Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I been around Kingsnake.com for a while now and just gained interest in a Super Tiger Retic. I had some questions I was hoping people with real life experience can answer. I live in an apartment. I know tigers get extremely long. What should I expect on growth during the first year or two with moderate feeding? I owned several large lizards (niles and water monitors)but of course they dont compare in size to a full grown Super Tiger Retic. One of the benefits of it being a snake is they can curl up. So my concerns are this. One i live in an apartment. I can put an 8 foot enclosue somewher in here, but its still an apartment. Second, I own a Feline. I just might have nightmares of my poor cat becoming food for a large python. Third, i read somewhere when i googled Retics and owning them as pets someone posted that many people get bitten my their full grown tiger retics and it can cause massive damamge to us humans. Now like i said earlier, I used to own niles and water monitors so I understand the importance of precaution, but from what i read on someones website about retics is that you need to go in with a shield and that retics will often bump into you then bite extremely hard. I dont know if these claims are warranted so i figured i would ask in here. So for those who own tiger retics, do they make great pets? You can post here or email me at hredder06@tampabay.rr.com.

Thanks for your help!

My honest answer is that a retic might not be for you. Tigers and super tigers grow very large. Even the ones called dwarf tiger or super tigers in my opinion are still going to get big. These animals eat large prey and a lot of it. With that comes a lot of waste. You could easily raise a retic in a 3' X 6' cage, so I am sure you could find the space if you decide to get one. Most tiger and super tigers make great pets for a person that is committed to the responsibilities. They are retics though and have a strong feeding response. Shields are not necessary if you touch your retic with some sort of object first before handling your animal. I should have said if you have a tame one a shield is not required. If your had one that was not calm an armored car would work well. Sorry I had to say that.

As for the cat you would just have to use caution and not have them both out at the same time. Best of luck with your decision.

Jim