It is also important to remember that larger pythons are sometimes extremely territorial.. big whitelips, paupans, olives etc can be puppy dogs out of their cage, but while in the cage can be rough to handle.
following the rules is without a doubt important.. a mistake with any of the medium - large boas or pythons can be a very costly mistake.
One last protocal that Frank did not mention is the 6' rule.. It is a generally accepted rule that anytime you are working w/ the medium to large species.. atleast 1 experienced handler per 6' of snake is recommended.
In EVERY accidental death in the US in the past 2 years involving large constrictors, the victim was either alone, or only in the company of people that had no experience handling snakes (much less giants).
Just to let it set in (I know alot of people on this board do understand... but for those that don't) This snake is around 14 or 15 ft now and is a puppy dog to handle. She is very sweet and very easy to manage - but she has a blemish in her past. This animal is responsible for the death of a very experienced herper. The young man had kept retics for better then a decade, and his father has kept snakes since long before he was born. But he made a fatal error and attempted to give the snake treatment for some mouth rot - while no one else was around - He paid the ultimate price - Only through education and sharing of experiences is it possible to ensure this doesn't happen again. (BTW, she was only around 11' long when the accident happened). The accident wasn't out of aggression or feeding response, just likely a bit nervous due to the medicating procedure.
BTW, this animal is kept by a close friend of mine, as Patrick's family (the victim) did not want the animal disposed of, they simply did not feel it was the animals fault.. It is their wish that she be used as a tool for education, a wakeup call if you will.. hopefully the story will live on.. and prevent someone else from relaxing their guard and paying the ultimate price.
>>Hey Frank are those African Rocks dangerous or what? Which snake in your collection has your most undivided attention if any besides that 17 foot Tiger male?
>>Bob
>>
>>African Rocks have a very bad reputation like retic's used to have, one is tame ( female ) THE OTHER ( male) A MEAN SOB. They are not so dangerous as long as proper protocol is followed at all times, I do not turn my back on any snake over 6 feet regardless of species.
>>
>>The 17 foot tiger is a dream to work with, he is hooked trained and has responded well to the training. You open the enclosure slightly and gently tap the snake on the head several times while watching his reactions, this conditions them to know this means it's cleaning time, not feeding time. Even with no "aromas" in the air they still act as if there is, especially if you just invade their territory. So you have to break their feeding response before servicing their enclosure. So they are conditioned to expect food if no hook is being used and also conditioned to know when it's maintenance time as well.
>>
>>Believe it or not, the one's that I need to be the most careful with are the burmese pythons. One of the ones I keep will not except the concept of having his feeding response broken, until he's in the container I place them into so I can to completely service their enclosure. Most people who are inadvertently killed by pythons are being off 'ed by this particular species, this is because they are not following proper protocol when feeding and or servicing the pythons enclosure. Most commonly it involves the keeper feeding them bare handed and or out of their enclosure. There is a "mental" issue owners should not adopt as well, do not lower your guard because of how placid the snake usually is, THEIR FEEDING RESPONCE MUST BE RESPECTED AT ALL TIMES.
>>
>>Did I mention one of my retic's eats out of a large dog bowl. Just thaw and warm, put like 10 in bowl and place bowel on opposite side of the enclosure where the snake is not located. Doesn't even constrict, smells them, goes to bowl and eats them one at a time until they are gone. Funny to watch lol.
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>>Thanks,
>>
>>Frank Roberts
>>Roberts' Realm Of Reptile Research
>>
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, and soon as I'm able to work my life will be just like yours with the exception of my son but all in all the same and that makes it happy as it does you. Until the next thread is hi-jacked by you Frank take care man lol
