Ready or not?

[Dragon]

I'm curious. I've been admiring Retic's for a while now but realise that they are not a snake to be taken on lightly and I was wondering at what point could somebody consider themselves "ready"?

Unfortunately at the moment I simply don't have the room to house one until our pending house modifications are completed, but once they are done I may seriously consider it.

I've had 3 years experience with Boids and 2 years with Burms (well one Burm ). I have very strict handling and feeding procedures for all our large constricting species and am well aware of the potential dangers posed by these animals.

Opinions, negative or positive, will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

Paul

[LdyDrgn]

The good thing about retics is they don't get the girth of a burm and therefore, slightly easier to 'handle'. They still require the same amount of room since they do get rather long...

[BWSmith]

I don't think anyone can tell you when you are ready for anything. I would advise working with a few adult retics that are aggresssive (shouldn't be hard to find LOL), before getting one.

[gemisnake]

In my opinion the amount of years is not half as important as how much real experience you really have. And things like will someone be there to help you with feeding, cage cleaning and any other handling of a potentailly dangerous snake? If you have the space, knowledge, help and confidence for a retic then you are ready. I would definately look for a captive bred baby because they have much sweeter tempers.

[morti]

It is a good question you raise Paul.

I do not consider myself "ready" for a Giant constrictor such as a burm, retic, afrock, anacond et al.

I think that each person considering such a daunting animal should consider the following factors:

1. Do I have room for this animal? As we all know, any snake capable of getting as large as the Giants do needs a lot of cage space. The size enclosure we are talking about takes up a lot of physical room space. I personally do not have the kind of room needed to house a giant constrictor AND the rest of my collection.

2. Can I afford this animal? While the actual cost of these snakes is usually relatively small, the cost to house, feed, and mantain the health of these giants can be as big as they are. Just for one part of this point, let's assume that your adult Giant is going to be eating one of RodentPro's Colossal rabbits every two weeks (I know... they will probably need larger prey items than this eventually, but go with me here). They cost $8.00 each. That's $208.00 per uear. Let's assume that your snake exists at its adult size for 15 years. $3120.00 over the life of the adult snake. Compare that to an adult boa that would be eating, let's say, one Colossal Rat ever two weeks. A Colossal Rat costs $3.28 each. That's $85.28/year or $1279.20 over 15 years. That means that an adult Giant costs about 60% more to feed than adult Boa. Again, this is without factoring in housing or medical.

3. Can I handle this animal? There will be times that your snake will have to be moved. These snakes can way in the 300 pound range. How many people does it take to move a 300 pound snake? More than two I am here to tell you. Do I feel like I can call all my friends over every time I want to take Monty the Python out of her cage? Probably not.

4. Why do I want this snake? Very much like venomous snakes, this is a hard question to answer. This is something every keeper has to consider on his or her own. Is this for show? To impress my friends? Love of the species? Education? Just weigh this factor into your final decision.

I know... I did not exactly answer your specific queston of "When am I ready for a Retic?". I won't answer that question for you. You have to make that call. All I can do is give you some more factors to think about and this is by no means an all inclusive list... this is just what I could think of off the top of my head. If you have already weighed these factors in and have decided that you are ready, then GO for it!

-Your Sick Uncle Morti.

[Stormyva]

Very well put Morti

[Dragon]

Thanks for the replys peeps. I realise that it's a serious commitment and I did do all this thinking and more when we got Domino, our Burm. Since we've had him I've completely fallen in love with the Giants and while he's only 10-11 foot at the moment I am awaiting his eventual adult size with nothing but excitement and anticipation.

However, I realise that Retic's are very different to Burms in both behaviour and temperament and it is these things that will play a major part in my decision in the future.

I know that none of you can make this decision for me, but I really do want to hear from the more experienced members of the forum.

If anybody has anything else to add, please do.

Thanks again guys and girls.

Paul

[Kent K25]

For me, I don't feel I will ever be ready for a larger python like that for one main reason. If a snake of the size potential they have were ever to bite me I probably would never wanna deal with it again. Just too big, it would scare me off. My max is a full grown BCI, I could handle going back to a full grown BCI that bit me, but not a retic or burm I don't think.

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

[savannah_babe]

my husband and i have had many rescues from corn snakes to adult burms. IT IS very difficult to keep such a large snake. the largest snake we have rescued was a 16ft burm, and it took 4 of us to carry her. and, that still wasnt easy, she was a fighter. personally, as of now, i would not be able to house a burm perminatly. i like the fact that i can just (by myself) take my herps to the vet without assistance..heh. i do however love working with them though. ill tell ya, im glad to hear that you are thinking this through first it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep these beautiful giants healthy.

	Corn Snake The Corn Snake or Red Rat Snake (Elaphe guttata) is a species of Rat Snake.

[Relayer]

I don't know Morti, I have a 2 year old Peruvian boa that eats 2 collosal rats or 1 small rabbit every 2 weeks or so. Shes not close to adult size yet at 8', so it depends on your boa.
I have a female normal burm that is 8 months old and growing like a weed. When she does get on rabbits I'm going to raise my own, much cheaper. A little CO2 gas and the rabbit is already warm.