Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just a question, How common is it for a retic to be 9' and only be 10 months old?

What and how often are you feeding him?

We feed her rabbits at least once a week, more if she is hungry.

Well it's certainly possible. I've heard of many retics that hit 7 to 8 feet the first year. As long as he/she isn't getting overweight, it's not too much to worry about. But if its slower growth you want from here, you should move the feedings to once every 10-14 days. Slower feeding helps to maintain the same size. I wouldn't go too overboard because then shes just a hungry nasty 9 foot retic but lots of people feed once every three weeks. Hope it helps.

Steve

It isnt uncommon for a retic to hit 9ft in under a year. Ive had several that were 10ft to 11ft at 1 year of age. Ive seen 1 or 2 that hit 13ft in a year.

You need to look at where you want to go with this animal. Smaller pet, larger pet, or do you need maximum growth for a potential breeder. Once a week is fine for an animal that is not being prepaired for breeding. Dropping back to a 10 to 14 day feeding schedule will make many retics unhandelable. If I come up short on rabbits one week mine girls become absolute monsters. It isnt pretty.

If you are shooting for a breeder or large display animal Ive found that the best feeding regimine is every day. 1 meal that produces a minimal lump in your animal and will be nearly gone the following day, every day. To do this your setup is very important. You need a hot spot of at least 100F (belly heat, not radient or ambient) and your cold spot can be as low as 75F. However, you cant let the ambient temprature rise above 88F. Its also important that they have fresh water at all times. They wont drink the stale stuff so, replace it every 2 days.

Its my opinion that to many people try to apply everything they have read in books to their retics and force them to live that way. RETICS CANT READ! Give them a good temprature gradient and let them thermoregulate. Allow them to find the temprature that suits what their body is trying to do at that exact moment. After doing this for a while your animals will develope a routine and you will be able to read your retics and know exactly what they need.

Your not really going to run into obesity until the animal is 4 or 5 years of age. With older animals you may only feed once or twice a week and then pound them right before breeding season.

Of course feeding this way is very expensive and isnt for everyone. Different methods work for different people in different areas. This is just what Ive found works best for my animals.

Darrell Armstrong
reticulus1@yahoo.com
reticulus@aol.com