Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boyfriend has three little burms and we handle them all them time and love them to death. I showed him the photo a few posts down and he's convinced that his won't reach the 19 feet in captivity that the retic. who gave that bite did. It's not about being bitten (that's a given) but we're disagreeing on size. Please help. Thanks,
Sera
S and M Reptiles and Exotics

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3.6 ball pythons
1.2 king snakes (1 chocolate, 2 albino)
1.1 columbian red tail boas
1.1 pueblan milksnakes
2.2 african house snakes
2.2 striped albino applegate gophers
1.0 watersnake
1.2 burmese pythons (1 albino, 2 hets)
2.1 pygmy rattlesnakes
1.1 dumeril's boas
3.3 corns (miami, okatee, snow, caramel, 2 creamsicle)
1.1 jungle corns
0.1 american alligator
0.2 ferrets
0.2 degus

A burm is very capable of attaining lengths of 16-20' and weights over 200 pounds (particularly females; few males eclipse 16'). The problem is that most folks will never keep them long enough to reach these sizes. Either they become abandoned or die; that is the harsh reality. Our wildlife center rescues countless of burms every year from well intentioned people but most are very sick when they come to us due to poor husbandry practices. All of our captive burms have easily reached the 16-18' mark and are still growing. Our largest burm was just a shade under 20' and slightly under 300lbs. So, bottom line is that you need to be prepared for a giant snake.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake FOrest, IL

Thanks. We're prepared. My b/f just didn't believe that his would actually get close to 20' or beyond. I think he thought more like 15' but I already knew better and just wanted someone else to say so, so he would listen. We are more than capable of handling ours when they get large and we will not abandon them or even sell or give them away as they are my b/f's most prized snakes. Thanks for the info.
Sera
S and M Reptiles and Exotics

-----
3.6 ball pythons
1.2 king snakes (1 chocolate, 2 albino)
1.1 columbian red tail boas
1.1 pueblan milksnakes
2.2 african house snakes
2.2 striped albino applegate gophers
1.0 watersnake
1.2 burmese pythons (1 albino, 2 hets)
2.1 pygmy rattlesnakes
1.1 dumeril's boas
3.3 corns (miami, okatee, snow, caramel, 2 creamsicle)
1.1 jungle corns
0.1 american alligator
0.2 ferrets
0.2 degus

Don't get me wrong, large burms over 18' are rare and even given optimal conditions, not all will attain the 18-20' lengths (particularly males...a 16' male is BIG)...but the bottom line is that they "can". We have an old female that is in her 30's who barely eclipses the 15' mark despite her being on an optimal diet and spacious enclosure; genetics are an important component in growth potential. Looks like you have a while before you hvae to worry about this.