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I'm gettin a 3 week old retic less than 2 ft in length and I havn't had time to get her big home built so I'm gonna buy a 10 gal with repti bark bedding to help the humidity, a hiding cave, rock water dish, humidity box with moss in it, 2 temp guages and 2 humidity guages, screen top with basking light and flourescent light. going to keep humidity around 50-60 and temp 80-85. going by the rule that the cage should be half the snake's length and 1/3 wide of the snake's length, a ten gal should be fine until her bigger home is built right? I want to make sure it's not unhealthy for her and going to affect her growth and attitude in any way. this is just temporary

oh, and most sights say 26-35in is length of a hatling, well this gal is still under 2ft at three weeks old. is this normal?

>>oh, and most sights say 26-35in is length of a hatling, well this gal is still under 2ft at three weeks old. is this normal?

I'd say that's just fine. Lots of sources give the maximums for length. For example, though the longest retic on record was supposedly 33' in length, don't ever expect any of your snakes to even approach that. In fact, you'll be lucky to have a retic that gets over 20', as most seem to average under even that. I'd say your 10 gal might work alright, but for a young retic, I'd be more inclined to just get it a smallish Rubbermaid or Sterilite container. The opaque plastic will help put the snake more at ease, rather than being surrounding by clear glass and feeling threatened every time someone walks by. Good luck.
-Chance
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Chance Duncan
2.2 Retics (1.0 Tiger Het, 1.0 Lavender, 0.1 Dark Lavender, 0.1 Normal Het)
1.1 Olive Pythons
1.1 Ball Pythons (Het Albino)
http://www.rivervalleysnakes.com

Nobody answerd my last question. just to let you know i'm the kinda person who would worry about something like this because I always want to make sure of what I'm getting. I have an specific retic I'm wanting to buy but the only thing that concerns me is her size. right now she is under 2ft and she is 3 weeks old. most sites I have read say that a hatchling is usually 26-35in. do you think there is something unhealthy about this little on. was she hatched to soon and do you think this will effect her size and health in any way now or in the future or she might be smaller than normal? I know this sounds like a stupid concern and it is it's just my conscience is eating at me about this and I need to know. maybe some breeders can help me out. thanks and merry christmas!

If the retic is healthy: alert, good skin, muscle tone, normal eys, eating, and you like her-then get her and give her a good home. There are exceptions to every norm-some are smaller, some larger. Being a female you have no worry about her not growing large. Again, if she appears robust I don't think her length right now will effect her later on. Bill.

Just my opinion. I would go with an under tank reptile heat pad at one end of the cage instead of the over head lighting. With a rheostst or thermostat I would give the baby retic a hot spot of at least 90. Retics some times do seek cooler temps but some of mine lay right on the hot spot. With their high metabolism the oppertunity for warmth is needed and I feel that belly heat is more important than ambient air temps. The over head lighting will rob humidity and in many cases does not warm the substrate. This results in a condition where the surface that the snake actually contacts may be severely cool. I use repti-bark for my retics too and when damp it takes a good amount of heat to warm it. The ten gallon tank is fine for babys-I use them for mine. Merry Christmas-Bill

I agree with everything Sarge said, I feel a constant belly heat source is better than using bulbs as heat, make sure you cover the immediate glass though because it get very hot, I personally use small pieces of astroturf then newspaper over it. But come on man, you've gotta get real about a 10 gallon for a Retic, how long do you expect it to last in there, a month? All large species of pythons grow so much more rapidly than any other species of snake especially in length. If your sure you will have a final cage built within a month or so then excuse my ranting. If your not sure when it will be done get a 55 gallon at least, give it some room, these are very active snakes. If you do decide to move it right into a large cage make sure to include many hide spots so it feels secure. And for the question someone already answered, yes 3 weeks and 2 ft is fine, just like the post before, many sights include the maximum length rather than the whole range.

besides the garter that got away of course. Seriously though, I guess you have already ordered the snake, but do you really know what you are getting into here? If cared for properly, your female could easily be 10 feet in 1 year and 15 in 2 years. They eat a ton of food and often at that. Make sure you get a good source for jumbo rats and rabbits in the next six months as you will need it. As for housing, a ten gallon should suffice for a month or two, but just as everyone else has said, these are very active snakes that really appreciate the extra room so get cracking on that new cage. Also, please don't house it with your black rat (yes, I'm in the rat forum often) as I know you asked the question about housing your rat with a ball python as well. Good luck, you're gonna need it. Billy

>>I'm gettin a 3 week old retic less than 2 ft in length and I havn't had time to get her big home built so I'm gonna buy a 10 gal with repti bark bedding to help the humidity, a hiding cave, rock water dish, humidity box with moss in it, 2 temp guages and 2 humidity guages, screen top with basking light and flourescent light. going to keep humidity around 50-60 and temp 80-85. going by the rule that the cage should be half the snake's length and 1/3 wide of the snake's length, a ten gal should be fine until her bigger home is built right? I want to make sure it's not unhealthy for her and going to affect her growth and attitude in any way. this is just temporary

Yes, it is. But don't get me wrong I know exactly what I'm getting myself into. I've done a ton of research and have gone through all the forums on retics. I sent off for the snake today. I'm totally ready to commit myself and feel rather confident. like others have said there is no gretter experience when it comes to an individual animal besides having own one yourself. already have tabs on large rabbits and already have plans for that big cage. trust me, when you live in a historic home you restored yourself you have all the tools to build anything out of wood. rule is length and width before height. 1 hide on cold side, one on hot side, 1 humidity box, etc. i made sure to get one younger than a month, but one that has already eaten(spelling?).

Did I mention I had wiring and plumbing experience. I was wanting to buy a 48in flourescent and re-wire that to connect into 2 150w daylight backing bulbs leading down to a switch that connects to one wall outlet plug and have to nightime bulbs ran off the same plug, but a seperate switch all under the stand so all light are ran off one plug instead of 5. and install a large kitty litter box as a soaking spot and put a pvc shut off valve running down to a bucket in the stand so instead of lugging the kitty box out of the cage, shut flip the valve and it'll drain to a bucket. I also saw on the burmese forum where someone installed a misting system and I wanted to do the same. the back and 2 sides would be plain plywood to make the snake feel safe and 4 plexiglass doors up front and no screen on top to help keep himidity and temps stay up. i want to put indoor/outdoor carpet over everything inside to help maintain fluids. also want to use some of that tile silicone(spelling?) stuff on all cracks to keep in fluids. due to living in such an old house there is a lot of plaster dust downstairs and my room is really the only one with descent plaster to keep on the walls so I want to also put an air cleaner in my room with the snake and I was thinking of a seperate humidifier(spelling?) but I think that will generate too much humidity. after she settles for a week and I begin to hold her, is there any limit on how long I should hold her? will she get sick after being help for long times? and I heard that if you wear those rubber doc gloves(the ones w/o the powder of course) that if they bite they don't like the taste so it teaches them not to bite? true or not? and feeding in a seperate container teaches them when that should really be aggressive and when not to? true or not? thanks for the help.

That's all great, but it's building experience and no amount of building experience will prepare you for dealing with an apex predator that may very well grow up to view you as the food source. As Mark expressed, these are definitely NOT beginner's snakes. But since you have already committed here are some answers to your questions and some tips. First, let your little one settle in before doing any handling. Even baby retics can become severely stressed and refuse food. Second, once she has settled in for a few days, try and feed her. Hopefully she takes her meal straight away. General rule of thumb for raising a happy retic is feed one day after defecation. This may very well be every 3-5 days for the first few months slowing down to every 7-10 days as your snake approaches the 8-10 foot mark and every 3-4 weeks once they top 11 feet or so. I believe very strongly that many nippy retics (and burms) are results of not feeding enough. I have found that the above feeding routine is fairly natural and will produce a healthy snake that is not constantly on high alert for food and is not "powerfed". As far as feeding location goes, I have never been a proponent of feeding in separate enclosures, although many will disagree. I believe that retics in particular are extremely intelligent reptiles and will "learn" not to strike at your hands if they don't smell food. I have even been tagged by a 12 foot female when I was handfeeding her (BIG mistake!) and when she realized she grabbed me and not the rabbit, she instantly let go, then proceeded to take the rabbit. Don't get me wrong, her teeth went to the bone on my finger and bruised the bone so badly I felt for around seven months. I have been nailed by both african rocks and burms doing similar SFE's (Stupid Feeding Errors) and have always been wrapped up and constricted, so I think that may show a difference in intelligence/awareness levels between retics and those other big constrictors. I AM a big proponent of handling retics ALOT (daily) once they have settled in and have taken 5-10 good meals. Of course, give them at least 24 hours after feeding. Be prepared to be pooped on and tagged quite a bit with your youngster until they learn that the handling sessions are not going to lead to you eating her. As far as the gloves go, I guess it couldn't hurt, but I have no experience with that. Good luck with your new baby and remember that the most important thing next to good husbandry, is getting to know your animal intimately. Get to know her moods, her signals, her preferences and dislikes, etc. and you will be well on your way to a rewarding keeping experience. Again, good luck!! Billy

>>Did I mention I had wiring and plumbing experience. I was wanting to buy a 48in flourescent and re-wire that to connect into 2 150w daylight backing bulbs leading down to a switch that connects to one wall outlet plug and have to nightime bulbs ran off the same plug, but a seperate switch all under the stand so all light are ran off one plug instead of 5. and install a large kitty litter box as a soaking spot and put a pvc shut off valve running down to a bucket in the stand so instead of lugging the kitty box out of the cage, shut flip the valve and it'll drain to a bucket. I also saw on the burmese forum where someone installed a misting system and I wanted to do the same. the back and 2 sides would be plain plywood to make the snake feel safe and 4 plexiglass doors up front and no screen on top to help keep himidity and temps stay up. i want to put indoor/outdoor carpet over everything inside to help maintain fluids. also want to use some of that tile silicone(spelling?) stuff on all cracks to keep in fluids. due to living in such an old house there is a lot of plaster dust downstairs and my room is really the only one with descent plaster to keep on the walls so I want to also put an air cleaner in my room with the snake and I was thinking of a seperate humidifier(spelling?) but I think that will generate too much humidity. after she settles for a week and I begin to hold her, is there any limit on how long I should hold her? will she get sick after being help for long times? and I heard that if you wear those rubber doc gloves(the ones w/o the powder of course) that if they bite they don't like the taste so it teaches them not to bite? true or not? and feeding in a seperate container teaches them when that should really be aggressive and when not to? true or not? thanks for the help.

Anyone getting into retics should have several years experience with boas, burms and other smaller species. I had over 25 years experience with things like that before getting in to retics and I was still shocked by their strength and speed. A few years ago a very experienced retic keeper was killed by a 13 footer. Something to think about. I'd suggest at least start off raising burms before jumping into retics. Safe husbandry practices and having a helper present are a must!
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Mark Kennedy Reptiles
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