reticulated python

[boa_kid]

What is the average size for a reticulated python.I heard 18 ft was.If so whats the average for a dwarf?Do they have the same requirments as boa constrictors?

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[boaterr]

Originally Posted by boa_kid

What is the average size for a reticulated python.I heard 18 ft was.If so whats the average for a dwarf?Do they have the same requirments as boa constrictors?

I keep retics and I have a very good friend name Chris who keeps and breeds large snakes. The simple answer is that retics get huge! Most adult female retics are 17+foot of pure muscle tied together in a 100+pound frame.











There are such thing as dwarf retics but they are for advanced keepers. What dwarfs lack in size they mack up for in speed. I have dealt with a 7 foot male jampea dwarf retic and he was easiest one of the hardest snakes that I have ever handled, he would not stay still and his movements were about as unpredictable as a racer. I have never seen a retic act like a boa. Retics are smart snakes that must be treated with respect.

This is a jampea dwarf retic

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[boa_kid]

wow!

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[VexalUntil]

Great looking collection you and your friend have Boaterr! I love tigers, they're my favorite retic morph!

Yes retics are a complete 180 degree turn from a boa constrictor! I babysat a friend's pair for a year and that fulfilled my desire to have a retic. The female grew about 7 feet in one year from 3' to almost 10'. By the end of her first year she was eating 3 pound rabbits. Both were constantly moving and would never sit still. I couldn't take my eyes off them if they were cruising around the apartment. My boas I know will not make it very far if I leave for a few moments. The retics could be in another county if I left them alone for a few minutes. It was a lot of fun and I fell in love with them, but they are way to big and expensive for me to keep. I was spending $4 a week on rabbits for the female and $4 every other week for the male (who really should have been fed every week). Towards the end of the year the male was just too big (13") for me to feel safe taking him out just to hold or let cruise around the apartment. Neither were aggressive at all, but they have a very healthy feeding response and I didn't want to trigger a feeding response from the male.

I've also heard that some dwarfs tend to have a nasty attitude, but I've heard the same with normals so I don't know how true that is. What do you think Boaterr?

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[Tom]

Just so you know jampea dwarf retic do get bigger than people think. Here are some of Jim Gaspar' jampea dwarf retics. This one is around 15 + feet long and 8 years old. Also as boaterr said jampea dwarfs are a very fast moving snake and I also agree with his statement that retics are smart snakes that must be treated with respect.

If you feed a jampea dwarf retic moderately they should stay around 13 to 14 feet. Also there are other types of dwarf retics but I don't know the names of them. So do lots of research on them before you buy one.


Personally I like the Tiger phase retic the best out of all the retics myself.








Take care
Tom

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[Rex322]

if your just getting into giants i really wouldnt recommend a tic. they require a tremendous amount of respect, and are incredibly smart,not to mention bottomless pits. get lots of experiance with larger snakes before you get one, whatever you get, but personally i would recommend a male burm to start out with in giants. great looking, usually great tempered snakes.

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[boaterr]

Originally Posted by VexalUntil

Great looking collection you and your friend have Boaterr! I love tigers, they're my favorite retic morph!

Yes retics are a complete 180 degree turn from a boa constrictor! I babysat a friend's pair for a year and that fulfilled my desire to have a retic. The female grew about 7 feet in one year from 3' to almost 10'. By the end of her first year she was eating 3 pound rabbits. Both were constantly moving and would never sit still. I couldn't take my eyes off them if they were cruising around the apartment. My boas I know will not make it very far if I leave for a few moments. The retics could be in another county if I left them alone for a few minutes. It was a lot of fun and I fell in love with them, but they are way to big and expensive for me to keep. I was spending $4 a week on rabbits for the female and $4 every other week for the male (who really should have been fed every week). Towards the end of the year the male was just too big (13") for me to feel safe taking him out just to hold or let cruise around the apartment. Neither were aggressive at all, but they have a very healthy feeding response and I didn't want to trigger a feeding response from the male.

I've also heard that some dwarfs tend to have a nasty attitude, but I've heard the same with normals so I don't know how true that is. What do you think Boaterr?

The Dwarf Retics that I have experience with are the selayer, jampea, super dwarf, and yellow head.

Selayer are usually 12-14 long
Jampea 12-13 feet long
Super Dwarf are usually under 10 feet long
yellow head "are brarely a dwarf" usually not more than 16 feet.

Dwarfs are not particularily nasty but they are jumpy snakes with very erratic movements. It is very easy to scare young dwarf retics "a keeper moving his hands or body to fast". Dwarfs usually have very aggressive feeding responses that rival that of the Sulaweis Reticulated Python, keepers must be very careful during feeding time. Hook Training is a must with dwarf or any other species of retics. We need to undertand that dwarf retics are very new to the hobby and it will take a while for them to get really established in captivity.

On another note I believe that if someone can handle a burm "a snake that commonily gets over 13 feet long and over 70 pounds" that keeper should be able to deal with a male retic. I have seen planty of burms that have feeding responses that will put the average retic to shame. Even my burms are much harder to calm down once there in feeding mode than my retic. I think it is partly because my retics are use to me holding something in my hand or tongs when I am about to feed them. When I walk in the snake room and their heads pop up and look at me, If they see feed or smell food they go into feeding mode but if they don't they just sit there and wait for me to tap them with my hook.

	Morph A morph is a color or pattern variation that is proven to be genetic. Common morphs include albino, anerythristic, gentically striped, Hypomelanistic, and many others. Morphs also include combinations of simple traits such as "Sunglow" which is Albino and Hypomelanistic. These traits may be recessive traits, co-dominant traits, dominant traits, or created through selective breeding (ie Pastel).

[Jim G.]

Hi all,

I'm that old guy in the picture that Tom posted. Jampeas are a smaller form retic, but as you see above can get larger then any boa constrictor ever could. I find jamps flighty, and have a feeding response unlike any other retic. When you have them out they can and will give you your workout for the day. Mine are hardly aggressive but are extremely active once out. Even my hatchlings are little speed demons. I would never recommend a Jampea for a first snake, or even a second snake for that matter. In my opinion they are for more advanced keepers. Please do not mistake what I am saying. Jampeas make wonderful pets for the right keeper. Even though larger, a male retic would make a much better pet.

Jim

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[Chubbz]

Originally Posted by Tom

Just so you know jampea dwarf retic do get bigger than people think. Here are some of Jim Gaspar' jampea dwarf retics. This one is around 15 + feet long and 8 years old. Also as boaterr said jampea dwarfs are a very fast moving snake and I also agree with his statement that retics are smart snakes that must be treated with respect.
If you feed a jampea dwarf retic moderately they should stay around 13 to 14 feet. Also there are other types of dwarf retics but I don't know the names of them. So do lots of research on them before you buy one.
Personally I like the Tiger phase retic the best out of all the retics myself.



Take care
Tom

If you call that i dwarf i think ill will stay with the smaller snakes

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[morti]

Originally Posted by Chubbz

If you call that i dwarf i think ill will stay with the smaller snakes

Compared to adult mainlands? That thing is Tiny!

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[LooseAFur]

I was watching Nat Geo last night...they were doing a study on Super Snakes, anyone else see that? They measured the squeeze of an adult green anaconda @ 90psi (equal to a school bus on a mans chest), they also found retics in the wild to get to 30 feet. Just thought i would share that. Retics rock but i have no where to house one so its gonna have to wait til i have a house.

[morti]

I also watched it. Like most things about snakes on TV, it was a curious mixture of overly sensationalized mis-information combined with actual science.

Fun!

[LooseAFur]

yeah, i thought the same, but there was some good stuff on there....the whole dramatization about human eating snakes was a little over the top...i was just happy to see something about snakes on TV, i also watched the show yesterday about the King Cobra that was petty sweet...makes me wish i would have gone to school for Biology and specialized in herpetology(even though no colleges have that)

[morti]

Originally Posted by scink

Biology and specialized in herpetology(even though no colleges have that)

Actually, several schools offer a masters in herpetology.

That doesn't mean that it is all fun field work. Most herpetologists spend most of their time in the lab.

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[razeraze]

My guess is if you have to ask "how big"? you are not ready for one. Do a ton of research before getting any reptile but especially one that can kill and consume a human being. Remember 2 people should be present for a Boidae member over 6 feet.

Everyone else on this thread, great information and thanks for sharing.

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[Rex322]

Originally Posted by razeraze

My guess is if you have to ask "how big"? you are not ready for one. Do a ton of research before getting any reptile but especially one that can kill and consume a human being. Remember 2 people should be present for a Boidae member over 6 feet.

i do believe thats what hes doing

i dont blame ya for asking, caresheets vary on info, some will say 25-30' while some will say 14-16'

i believe it would be hard for one to consume an adult humsn lol, they wouldnt be able to pass our shoulders

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[razeraze]

Asking a question you can find in a book is not research and I would never get advice from a care sheet.

Rex they do eat humans and I have spoken to someone who lives in Thailand who says adult men are on the menu, so do not under estimate them. I recently have been reading an awesome book where they removed a 160lb pig from a retic. It's ribs were far wider than my shoulders.

Maybe we should all do some more research I know I never stop.

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[Rex322]

Originally Posted by razeraze

Asking a question you can find in a book is not research and I would never get advice from a care sheet.

Rex they do eat humans and I have spoken to someone who lives in Thailand who says adult men are on the menu, so do not under estimate them. I recently have been reading an awesome book where they removed a 160lb pig from a retic. It's ribs were far wider than my shoulders.

Maybe we should all do some more research I know I never stop.

the average adults shoulders will be too wide for the snake....thailand people tend to be smaller so maybe then. and ya know not all books are %100 accurate. i would rather learn from others esperiances then some book or caresheet

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[boaterr]

Originally Posted by Rex322

the average adults shoulders will be too wide for the snake....thailand people tend to be smaller so maybe then. and ya know not all books are %100 accurate. i would rather learn from others esperiances then some book or caresheet

What we usually overlook is that snakes can open their mouths very wide vertically but not nearly as wide horizontally. So an adult Rock Python or Retic my not be able to swallow an adult human if the human's shoulders were pointed horizontally, but if the python could maneuver the body so that the shoulders are pointed vertically I believe the mammoth python might just be able to swallow an adult human being.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by boaterr

What we usually overlook is that snakes can open their mouths very wide vertically but not nearly as wide horizontally. So an adult Rock Python or Retic my not be able to swallow an adult human if the human's shoulders were pointed horizontally, but if the python could maneuver the body so that the shoulders are pointed vertically I believe the mammoth python might just be able to swallow an adult human being.

You beat me to it thanks. I forget what show I was watching but they did prove that a very large python could do this. However most if not all captive breed pythons do not associate human scent as a prey idem.

Take care
Tom