow to mainland potential). Tracking this stuff is a huge part of what helps us understand sizing potential for new homes and owners. Without knowing how many generations went into it, we don't truly know what to expect, but in general always prepare for the worst (best) outcomes; big snakes.

Male mainland retics can breed at 7-8' and remain at this size their entire life. My 25% Selayer albino male het stripe is roughly 8' and is 4 years old and has been fully grown for a couple years now and fed on XXXL rats weekly.

Buy from trusted breeders, people who can give you the intimate details of their lines, and you're generally going to be OK to assume its growth potential. Feed it like its a mainland though and you'll still get a larger snake (or obese). The key to remember about dwarf and super dwarf retics is that their genetics have been refined for smaller lines due to their lack of resource availability on the islands in which they originate. Baring that in mind, if they are exposed to large quantities of food, it seems growth potential is still there. Many 50% SD females that are first generations are still breaching the 12' mark (Bob Clark has many like this he uses in his super dwarf offspring). It's still a lot smaller and easier to deal with thanks to girth. But still bigger than most people anticipate.

Hope this helps.

[Yodawagon]

There's a Facebook group for dwarf and super dwarf classifieds, Check it out. You have to ask to join, but it's free.

[Suprakeith]

Thank you that's very helpful and this plane is trusted breeder that's specialists in boas and Pythons and has customers from around world that order snakes from him. I will only purchase a snake that I know the history and trust the place, plus like to do as much research as possible before finally purchase the snake as don't want it getting to big and misses being unsure and have to get rid of snake after few years