can you explain the difference?

[carmich132]

I ask this question for my own sheer curiosity: what are the main differences (ie. length/weight/enclosure needs/attitudes/anything else) between a Burmese Python and a Reticulated python? A lot of what I read on other web pages seems misleading, so I thought I would ask the pro's. I'm not looking for a 20 page essay, just curious of how to tell the difference by looking at them and whatever other nifty facts you can think of. Thanks.

[Freakie_frog]

I ask this question for my own sheer curiosity: what are the main differences (ie. length/weight/enclosure needs/attitudes/anything else) between a Burmese Python and a Reticulated python? A lot of what I read on other web pages seems misleading, so I thought I would ask the pro's. I'm not looking for a 20 page essay, just curious of how to tell the difference by looking at them and whatever other nifty facts you can think of. Thanks.

Retic BIG!! Burm BIG but not retic BIG.

Retic - 25 - 33 ft long; 200-300 lbs, houseing: small shed like 50-100 sqr feet.
Burm 12 - 25 ft long; 100-250 lbs, housing same as a retic depending on size.
As with any snake you can get some with spunk and the some that are like dogs.

Make up your mind now if you get a spunky one will you be willing to deal with a 45lb snake having a go at you every chance it can??

To tell the difference the word reticulated means like a net (their pattern) anything can be reticulated. The retic has a dimond or net like pattern and the burm doesn't..

The main 2 things here is to remember that; 1: when its getts big you can't get rid of it and 2: this is a snake that when grow will take 4 to 10 people to deal with.

Hope this helps

[Dr Satan]

retics have a lot of silver and yellow... they have orange or silver eyes too. burms dont...

[uro1001]

Retic BIG!! Burm BIG but not retic BIG.

Retic - 25 - 33 ft long; 200-300 lbs, houseing: small shed like 50-100 sqr feet.
Burm 12 - 25 ft long; 100-250 lbs, housing same as a retic depending on size.
As with any snake you can get some with spunk and the some that are like dogs.

Make up your mind now if you get a spunky one will you be willing to deal with a 45lb snake having a go at you every chance it can??

To tell the difference the word reticulated means like a net (their pattern) anything can be reticulated. The retic has a dimond or net like pattern and the burm doesn't..

The main 2 things here is to remember that; 1: when its getts big you can't get rid of it and 2: this is a snake that when grow will take 4 to 10 people to deal with.

Hope this helps

lets be a little more realistic about those sizes.... burms 10- 16 on average

retics about 14-19 on average. they all can get much larger. think of a retic as a corn snake and a burm as a bp. retics are much faster.

ps-dr satan thats what i was gonna say!

[Dr Satan]

glad you pointed out the size thing... i didnt even see that. lol!

lets be a little more realistic about those sizes.... burms 10- 16 on average

retics about 14-19 on average. they all can get much larger. think of a retic as a corn snake and a burm as a bp. retics are much faster.

ps-dr satan thats what i was gonna say!

[Freakie_frog]

retics about 14-19 on average. they all can get much larger. think of a retic as a corn snake and a burm as a bp. retics are much faster.

This is true. I was giving the max size so the person would understand what they have the possiablity of getting it to. Burms are heavier bodied snakes and retic's are leaner snakes.

Very good points.

[Rapture]

Is their max size an issue of conservative feeding practices?

[Dr Satan]

Is their max size an issue of conservative feeding practices?

growth and reproduction are a function of food intake... this adaptation is one of the things that has made reptiles so successful, and why they have spread out to fill all sorts of niches.

you can limit food intake for large boids, and they will trade off growth so they can reproduce, while still being in very good physical shape.

[Mendel's Balls]

I ask this question for my own sheer curiosity: what are the main differences (ie. length/weight/enclosure needs/attitudes/anything else) between a Burmese Python and a Reticulated python? A lot of what I read on other web pages seems misleading, so I thought I would ask the pro's. I'm not looking for a 20 page essay, just curious of how to tell the difference by looking at them and whatever other nifty facts you can think of. Thanks.

This figure from Ott, B. D. et al. J Exp Biol 2007;210:340-356
may help you see the difference.

The top shows the girth of 5 species of pythons on the same relative scale lengthwise. Photograhs [A] is P.brongersmai (the blood python) [B] P.regius (the royal or ball python) [C] is P. sebae (Anyone know the common name for this one?) [D] P.molurus (the Burmese python) (E) P. reticulatus (Retics or Reticulated Pythons).

The Bar Graph gives you an idea of the relative body shape for each species by displaying the body mass to length ratio (body mass, Mb/total length, TL).

"Note the significant variation in body shape from the short
and stout P. brongersmai to the long and slender P. reticulatus."

The species on the right of the graph still weigh more, but you see that they are relatively skinny for their length.

Note you can ignore the letters at the top of each bar for the purpose of this comparison.

[Dr Satan]

its good to see brian got his papers published.