Cow Retics Size

[Bogertophis]

And by the way, large/giant snakes can easily bite deep enough to do permanent nerve damage, & serious bleeding. Not something to take lightly.

[bcr229]

Something else to consider from a care perspective is that because boas eat less frequently than pythons, they are cheaper to feed and require less day-to-day maintenance for cleaning. I've had retics flood their cages with pee every day for 2-3 days in a row. Adult boas tend to go every 2-3 weeks.

Also consider the cost of feeders. I'm lucky enough to live at the edge of a rural/suburban boundary so the local farmers know I'll take culled chickens or rabbits, or stillborn goats/lambs/pigs/etc. as giant python snake food. If you have to buy those feeders and have them shipped it gets very expensive compared to feeding rats.

[Bogertophis]

Something else to consider from a care perspective is that because boas eat less frequently than pythons, they are cheaper to feed and require less day-to-day maintenance for cleaning. I've had retics flood their cages with pee every day for 2-3 days in a row. Adult boas tend to go every 2-3 weeks....

This ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ exactly.

When my BCI was full-grown, her stool was comparable to something my bigger dog does, & her urates were solids, not runny. She was far more pleasant to clean up after than any retic would be.

Seriously, do consider how long you'll enjoy being a slave to cleaning up after a large messy snake before you begin to resent it & wish you'd taken another road. Boas, like the BCI I had, eat about every 2 or even 3 weeks when fully-grown & older. And with the temperament being far more conducive to handling- boas just make far better pets if you want a large snake. Also, when you need vet care, your vet would MUCH rather deal with your boa, & might charge accordingly.

[fancoll]

This ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ exactly.

When my BCI was full-grown, her stool was comparable to something my bigger dog does, & her urates were solids, not runny. She was far more pleasant to clean up after than any retic would be.

Seriously, do consider how long you'll enjoy being a slave to cleaning up after a large messy snake before you begin to resent it & wish you'd taken another road. Boas, like the BCI I had, eat about every 2 or even 3 weeks when fully-grown & older. And with the temperament being far more conducive to handling- boas just make far better pets if you want a large snake. Also, when you need vet care, your vet would MUCH rather deal with your boa, & might charge accordingly.

Funny enough, I went to another pet store today which is a little further away and talked to the staff there (met a cool guy about my age so we just took off a little) and he literally took me to the back to the Retic breeding area and they were like all hissing and told me “yeah bro, your hands might worth hella money, you wanna deal with this :cens0r::cens0r::cens0r::cens0r:” (I am a dentist just FYI) . He even showed me the poop of retic (lucky me that d ay I guess) and it was gigantic....which yes seriously make me scare the crap out of retic now even though I still pretty much admire their colors. I definitely think Boa is a much much better choice for me now since his sentence kinda poked right at the center of my dealbreaker. Also I was surfing through my post and saw someone mentiond Burmese Python. I did a lot of research last night and even oredered a book about boa (gotta load this brain up I guess) and saw that Burmese Python is considered a better pet compared to retic by many. Just for the future reference (I will definitely will not get a Burm now since I live by myself and inexperience with snakes) are they good snake? Should I assume the conditions to own them is very much like with Retic? Some people say they are like puppy but I know they get huge with big teeth and yes a snake is still a snake afterall. This is me solely want to learn more about Burm by the way.

[Bogertophis]

I truly wouldn't risk my hands if I were you- actually, hands come in handy whether or not you're a dentist, lol. I repeat: potential for permanent nerve damage...

FYI: Even with a really large boa you should have a second person for help, for your safety. Stuff happens, snakes may be captive-bred, but they're still NOT domestic animals- remember that.

Burms are better than retics, IMO, but still not pet-material IN MY OPINION. Fine if you're a zoo-keeper or want to live that way...it's your call, assuming legalities are in order. Also remember that while there is an average or typical temperament for these snakes (just as with humans), there are plenty of exceptions & you won't know until you own (or live with) either one. Genetics & luck figure in, as perhaps does their own previous experiences with other people before you.

[Bogertophis]

If it's just about admiring their beautiful appearance, hey, I get that- but to me, some large high-quality photographic posters would fill the bill much better, & then have the snakes that I can manage & live with comfortably as my pets. The larger these snakes get, the harder it is to find responsible (fearless + snake-experienced) friends who are available at all hours when something arises where you need back-up help with one. Just saying... So many people with good intentions over-estimate their ability to handle their giant snake "pets", & underestimate their snake's strength & instincts to do the "unexpected". We truly don't want to read about you in the paper...ok? I think you also mentioned being single, so that's another thing you should think seriously about: if you plan to stay that way for life, fine, it's your choice, but if you hope to meet a "significant other", a giant snake just might be a deal-breaker. It's asking & hoping for a lot from a partner, you know? Just something else to think about. When you are a serious snake-keeper, there are 2 kinds of people in the world: those who would pay $ to visit you & look around, and those who would pay good money to stay far away! Most people are in the second group.

[bcr229]

Burms are pythons so you still have the fast metabolism, food bill, and messes of a giant python. They're just less likely as adults to draw your blood, though babies can be defensive and nippy.

Dumerils boas are another good option. They are fairly big, thick-bodied ground snakes, but they're extremely laid back. Like the boa imperator they eat monthly as adults, so there's less daily clean-up involved.

[WrongPython]

...did someone mention being interested in boas? Because I thought I heard someone say they were interested in boas.

OP: If you're looking for a manageably large, relatively easy-to-care-for pet snake with a mellow personality, a Columbian BI (Boa imperator) boa is probably your best bet. Your average male will probably sit around 5-7 feet fully grown, and your average female will be 6-8 feet. They're pretty hefty and muscular for their size, so a full-grown one is an impressive animal, even if it isn't a giant! Columbian boas are often described as good "shoulder pets" within the boa community, as they're typically well-natured and not excessively grippy (like BC [Boa constrictor] boas), flighty (like some locality boas), or sassy (again, some locality boas). While many Columbian boas will reach the size where it's a good idea to have a second person in the room just in case (such "size" is typically quoted to be between 6-8 feet), you're much less likely to run into trouble and need that help with a boa than your would with other species.

For reference, the boa Gio posted a picture of is a very nice Barranquilla, Columbia boa by the name of Sniper. My first snake was almost a Barranquilla boa because of him.

If you're looking for more boa books, I'll put in another recommendation for The More Complete Boa Constrictor by Vin Russo and a new one for The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli, Roger Klingenberg DVM, and Jeff Ronne.

Good luck! And good on you for doing your research now instead of rushing in and asking questions later.