Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just wondering how the temperment on your retics are??

I haven't had a retic in several years, but all the ones I had (and I've had quite a few) were very nice. I never had any really big ones -- I guess my largest was a 16-foot female -- but she had a great temperament. My others did, too. The only really bad snakes I've had were a 10-foot African rock python and a 6-foot amethystine python. These two snakes were insane. I had some nasty tree boas once, but they were so small that their aggression was almost cute. Never had a problem with either Burmese or retics. In fact, I'm scheduled to get another Burmese very soon, and I might pick up a small retic as well. I'd like to have another retic. They're great snakes (as just about everyone on this forum would attest to).

RP

Retics CAN be aggressive, depending on their background... if you pick up an adult retic... it's hard to say how aggressive or not it will be... if you want to make SURE it's not aggressive, pick up a juvenile (not hatchling, just young) retic, and make sure you work with it as mcuh as is possible...

As far as the aggressive nature of the rocks go.. yes... I tend to agree... VERY aggressive creatures ... but can be tamed... have an 8-footer myself who is actually more tame than my little 1-foot bullsnake... LOL... I've gotten bit by the bull.... never the rock... lmao ...

Rocks are extremely aggressive animals by their nature... just how it is... any animal that has crocodiles on the menu has to be... LOL... but if they are worked with properly, they can be very nice pets... ours is handled three to five times a day... out of the tank a lot... very accustomed to human handling... though she DOES throw a fit if my husband isn't within sight of her when this happens.

Let me start with a little background on retics. If anyone disagrees please let me know. Reticulated pythons are often compared with their cousins the burmese python. Burmese pythons have been bred in captivity in larger numbers and for a longer time than reticulated pythons. Even today many of the animals on the market are freshly imported individuals. It is because of this that they get their false reputation for being agressive. A wild caught specimen just cannot be compared to an f5 burmese python. On another note, people will often say that captive born individuals are still agressive. In my experience, nearly everything is agressive, or should I say defensive, as juveniles. Everything is out to get them. Baby burmese are no better than cb retics. They will soon grow out of the "nippy" stage. The main consideration is that retics consistently get larger than burmese, making feeding,caging,handling, etc harder. A 20' snake with a good feeding response could be a dangerous situation. I have owned retics for 5 years and have only been bitten twice. Macklot's pythons on the other hand ......