Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have planned to keepmy ball and burm just for lil while to gain experience...and with that experience now that I am almost 18 and have a good job and got mylisence I now choose to have a permanent snake thast I will keep for the long run And ive decided The burm was pretty big and a handful but I loved it but didnt like how girthy it was because it was so heavy so now ive decided a more slender male retic would work out and even if it did get too big Id still keep it./ I think its really iggnorant for people to be coming at me and snapping atme.....I have experioence with largew pythons Ive rasided them then even though I did get rid of them I put them to good homes....Now I am ready for a retic that I WILL keep.
Thanks fpor anyone who did helpme thou
Mike

First off, i would like to start by saying that i definately have a lot of respect for the advanced reptile keepers with a bunch of full grown retics and such, i wanna be that some day. I would, however, like to defend this guy that u have just attacked. He has done absolutely nothing wrong. I, personally, think that he should be able to get a retic without getting hassled, but you obviously dont. I think that you guys think a little much of yourselves because you have more experience and more reptiles, but in reality a boy of his age can know enough to keep a retic. As for using the words cheap and minimum, hes just trying to save some money because he realizes how expensive this is all going to be. About the lack of experience, i think that owning a 10ft burmese python is definately enough experience prior to owning a retic, what else more could he do? Many guys skip owning a burm and go straight for a retic. According to you guys, he should go from his 10ft. burm to a corn snake, doesnt that sound like 'fairly good advice'? If he has friends with large constrictors, he will have help available if needed, but i have a strong doubt that guys with large constrictors have someone in the same room as them everytime they take out their snake. Some people actually grow to trust their retics, and dont consider it suicide to handle them. Also, you should not have said that much in the first place, that wasnt his question. He was asking for help on where to get a cage and a retic, which i think would have made sense for you to help, because you do own retics. This did not happen. You immediately jumped on his case and told him he was unfit to own one. The least you could have done is answer his question along with your criticism. You shouldn't need a background check to get your questions answered.

Thanks for listening and i appologize if this has offended anyone, it was not meant to make enemies, just help out a guy much like myself.

I'm glad to hear that you decided to go ahead with your plan to get a retic. You and only you really know how ready and capable you are to handle the responsibility and learn what needs to be learned to properly care for these magnificent reptiles. I honestly don't for the life of me know why some of the members here respond to first time retic keepers with such open hostility rather than simply trying to be as supportive as is possible.

Personally I feel that anyone of reasonable age and average physical capabilities can raise and keep retics. My philosophy, well one of them anyway, is that even a young herper can get a baby retic and in the 3 or 4 years it takes for it to grow to immense proportions and lengths can learn what is necessary to properly care for it. This even held true in the 70's before the internet came along with all it's accessibility to herper help forums and endless sources of information pertaining to these graceful giants. And it's not like teen kids are coming in here and stating that they are going to go out and purchase a wild caught 20 foot retic that weighs 200 pounds. No, they almost invariably say, like you, that they intend to get a baby retic and raise it. And in doing so they can grow with the snake and learn all about it well before it attains great size.

That's about all I have to say about that. Best of luck with your first retic and if you ever have any questions about them feel free to email me personally or even call me on the phone. All this information is on our website.
Our Website

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David Beauchemin
High End Herps.Inc
http://HighEndHerps.com

if i understand correctly that you gave up your burm because it got too big, now you want something that gets bigger? How long are you planning on keeping the retic and if it gets to big due you plan on donating it to a zoo- who will not take it, let it go free- which is illegal (at the least), or give it to a rescue- most don't have room to care for them? Pets are not disposible.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

Thanks to the first 2 replyers....YOu buoilt my confidence and helped me out alot now I know I have help I need it...it means alot
thanks
Mike

heff dont sweat what others think. I'm not here to make enimies myself ,but I feel that no matter what. no one could change your mind, so maybe they should try to help teach you about the vanture you are about to take, instead of just criticising .My 1st was a retic and since then I now have 2 retics and 3 burms and every one is handled or let out for exercise every day. I think with dedication you'll do just fine. Good Luck

From the fact that you ignored my questions I can guess that I hit the nail on the head. It is not people being against you, or wanting to bash you. It is exactly what I said pets are not disposible. You don't agree, fine. You want to talk of maturity and 'thinking your decision through' than try discussing it. People are concerned about the animal and you. The last thing anyone on here wants is for you or your pet to get hurt (and it is not just because we don't want the bad press, some people are actually concerned). You said you are 17, my teenager works hard to think things through but, just as with us old people, occasionally in your thinking you may miss something.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

People on here like to use statements like:

"People are concerned about the animal and you. The last thing anyone on here wants is for you or your pet to get hurt (and it is not just because we don't want the bad press, some people are actually concerned). "

The reality is they don't think about the initial post enough to get concerned. They just sit there and reel off the standard response you get from this place.THAT is why this will never be as popular as other forums. Too many people ready to jump on others.

It was painfully obvious in this situation, and every other like this one, that getting on your soap box wasn't going to help. Just look at the difference in replies made by Hef to yours and High plains posts.
Show the guy some respect and you'd have got a LOT further.

Common sense and a bit of respect for other people is all that is needed, yet something so simple is allways lacking

I agree with most of the constructive advise given, for and against. I also believe that belittling is always a mistake. That said I have seen some really, really terrible things done to "pet" retics and other reptiles in rescue situations so I understand where your critics are coming from as well. That said, you should get the retic you want after you have carefully weighed out your future plans and are sure that a retic is right for you for the next 20 to 30 years, whether or not it has a great personality, rubs it's face like crazy during the breeding season, or is spooky to your significant other. I hope I am not condescending in this or my other response as another serious retic keeper is nothing if not great for this hobby. So go with what you want and best of luck to you as they are great animals in the right hands.
To answer your questions from below, the $50.00 per month feeding charge was if you were ordering frozen thawed rabbits from Rodent Pro or another place such as them where the shipping is usually as much as the rabbit itself. If like you and I, you have a local rabbit breeder the bill is much less. Also, be sure to switch your retic onto frozen thawed as full grown live 10 to 12 lb rabbits can inflict horrific wounds onto your snake. As far as the "urine" portion of my last post know that snakes really don't produce "urine" in the true sense of the word as they do not have the same renal system that mammals do, but they still pass a large amount of fluid with their urates and mine will do this sometimes daily for 2 to 4 days following a large meal. It's not "sprayed" out, it simply comes out when the urate mass is expelled. Also, your average sized male retic can be housed in a 6'x3'x2' (LxWxH) enclosure, although with that enclosure size I still recommend exercising your retic often to insure overall health, and no, handling them is not suicide as I handle most of mine several times per week.
Best of luck
Shane

First off I don't post much on this forum as my main interest these days is ball pythons. With that said I do have alot of experience with Retics. I bought my first retic when I was 17 just like this gentleman is planning on doing. The only thing different is that I had been keeping very large burms, african rocks and some quite hot venomous since I was 12. Was it responsible for me to own venomous at 14, heck no. Was it responsible for me to own a african rock at 12, HECK NO. Did I make alot of mistakes, HECK YEAH. Did it almost cost me my life, SEVERAL TIMES. The critisisms that some of these people are giving is perhaps crude but really in your best interest. While I think everyone should get to experience owning one of the true giants, I know that not everyone has the ability to. Some people posted that you will have plenty of time to learn how to handle and care for a giant before it becomes a giant. While this is probably true, it is still irresponsible. That is the way I thought and I KNOW BETTER NOW. My first and only mistake with a giant was with the very first african rock that I owned. It was feeding day and one of my friends was over to help me out. Normally I just put the pre-killed rabbit on the opposite side of the cage and let the snake hunt it. That day I decided I would show my buddy how far these snakes could strike and held the rabbit in my hand. Well the snake struck from 6ft away but missed the rabbit and grabbed my hand. Before I could jerk away there were several coils around my arm, body and opposite arm. Luckily my buddy grabbed my spray bottle of liquor and started spraying it into the snakes mouth. The snake finally released just before I passed out. I owned that snake for 5 years and had never made a mistake like that. I had alot of self taught experience but had only worked with my giant snakes with minimal guidance. Luckily I was ok and the snake didn't get hurt, but it could have turned out completely different. It only takes one lapse of judgement or one error to cause legislation to be passed that will prevent anyone else from owning this animals. That is one reason that some people come off harsh. They don't want someone to get hurt or killed and they don't want their right to own this animals taken away. All herpers in Florida where I live have to face this problem every day. It probably won't be long before the state makes it illegal to own any large python/boa. Many other states or local governments have already passed these laws. While they are unjust, they do happen. If you are positive that you are ready for a retic then more power to you and best of luck with your adventure, but I do offer you this tiny bit of advice. Find someone that has a few large retics, scrubs or african rocks and get some advice and experience handling the really big boys before you purchase. That way you know exactly what it is like to hold a 14-18ft snake that is always crawling and exploring not just laying there like a burm. Trust me, I am not trying to talk you out of it, just hoping you will take a little more time thinking and researching both hands on and reading before you purchase the animal.
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Josh Hutto
JKReptiles

2.3 het pied (RDR, alan bosch x 2, BHB x 2)
0.1 High Contrast Albino (Gulf Coast)
1.1 het albino (ben siegel, Gulf Coast)
1.2 het citrus ghost(Gulf Coast line)
1.0 citrus ghost (Gulf Coast line)
0.1 graz pastel female
1.6 05 normal bp's
0.6 04 normal bp's
2.5 adult normal bp's (some need breeding to see if norm)
4 various corns
0.1 brazilian rainbow boa (alan bosch)
1.0 american pit bull terrior
1.1 taco dogs (ankle biters)
1.0 grey cat
1.1 bearded dragons

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrior as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!