Reptile & Amphibian Forums

You hear how retics are kept as family pets roaming free in the homes of the owners in other countries. Want i was wodering is what would be the diffrence between a retic kept in a care or free to interact with people on a regular basis. Im dont plan to have a moster "running" trew my house or tring to curl up in bed with me, but was just wondering.

I think they would be a lot more personable, and more trusting of people since they are always around them instead of on display in an enclusure like so many are. not that that makes them any worse but i think you could get a compleatly diffrent experince from the diffrent keeping theories, especally with such an inteligent snake...

what do you think?

For very obvious reasons letting a large snake like a retic have free roam of a house is just plain stupid !! And, it would make no difference how the snake is towards people, it would also be much easier for a retic to get loose outside by keeping it this way which makes all keepers of large constrictors look really bad. And as you know, a docile retic is still capable of turning on you at anytime, emagine a 15 foot plus retic deciding it was hungry one night and turned to you as a prey item. Thier are many other reasons why this should never be done.

As retics are ambush hunters, free roaming can be very dangerous. When I go to take my 9ft male out, he always strikes(almost got me today!) and I have to use a hook. But once out is fine. The reason being, he has a very strong feeding response, like many other retics. Now imagine your retic at 15ft hiding. It all of a sudden sees a warm thing move by and gets in feeding mode. Then strikes and hits you.
I'm sure if you handle the snake dailly and develope an extremely strong bond, it would be possible, but why take the risk? Keep in mind, you can easily harm the snake. Like if your walking and accedentally step on it! That actually happened with a guy and his free roaming boa. I believe he broke its neck.

Both post had very good reasons why not to keep a free roaming retic, but why is it people in other countries have dont it for years and years (I know there has to be a higer rate of incident) and here in america it is unheard of, shocking and even apauling (spelling?) The only real diffrence is in our culture..

Personally I wouldnt to it as I am skinny and would fit nice inside a big serpent j/k

Its an odd world...

eat cats and dogs, but I don't see Americans jumping on that bandwagon, either. There could be lots of reasons why people let snakes roam freely in their homes in other countries, but I don't think any of them could be considered good. A free roaming retic (or burmese, boa or any other large snake) is very dangerous indeed. Some people in the U.S. do let their snakes have the run of their homes, and accidents have happened. I had a newspaper clipping I kept for many years that mentioned an accident in Colorado in which an 11 year old boy was killed by an 11 foot burmese that had the run of the family's home.

I'm also thinking about how unsanitary it would be to have such a large animal loose in your house. You can't potty train a big snake, and you know they're going to poop and pee. What if you have carpet? Nasty, nasty, nasty.

The chances for escapes are high, death/injury to the snake, death/injury to the family, etc. Bad, bad idea -- no matter what part of the world you live in.

RP

getting up in the middle of te night to get a drik of water, then >squish!< retic poo between your toes...

good times

Had a big female in the late 1970s 18 feet WC adult raised from a juvenile in captivity- that broke her cage trying- with sucess- to get out and eat 2 buck shot mallard ducks that i was rehabing in a cage next to hers- ate them both after she broke through a 1/4 inch plexiglass corner panel. without a cage until i could get propper repair items, i brought her overnight into my room- she knocked every thing off of every shelf/table/drawar in the room, woke with a lamp smashing down on my head, cleared off five wall to wall book shelves, and basically kept me up all night- no poo or pee or bite, just a really lousy nights sleep.

never never again- and what a feeding response in her cage- otherwise dog tame but certainly got your adrenaline pumping whenever you opened her cage!

winslow

....that I read that story somewhere else...?
-dinopolis

you probably read it on my now off line natures marvels web site primarily about Green Tree Pythons but with a prose section about snake stories-
Thanks for noticing,
Winslow

n/m

If you understand that there is a higher incident rate with free roaming animals, is that something you are willing to accept as a risk? How badly have you ever been bitten by a retic? Ive been hit by some extreamly large animals and I can tell you that it isnt fun. Less than a year ago I recived a bite that Jay Brewer of Prehistoric said was the worst retic bite hes ever seen and hes seen a few. Im not saying this to sound cool and Im not trying to wear my scars as a badge of honour but, you have to understand that a retic(especially an adult male during breeding season) will defend what they consider their territory indefinately and unwaveringly. Dont get me wrong. I love retics but, Ive dealt with and cared for litteraly hundreds of them and they are not something I want loose in my house. When a retic escapes it cruzes around breaking stuff in your home untill someone stops it. Retics know that theyre vulnrable in open spaves and are therefore uncomfortable and comonly nervous in them. By the time you get home to the mess that they have created they are so nervous that your usually docile animal is an absolute monster. If they see you before you see them and they are either hungry or scared then your gonna bleed and thats the bottom line.

Retics are amazing escape artist. Thats why I keep my cages locked but, when it comes down to it, a retics gonna go where a retic wants to go and theyll break whatever is in their way to acomplish this. If a retic breaks out of its cage then at least its still in your house but, if a retics cage is your house and it breaks out... well, thats bad publicity for everyone who enjoys owning them. People who allow their retics to free roam their homes in civilized countries are aa liability to us all.

I have seen lots of free roaming retics but, Ive also been to Thailand and Singapore a time or two. Its not uncommon to see them there period. Therefore, when they are seen in public it is assumed that they are wild and there is no public outcry for the animals to be banned or controlled in any manner.It is a different matter in the US entirely.

Last but, not lease... have yoe ever seen the turds a large retic can leave in its wake. Do you really want that in your kitchen floor?

Darrell Armstrong
reiculus@aol.com

Your post is very valid but i wouldnt let my retic run about for my own safety, as well as others, but I was just wondering if there is a diffrence between their captives and ours. I have been bitten bt a large retic, luckly I was able to get free before it got a wrap around me. I also delt with the same retic defending itself in an open room on the floor (they move quick for such big guys).

ps - better poo on the kitchen floor than on your liveing room carpet

-echo-

who produced it?!

Is it a standard tiger or???

I wish I could tell you.. I was going to get a Bob Clark tiger, but i went to a show a day before i placed my order and fell in love with this guy. The guy i got him off of was a compleat jerk, i didnt want to buy the snake from him but it was so sweet and the price was right. I wouldnt buy anything from him ever again even though my snake is so friendly and in perfet shape...

as far as if its standard or not, Im assumeing it is, but there are other people here that could tell you alot better

thanks for the kind words

-echo-

In what countries are free roaming captive retics common? If you mean countries they're indigenous to, that's a completely different matter. Are there countries where it is customary for the owners of snakes to have them free roaming in the house?

should not be done puts danger on humans and snakes
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0.1 o2 het albino retic 9ft, 1.0 02 albino retic 9ft, 0.1 tiger 02 10 ft