Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just recieved a male purple albino retic. His hatch date was late Febuary. He's now a little over 8 months old, and he's only about 3 feet long. I'm worried he could be permanently stunted. He ate 4 mice over the course of 4 days (including on the day of arrival). Does anyone know if this could potentially affect breeding later on? Do you think he's still young enough to not have been severely stunted if he continues to eat normally?

"He ate 4 mice over the course of 4 days (including on the day of arrival)"

Sounds to me that he's trying to make up for lost time, and he most likely will. It's been my experience that poor husbandry (feeding, etc.) will not permanently stunt growth. Stunted growth is most always genetic.

I rescued a 7yr old, 7ft Burmese Python a year ago that is outgrowing my hatchlings. And I'm not even feeding her as much as she wants or could eat. I've seen hatchlings that were smaller right out of the egg than their siblings but yet they quickly caught up or passed them.

Odds are that your retic will be of normal size before long and shouldn't have any reprodcutive issues.

Have a good one!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

He should be find and that will that hurt him as an adult....

I would imagine retics can have a pretty hard time finding a constant set of meals and their typical growth rate is basically unknown.

You are too worried, that snake should be fine!

Kevin

>>"He ate 4 mice over the course of 4 days (including on the day of arrival)"
>>
>>Sounds to me that he's trying to make up for lost time, and he most likely will. It's been my experience that poor husbandry (feeding, etc.) will not permanently stunt growth. Stunted growth is most always genetic.
>>
>>I rescued a 7yr old, 7ft Burmese Python a year ago that is outgrowing my hatchlings. And I'm not even feeding her as much as she wants or could eat. I've seen hatchlings that were smaller right out of the egg than their siblings but yet they quickly caught up or passed them.
>>
>>Odds are that your retic will be of normal size before long and shouldn't have any reprodcutive issues.
>>
>>Have a good one!
>>HH
>>-----
>>Due to political correctness run amuck,
>>this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
>>Appalachian American
>>
>>
>>www.natures-signature.com
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"Satan™" is a registered trademark of NERD, Inc. Any copyright infringement is punishable by ETERNAL DAMNATION and some other terrible stuff.

One other thing I've been worried about: He has various scales on his sides and dorsal area that have fused together. What I mean is, in places where he should have 2 or 3 small scales next to each other, he has one odd shaped scale the size of 2 or 3 scales wide. He has these every so often down his body. Some of them repeat next to each other for a few rows. Is this a sign of some sort of genetic flaw (again, could his ability to breed be affected down the line)? Is this common or normal? Should I be worried, or am I being too paranoid? I really would like to breed this animal as this is the most I've ever paid for a snake. Wondering if I should try to return it. Any feedback would be appreciated.

It would be best for you to post a clear photo of what you're trying to describe. This would reduce the guesswork & misinterpretation.

Later!
HH
-----
Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

www.natures-signature.com

Sounds sort of like a scar/poorly healed wound to me, but a photo would help I've seen similar things on WC animals from time to time, and once on a pet savu that got injured on her heat lamp (I was new, young and dumb and had it where she could touch it--this was 10 years ago or more ).