Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had a couple of big boas around 8 ft or so and i am looking to go into bigger snakes. I have read much of this forum and followed eschmit04 posts especially. I have done a good amount of research but i am looking for opinions now. I am willing to put in all the work and i will respect any big snake as i do now even with the boas i have. I want a snake that i can handle frequently with out worrying to much of it turning on me. With all that said which snake should i get a retic or a burm? Thanks

Hey man, glad I could help! Although I am clearly a rookie my 2 cents are for a male tic. They stay a bit leaner, making them easier to handle. I also have heard a lot of downside to Burmese health. They seem to have a weaker immune system.

I can tell you I hold my tic daily. He is awesome! He has only ever bitten either from my mistake (not washing my hands well enough after working with the rats) or during feeding time. And no lie even at 5 feet he bit and coiled me and was able to tie my hands up to the point I needed another hand.. LOL.

Good luck, and enjoy!

What enclosure are you keeping him in right now? Hows his growth rate? How much are you feeding him? Thanks

His in a rack right now, but he has already grown out of it. He is getting a 4x2 next month. He eats like a tank and I feed conservatively. He eats every 7 days and is already on small to medium rats. He is about 5 feet already. I believe he is 4 months old.. LOL.

Awesome snake, but if you want to be able to enjoy it be prepared.

Dumb question but are you ok with getting bit by a HUGE snake?

Keep the questions coming buddy! LOL.

Thanks,
Ed

Haha thanks for the help man. But uhh im not okay with being bitten by anything but i have been bit on my arm by a almost 9 ft boa that wasnt fun but it wasnt toture either lol. I forgot what morph you had exactly? Ive been researching different breeders like mike wilbanks at constrictors and prehistoric pets. Do you suggest any others? Where did you get your again?

Theres many great breeders out there! I went through mike wilbanks at constrictors unlimited.

I've dealt with 2 myself: Bob Clark and Greg Bryant (Greg runs the retic ranch) and have been very pleased with both. Mike Wilbanks has a great reputation as well. All three advertise on kingsnake

I tend to agree with Ed here. A male retic can be a good, but still quite large, compromise if you are willing to put in the work. I find retics much more interesting to work with than burms. They are much more aware of their surroundings, feeding is never a problem, and they look great. As with all things in life there is the dark side. Being as aware as they are, you have to watch yourself, especially around feeding time. Continue to do your homework and, if you can, find someone around you that has MATURE adult animals to spend some time with. Many people spends a few minutes with sub or young adult animals and think that is as far as things go. Retics, even, males, can get pretty darn big.
Good luck,
Josh

I would definitely say go with a 'Tic. I've kept both, bred both, and 'Tics are by far the most interesting, intelligent, and well rounded of the big constrictors. No offense to those that keep and breed them, but burms just remind me of big reptilian cows....LOL I wanted to add though, just because you want to get into a 'Tic, doesn't mean you have to get a mainland variety. There are all sorts of different size strains you can get into these days. If it's a matter of getting into something that's maybe just a little bit bigger than the boas you're used too, maybe look into one of the larger dwarf locales like a Bali, or a Jampea. The females of both of these locales typically mature out at about the 14-17'range, the males would be slightly smaller. You don't necessarily have to get a monster just to get into them, with all the CBing that's be done with them, it's almost like there's a size for everybody. Oh, BTW, I breed all of the size strains, so don't hesitate to ask all the ?'s you can think of. But if you're really thinking of getting into a mainland, check this pic, 'cause this is where you'll be someday. This is my big tiger breeder pair.

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Mike

My wife and I have burms and retics. I would say that the choice is primarily a like and want issue for you as an individual, but I can offer some experince based opinion from my point of view.

We have three burms. Burms seem to us to be really aggressive in their cage, but once out are fine. They have a huge feeding response as do retics. Kept in the right conditions, burms will be fine.

My wife begged for retics for a while, and I was iffy about them because at the time I had little experience with snakes. I had heard about the reputation they had as being aggressive and so on. I finally caved in and found a pair of female tigers at a good price that we went and picked up. They are truly a dream to have. The prior owner had done a very good job with them and we were very pleased. They are my two favorites out of the big snakes. We then purchased a male sunfire from a breeder and have had to do a lot of work to try and calm him down, but he is still sketchy at times. He needs a lot more work.

As hatchlings, most snakes are going to be defensive. You just have to work to build a bond of trust with them. It takes a lot of commitment to have something that represents one of the most powerful creatures to roam the earth. Our caging is not tubs or racks. Currently they are still juveniles and are in glass caging until we can build some custom cages for them to live in. I don't like the idea of racks and such. I believe an animal should be allowed to see it's surroundings if it wishes to do so when not in it's hidebox. That's like taking sight away from a person. I also think that has something to do with the aggression seen in some of the animals we have purchased. If you were stuck in a rack system or tub for a year and only handled around feeding time, wouldn't you be pissed off too? (i.e. a larger facility)

Either way you go, I think either species is a good choice. I hope this helped some.
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1.0 100% het albino columbian
0.1 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
0.1 surinam
0.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.1.1 normal balls
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
1.0 sunfire retic
0.2 tiger retics

I have both a retic and a burm. The retic is a lot more wiggly and high strung, but on the bright side, it's much more intelligent and aware of it's surroundings. She has struck at me on one occasion when I startled her in the cage.

I also have a female burm that's around 8' at about a year of age. I feed her on the lighter side (for a burm) because I don't want an obese snake. She's the sweetest snake I've ever met. Seriously, puppy dog tame. If I had to get rid of any of my snakes, she'd be hardest to. I have prettier ones, I have more expensive ones, I have rarer morphs, but she's the one that I enjoy to handle the most.

If you have to ask this question then you should probably stick with a burmese...
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Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM