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[BoaVixen]

My boyfriend is buying a burmese python. It is about 4 feet. Its a very beautiful little creature. I am just worried because as much as I love the little guy, he wants an Anaconda and a Retic at some point as well. Forgive me but at 5foot 8 and just barely 120 pounds, I am daunted.

Don't get me wrong, our 8ft redtail is nothing if not cute to me. She doesn't scare me. But retics and anacondas are not known for their kind and loving nature. I love snakes but I don't think having that many animals who could squeeze the life out of me would be smart.

What about you guys? Please let me know.

[lloyd]

the burm in size will far exceed your redtail. if its a female your talking massive. as far as anacondas go, talk to some people who own one. not all but some have major attitudes. really do your homework on this one. as far as the burms go i just got one myself. they are a whole lotta snake. good luck and give it a lot of thought.

[BoaVixen]

thank you. I think a picture of a man with a really big retic on another thread deterred him while we still only have apartments... But what do we do with the burm. What would you recommend as a precaution, we already have a 75 gallon.

[John_E_Dove]

Just a rough estimate but I think a 75 gallon long aquarium is about 6 square feet. That should be good for maybe 6 months or so.
Really if it is not to late I'd suggest canceling the purchase.

[BoaVixen]

My boyfriend REALLY wants this animal. I don't think he will give it up now that he has put money on it.

More to the point, what I was really asking was what to do after those six months. Where do we go next? Monster cages?

Thanks for being so positive.

[SNAKEWISPERER]

Does your boyfriend have experience with big snakes? Burms in my experience seem to be more laid back than boas, so if your cool with the 8ft. boa I think you'll be o.k. My wife was worried when I first started getting big snakes but now she really likes them. Even my 12 ft. female!

[lloyd]

Originally Posted by BoaVixen

My boyfriend REALLY wants this animal. I don't think he will give it up now that he has put money on it.
More to the point, what I was really asking was what to do after those six months. Where do we go next? Monster cages?
Thanks for being so positive.

.........the fact that he put money on it is not a good reason to go ahead with this purchase. i am not trying to talk you out of it but TOTALLY understand what you are in for. the money he put on the snake is but a mere drop in a very big bucket. please dont take offence with what i say. i hope you have a very big apartment because you will be losing a room. it will take a couple of people to clean the cage. be prepared for large vet bills if they occur. they eat large prey that can put a dent in the wallet. proper housing could easily run you into the thousands. you would be unwise to handle this snake alone when it grows to a large size. if you ever decide you dont want it you will be hard pressed to find someone to take it off your hands. i hope everything works out for you

[John_E_Dove]

Well if you are getting it anyway then start researching LARGE cages you can build yourself or get ready to sink big bucks into a large cage. I build mine but I understand not everyone can do that. Just flashing what I consider to be the smallest the size required for a 12 foot Burm you could probably build a good big one for less than $150. Of course that is thinking my local prices for the materials.

[BoaVixen]

So how would you convince him not to get it, because we can still get out of it, there is a smaller boa he wants (really pretty male pastel and possibly hypo as well) its a redtail and we can handle that.

I really think we should wait on the Burm, I love him but my bf has a tendency to rush into things, especially reptiles. Not that I am not guilty of it too but we have six and going on 8 snakes and we only started buying at the beginning of this year.

I would never change the ones we have because they aren't big and they are fairly easy to handle, I like a big collection. But a burm is too much for his apartment. If it is 4ft to 4 1/2ft it seems like we wouldn't be able to store it here for long enough before it got too big.

Sorry for the trouble.

	Hypomelanistic Hypomelanistic - a genetic reduction in the dark pigment Melanin.

[John_E_Dove]

Tell him to read the Kaplan site on reptile housing which gives some good size suggestions. Reptile Housing: Size, Dimension and Lifestyle
Then use the figures there to calculate what you will need to house a 12 foot Burm. By those calculations it would take an enclosure just a little bigger than the average couch to house a 12 ft Burm comfortably. (8ftX4ftX4ft)
Of course eventually it will grow larger needing even more room.
You could try asking him who is going to clean up after the Pony in the box. They poop, I mean they really POOP!!!! And it smells really bad!!! You could start to wish it was a pony so you could at least take it outside.
Do you live in a city? What are the local laws regarding keeping reptiles? Some states and many cities have laws regulating species and size you can keep. Violate those laws and get caught you get to pay the fine and they get to kill the animal you put so much work into.
As was already pointed out, feeding a big Burm costs some pretty good bucks. Just glancing at my feeder supplier’s “on sale” list Rabbits are running $4.50 and “on sale” adult rats are running $1.00
There are a lot more things that go into this besides just paying a couple of hundred bucks for the snake plus the cost and commitment only increases over the next 20 years.
I know that at this point in time you, he or both may feel that this is what you want for the rest of your life but as young as you are that could change. Then what? A giant species snake is not easy to get rid of and though beautiful the adults are becoming more common. Zoos don’t want them anymore, most Rescues have trouble with them, and most unwanted giants are destroyed.
You are at the very beginning of your lives right now you have no idea what may happen in the next 5 years, just ask him to wait for a few years till your lives start to pattern out then think about it.
Giant snakes are not like the latest DVD, a great deal of thought should go into a purchase.
Just my opinion