Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am considering a retic, but I am a little scared away by some of the horror stories I have heard. I keep many snakes but never retics. What is the general temperment of these serpents? Are they as tame as a burmese?

I have seen numerous and even owned a nasty burm. Not all burms are non aggressive towards their owners, just like not all retics are nasty tempered. I would steer away from wild caught imports as much as possible. Find a breeder that seems to be honest and sincere. Talk to him/her about what their adults are like. There is a very good chance the offspring will take on a calm disposition if the parents were calm. I own 6 adult retics and not one is aggressive. They all have a strong feeding response, which a lot of people might mistake for aggression. I also have several younger retics and of these 8 only one is a nippy devil. One nippy one out of fourteen is not all that bad now is it?

So do your homework and find a good quality breeder. I’m a believer in you get what you pay for. If you buy a retic at a local swap for $50 - $75 dollars, chances are your animal is not going to be the best looking or trustworthy. Look and ask questions from people that own adult retics. See if they are happy with the temperaments of the adults, and if so ask were they purchased them from.

Jim

Simple answer is YES... anything that has the capacity to kill you is inherently dangerous and lets keep in mind that a retic at most sizes can be quit a handful and downright impossible if aggressive and you are ill equiped to handle it.

Now onto the complications.. I am a firm beliver that with dogs as well it is the owner and generally not the animal although reptiles are a whole nother breed but generally speaking if you keep it well fed, chose a nice mellow animal as a neonate and handle often with a gentle touch as well as making sure ity is very comfortable with you touching head, restraining it at any given time, and having the ability of opening its mouth without so much as a struggle then you really shouldnt have any problems

This is the regiment I keep with all my animals from time of birth I restrain at will to teach them restraint is not a bad thing, open their mouth at will with a pen or similar soft blunt object to show them that is not bad either and touch their head often so they dont get spooked by that if it accidentally gets done by you or a stranger at some point in its life... then I dont think you will have a problem but please beear in mind that this is not asking a little. this is asking alot from a life long commitment

Cheers
PatrickR