On average, comparing a Retic to a Boa " as far as temperment " is rediculous at best. I worked with Big Retics in the early years and I can tell you that; " Once they get over 16ft, they look at us as a food source. " An avid Retic person, will usually tell you that; " If a Retic is hand raised, it is a big baby and you might even be able to sleep with it at night and name it fluffy. " Now, the flip side of this statement is this; " As far as aggression, meaning lets say a willingness to bite, I have seen more Boas with this attitude than Retics. " To put this into simple perspective, look at it this way; " Besides a very few real monster size Boas I have seen that were 13ft or better, when a Boa starts striking and getting defensive, it knows that it cannot kill you and is doing this more or less to get you to leave it alone. If an full grown adult Retic gets mad enough to start striking and taking a defensive posture, it flat out wants and can kill you. " The funny thing or really the scary thing about Retics is that; " For the most part, they are very quiet animals and usually have better things to do than huff and puff and try to make a scene. They lay in wait for the opportunity to strike and then kill. " My good friend from Cleveland TN Bob Hammond, had a 60ft building full of giant Burms and Retics and Boas. You could walk by the Burms cages and they would be snarling and striking the glass and some of the big aggressive import Boas would be doing the same. The big Retics, would hardly ever IF EVER strike the cage or show any aggression. It is that attitude itself, that causes some keepers to assume the Retic is gentle, until they reach out and nab them. For the most part, aggression is not limited to a particular species or locality snake, it is on an individual basis with the particular snake in question. I have import Boas that came from the wild and they are puppy dog tame. I also have a 80 pound wild Guyana Boa that will kill you as to look at you. Aggression, can be found in any snake, but I will take an aggressive Boa over a Retic ANY DAY. .............Johnson Herp

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