Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i own pythons and monitor lizards and want to get in to longer snake like retics. i've been thinking of getting a retic for about a year now.the only think is i'm 17 year old and my parents think the snake is going to escape and try and eat me! but i'm really good with my animals and i havn't been biten once and non of my animals have ever escaped. i'm looking for some good ways to talk my parents in to leting me keep a retic. anyone got any good ideas?
thanks
Alex Oliver

NO!

I have succesfully kept retics since the age of 12, but would not recomend one to u cause u think it may escape and try to "eat" u. Read up on retics first!

DITTO, bmx -

hey little dude, just say "ehhh pop, come on man it does not get MUCH bigger than a ball"-lol

Well, a couple things come to mind. First off I do not own a retic but do you plan on going to college. Because if you do what are you going to do with it while you are out. No dorm rooms will not let you have one. And I doubt your parents will let you as a frshman get a apt. But if you do get one, you need to get a vision cage and buy a lock for it. That way it wont get out. You know I am 27 years old and on my own and my Dad said the same thing ( I have a Burm), they still try to tell me that it will get out and eat my dog. I don't doubt that it could not happen, and it is a risk that you take by bringing it in the house but I would say for you, to get a boa. See how you do with that and then go to a retic when you have an established home on your own. A retic is a big commitment, not that I think you can't have one but, they get huge. If you do get one I am sure people in here will answer any questions you have.

n/p
Alex Oliver

A boa, burm or a retic all the same, just make sure you are ready for it and start with a baby. It will only grow as fat as you feed it, if you feed any of them only once a week a reasonable size meal it will take a long time to get big and then you will be very familiar with its personality when it gets to be large it will be your pet. I personally have always liked big snakes but some people like ball pythons so it is really important you pick the one you find real interesting don’t settle for your second choice because you will eventually end up with you first choice so cut to the chase. Hope this helps! Enjoy whatever new pet you end up getting.Here is a pic of my daughter holding one of my male albinos.

Hi i am not a retic owner but i have some adult burmese pythons as pets and breeders. I think it is not about age, it all has to do with your commitment. I am only 17 years old and i own 5 burmese pythons and a lot more boas and smaller reptiles. When i was 13 years old i got my first burmese python a lot of people told me not to get the snake and it would be very stupid of me to take on such a responsibility, but i did not care I was young. At the age of 16 i went to learning center so i could graduate early and i did. know I evolved my hole life around reptiles, I work full time at a pet store and turned my garage into a breeding/ reptile room. The only thing is snakes are addicting you will always want more so i would say think about it hard and if you feel you are capable of caring for A retic or burm go for it. I will soon be a regular to this forum i have a few albinos and 100%het retics waiting to hatch so they can join my family, until than i will be at the burm forum.

DDDDDDD

Thumbs -UP

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i was at your store about to months ago. you guys have some great animals. i love that lace monitor and your huge retic in the back. how big is that retic?

P.S. THIS IS WERE I'M GOING TO GET MY RETIC... http://constrictors.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=349

thanks everyone
ALEX OLIVER

If you plan on college, as someone previously mentioned, then getting any more pets is a bad idea. If not (or will continue to live at home), put a plan together that includes:

- plan for security of the snake, people and other pets (cage, locks, etc.)
- plan for economics of it (cost of food, heating, etc.).
- get a male retic (smaller than female) or "dwarf" retic

If you show your parents a well thought plan, you may convince them of the merits of having a retic. As others have stated, it is not a casual decision, but doable if you have reasonable intelligence and dedication. Good luck.

P.S. Don't do as I did 20 years ago when I was in college - I secretly kept a retic under the dorm sink - I wrapped the hot water pipes, installed a light, etc. I had to always make sure the "maids" did not find it. Nowadays, which are certainly worse for individual freedoms, etc, you would probably get thrown out of school. Too bad "my days" were better. Progress,
people?

when my 6 super-large land hermit crabs escaped the dorm room when my roomate left the door open...all walking down the hallway and it was a co-ed dorm so that caused alot of comotion.
Then, a few years later in a small efficiency apartment living by myself (and hence loose security concerns), my 12 foot retic got out in the middle of the night and bit me on my large toe while I was sleeping. When I was about 6" off the bed, I knew what happended. You can't mistake the feeling of several dozen 12 foot retic teeth around your toe. Then, a few months later, my parrot, who I taught to "speak", caused the police to come running to my apartment. I was outside talking to a friend, sitting on the steps with my door open, and my parrot was yelling "Help, help, Let me out". I taught him that meaning to let him out of his cage...dern animals get you in trouble every time, wish I had liked goldfish instead.

when I was 16 I wanted a boa constrictor. So, I got my parents to mail order me a $50 boa. It came in a 2'x2'x2' box and was completely full. I took the box out to the garage, closed all the doors and got the boa out. It was 14' long and almost as big around as a basketball. Must have been 80 lbs. Don't know what exactly happended, but it bit me on the wrist, a quick bite, raking the teeth, then released. Blood was gushing and pumping out of me. The boa stood up, with its head 3 feet off the ground, mouth wide open and hissing/growling. I could see all 3 feet down its throat, which was big enough to put my arm down thru. Right then, my mother came into the garage. I don't think she ever bought me another reptile.

I was lucky because my parents like snakes too. I had help when I needed it. Now that I've had him for nearly 20 years, I still need help. LOL! (My boy stopped growing at 14 feet, thank goodness.) As a rule, I NEVER take him out for any reason unless I have another adult in the house to help me, if I need it. I'm a single mom so this means that I have to hit up my friends when they come by just so I can clean his cage. My point is, owning a large snake is not just a single person's responsibility...if you don't have others around you that are ok with it, you should stick to smaller snakes that you can handle yourself. Also, in the event that you need to ask someone to take care of your reptiles for a little while, smaller snakes are easier to place in a temporary foster home.

Going off to college or into the military is a good reason to put off acquiring more snakes, especially one that has the potential to get so big! A lot of landlords wont allow you to have snakes either so if you're planning on moving out, you might want to wait until you have a place secured before getting more snakes too.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it...I love my retic to pieces. He's my big baby! I feel that these decisions should be well thought out, for the sake of everyone involved. I see 8-10 foot Burms at my local shelter all the time. The snakes get bigger and the owners decided they don't want them anymore. It's really sad.

Here's a link to see pictures of my retic. http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lady_sybella/my_photos