Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello, just so you all know, im a very experienced herper, with large snakes, lizards, even venemous snakes, but burms are one snake that i think are great looking, but i cant get the nerve up to get one. reason being, back when i was still fairly new to reptiles my cousin who was living with me at the time, got a burm as his first snake. dumb, i know, and i told him that, i may have been inexperienced, but even i knew that. so he kept it for about a year and a half and it got to about 8 feet in length, then he started neglecting it, so i told him that he should just give it to me, cause he couldnt find a home, and i felt bad for it. so i decided, my cousin prolly didnt hold it all that often, and i didnt want a 20 foot grumpy snake. first time i tried to pick it up it instantly grabbed my hand, and started constricting my arm. freaked me the hell out, and hurt. took like an hour to get it off without harming the snake. luckly i found a home for it, and as far as i know its still alive and well. but anywho, i would love to get a burm, but for some reason this experience has kinda scared me, maybe cause i was young and new to reptiles at the time. just wondering if you all think this was a fluke and i should man up

Being honest with your trepidations and limiations is the first step towards being ready to keep a large constrictor. Having that kind of respect is paramount in doing things right. There are many things that could have precipitated this incident (your hands smelled like food, the snake may have been in shed and was nervous to start with, the snake may have been underfed and latched on to the first moving object it saw that was warm, the snake may have just been a very nervous snake, may have been sick, etc, etc.). Now that you are more experienced, you just need to realize that most burms are very mellow and wonderful animals to work with AS LONG AS you do things properly such as: 1) using a hook and shield when taking a burm out of its cage....most don't go to these measures but I recommend it particularly for larger specimens. You just want that initial contact to be safe, once they are out of their cages, they typically calm down and allow themselves to be touched, handled, etc. 2) cueing into the subtle behaviors with your snake -this just comes with spending time with the animal. 3) Only feed the snake inside its cage; this is a controversial topic but having worked with many, many burms, this is the safest and most responsible way to keep a large burm. That's why you want to use a snake hook/shield (which can be a broom for that matter) to just let the snake know that you are taking it out for "play" time instead of feeding time. 4) ALWAYS use tongs when feeding burms and make sure you wash your hands before handling the burm. Don't handle the burm for at least several days after feeding. 5) If you are a bit nervous at first, wear thick gloves; nothing wrong with that. 6) When I have a large snake, or, a large venomous snake like a king cobra that has just come in, I put in a sweaty shirt, MINE, to let the snake get used to my odors. This sounds strange but it works. 7) Always have a couple of people around when you take out a large constrictor....have an emergency protocol in place such as a bottle of vinegar nearby that can be sprayed into the mouth of the snake to make it let go.

Don't let one bad experience ruin it for you. But, know your limitations, if you have any reservations, there are many other large species of snakes like borneo short tailed pythons, olive pythons, etc that make wonderful pets. But, a burm is a great animal to keep as long as you do it right.

If possible, start off with a baby, this way, you can grow up with it and its a neat experience. If you get a rescue, make sure you know the history of the animal.

HOpe this helps a bit.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center

>>hello, just so you all know, im a very experienced herper, with large snakes, lizards, even venemous snakes, but burms are one snake that i think are great looking, but i cant get the nerve up to get one. reason being, back when i was still fairly new to reptiles my cousin who was living with me at the time, got a burm as his first snake. dumb, i know, and i told him that, i may have been inexperienced, but even i knew that. so he kept it for about a year and a half and it got to about 8 feet in length, then he started neglecting it, so i told him that he should just give it to me, cause he couldnt find a home, and i felt bad for it. so i decided, my cousin prolly didnt hold it all that often, and i didnt want a 20 foot grumpy snake. first time i tried to pick it up it instantly grabbed my hand, and started constricting my arm. freaked me the hell out, and hurt. took like an hour to get it off without harming the snake. luckly i found a home for it, and as far as i know its still alive and well. but anywho, i would love to get a burm, but for some reason this experience has kinda scared me, maybe cause i was young and new to reptiles at the time. just wondering if you all think this was a fluke and i should man up
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Great Advice!

Personally I would want to go with a slightly larger animal that has been handled. My first burm was 8 ft long but came from a petting zoo and is still the calmest animal in my collection. Since then I have had other burms including babies. Baby Burmese pythons are often nippy and even though they won’t really be able to hurt you it may keep you nervous about burms. You could also see if anyone in your area has a tame burmese and ask if you could visit it. Spending time with a calm snake may give you more of an idea how keeping one yourself may be.
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2.2 Burmese Pythons
0.1 Tiger Retic
1.0 Rubber Boa
1.0 Brazilain Rainbow Boa
1.1 Ball Pythons
0.1 Dumerils Boa
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
1.1 Giant Legless Lizard
1.1 RES
1.0 Texas Spiny Softshell
0.1 Mexican Axolotl

Agree! Excellent advice based on long experience. The piece should serve as a primer for anyone considering aquiring any large boid. Thanks Rob.