My Retic is getting big

[Bay_area]

I had to look for a new food item, so I gave him a rooster yesterday. He had no problem taking it down...
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/DSC_00063.jpg
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/DSC_00074.jpg

BTW, this thing scares me more than the rattlesnakes:eek:
Thanks, Jerry

[GartersRock]

Yikes! What's his temperment like?

[infernalis]

Unless his is one of the rare examples, Retics are known to be sweeties.

I have a friend with one, his goes up a whole flight of stairs, with some snake to spare. He has kids too, and never once has his python been a problem, except the huge poo.

Just envision a 20 foot ball python, keep it fed and warm, you will have an excellent pet.

[GartersRock]

Yes, I am really hoping to work with dwarf retics someday. =)

[adamanteus]

Unless his is one of the rare examples, Retics are known to be sweeties.

I have a friend with one, his goes up a whole flight of stairs, with some snake to spare. He has kids too, and never once has his python been a problem, except the huge poo.

Just envision a 20 foot ball python, keep it fed and warm, you will have an excellent pet.

Actually, I've known some pretty bad tempered Retics... notorious biters when young. A friend of mine was quite badly hurt by a 9 footer.

[Loren]

I would love to have one someday, but I dont think I could even come close to manuvering an adult- I only weigh 145 lbs (65 kg).

[Stefan-A]

I wouldn't want one, especially not if I had kids. I couldn't trust either of them. ;)

[GartersRock]

Which is why I want dwarfs. =D

[Lori P]

Good heavens!!! Live or f/t??? Too bad you're not close, Jerry, I have an over-abundance of free range, healthy roosters right now and I need to whack some... and they're mostly older than I prefer for our own table.

He's a really pretty snake Jerry!!!

[reptileparadise]

I love retic markings....but they get way to big me for!

[Stefan-A]

Just envision a 20 foot ball python, keep it fed and warm, you will have an excellent pet.
Envision a 20 foot garter.. :D

[jitami]

Wow... beautiful animal... but yeah, too much for me to handle. Just curious, what was he eating before? And kinda scary, but what's the next size up? lol

[adamanteus]

I have no idea if these pictures are genuine... but the snake is certainly a Retic.
http://www.blackbearheaven.com/snake/snake1.jpg

http://www.blackbearheaven.com/snake/snake2.jpg
http://www.blackbearheaven.com/snake/snake3.jpg

http://www.blackbearheaven.com/snake/snake4.jpg

[GartersRock]

Whew... Ick... My question is how the HECK did the snake get past the shoulders? Thats the biggest lump I have ever seen on a snake before. And retics are not THAT fat. A burmese maybe...

And what the heck is with the way they tied that snake up in the truck?

[crzy_kevo]

OMFG i have never seen anything like that

[jitami]

I'm hoping it's not real. I feel sorry for the snake. If the pics are real it was just doing what comes naturally. Don't really see the point of cutting it open at that point...

[Stefan-A]

Don't really see the point of cutting it open at that point...
To retrieve that person's body? So that they would know who it was? So that his family would have something to bury?



snopes.com: Man Eaten by Snake (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/anaconda.asp)

[adamanteus]

Don't really see the point of cutting it open at that point...

I guess the family wanted the body back?:rolleyes:

[GartersRock]

Lol! Yeah, they needed to identify who it was. ;)

[Snake lover 3-25]

is that all the same snake????

[adamanteus]

I don't know Shanley. The point I was trying to make is that Retics really aren't like a big Python regius, and definitely not for the novice. They are after all the longest snake in the World.
Incidentally, I saw a report of a 49ft Retic in a rural zoo in Java, but couldnt get the web-page to load. Probably a hoax.
I think the longest authenticated record is 36ft.

[GartersRock]

I believe that venomous and the "big 5" should only be kept by very experienced people. Definantly NOT something to mess around with. Which is why I am so bothered by the Retics, Burmese and Anacondas in the local pet stores for only $100. And they are only a couple feet long so they are "cute" and sold without blinking to people who have NO idea what they are getting into.

[adamanteus]

That's true Amanda. I've seen baby Retics sold to kids in the past.
Slight digression, but interesting fact... Snakes are very rare in the fossil record, but some pieces were found in the 1970s (can't remember where now). From the fragments they found they were able to establish that this snake was back-fanged and would have been in excess of 60ft long!

[infernalis]

I believe that venomous and the "big 5" should only be kept by very experienced people. Definantly NOT something to mess around with. Which is why I am so bothered by the Retics, Burmese and Anacondas in the local pet stores for only $100. And they are only a couple feet long so they are "cute" and sold without blinking to people who have NO idea what they are getting into.

I could not have said that better myself.

There has to be a great deal of respect.

[reptileparadise]

wow...anaconda's are quite expensive then!
They are ridiciously cheap around here...Every kid could buy one from its allowance :s

I totally agree with garters rock...These snakes demand respect and professional care. Sad to see them in petshops...

[GartersRock]

They overcharge in Austin. lol! I am sure they are much cheaper elsewhere. ;)

[GartersRock]

60 ft? Dang! I bet there are huge snakes in unexplored places as well. Where they aren't bothered, and have plenty of food. *shrugs* We really don't know.

[Stefan-A]

wow...anaconda's are quite expensive then!
They are ridiciously cheap around here...Every kid could buy one from its allowance :s

I totally agree with garters rock...These snakes demand respect and professional care. Sad to see them in petshops...
You won't see any of them in our pet shops. The biggest snakes sold here are Boa, Morelia and Corallus species. Just as well, in my opinion.

[el lobo]

Retic is my dreamsnake. They are the pinnacle for me. No, that is a lie. The San Francisco garter would be the pinnacle for me, but since I cant have one.....): (

[infernalis]

Retic is my dreamsnake. They are the pinnacle for me. No, that is a lie. The San Francisco garter would be the pinnacle for me, but since I cant have one.....): (

Now the soul searching question of the day, will you still feel that way in 40 or more years? A snake as long as a house, poops like a pony, eats huge prey, and lives forever. not to enter into lightly.

I want an Albino monocle cobra too, just not today:D

[Loren]

James, That 49 ft retic was a hoax. When biologists or national geographic(or who ever it was that checked it out) got out there, the snake measured just 23 feet or so. The locals who had it said " we do not know why the snake has shrunk".
The longest authenticated I've heard of was right about 33 feet.
I dont believe many of the old records on snake length- especially with anacondas. Everyone says they get over 30 feet, yet I dont know if I have ever seen an actual believable account of one over 20. Many old records were taken by measuring skins- very inaccurate.

[Stefan-A]

I dont believe many of the old records on snake length- especially with anacondas. Everyone says they get over 30 feet, yet I dont know if I have ever seen an actual believable account of one over 20. Many old records were taken by measuring skins- very inaccurate.
Apparently, there have been claims of anacondas over 100 feet long and some cryptozoologists claim that there's a giant species of anaconda out there that can grow to something like 60 ft. :D

[Loren]

Apparently, there have been claims of anacondas over 100 feet long and some cryptozoologists claim that there's a giant species of anaconda out there that can grow to something like 60 ft. :D
Not saying its impossible, but I will have to see legitimate proof to believe it myself. :)

[Stefan-A]

Not saying its impossible,
Extremely unlikely, then. :D

[adamanteus]

I don't know... I once saw a documentary in which a guy who looked just like John Voight got swallowed by an Anaconda!:D:rolleyes:;)

[Stefan-A]

Was that the same documentary where an anaconda regurgitated a guy that looked like Jon Voight? :D ;)

[adamanteus]

Was that the same documentary where an anaconda regurgitated a guy that looked like Jon Voight? :D ;)

That's the one! Now, THAT was a big snake!:D

[Stefan-A]

And boy was it fast on land. :D

[adamanteus]

And it could fly (almost).

[Stefan-A]

Almost, not quite. :D

I take it you haven't seent he documentary on the 30ft "half African King Cobra and half eastern Diamond rattlesnake"? ;) Hosted by Mr. Miyagi.

King Cobra (1999) (V) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138797/)
King Cobra (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Cobra_%28film%29)

[infernalis]

Was that the same documentary where an anaconda regurgitated a guy that looked like Jon Voight? :D ;)

Was that the same documentary that the snake laid a turd that looked like Owen Wilson?:o

[Stefan-A]

I do remember that turd Owen Wilson, but I don't rember the snake laying it. ;)

[infernalis]

And I thought I was bad:eek:

[adamanteus]

Almost, not quite. :D

I take it you haven't seent he documentary on the 30ft "half African King Cobra and half eastern Diamond rattlesnake"? ;) Hosted by Mr. Miyagi.

King Cobra (1999) (V) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138797/)
King Cobra (film) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Cobra_%28film%29)


Yeah! I saw that! Excellent documentary... 'snake wrangler':D:D

[Stefan-A]

Well, how about such classics as Python and Boa vs. Python?

I haven't. :rolleyes:

[infernalis]

I almost caught one of those CGI fakesnakeimus' but it was pixelated, so I let it go.:rolleyes:

[jitami]

To retrieve that person's body? So that they would know who it was? So that his family would have something to bury?
snopes.com: Man Eaten by Snake (http://www.snopes.com/horrors/animals/anaconda.asp)

Just wanted to say I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my comment about cutting the snake open after the fact.

Thankfully they were fake pictures anyway, but still.... I hadn't really thought of the family, because my belief is that the body is useless after our souls have left it. I know not everyone believes this way and proper burial is very important to some. Forgive me? :o

[adamanteus]

I don't think anyone's offended, Tami... we're just talking here.:)

[jitami]

I don't think anyone's offended, Tami... we're just talking here.:)

Thanks James. I'm one of those ones that says to donate my body, cremate me, bury me in the backyard, whatever is easiest. I lost my dad earlier this month, so this is all in the forefront and I'm probably a bit jaded at this point.

[Snake lover 3-25]

o that's too bad......


I lost my dad earlier this month

[adamanteus]

I'm sorry to hear about your Dad, Tami. I think many of us here have experienced loss. It's never easy.:(

[Bay_area]

Yikes! What's his temperment like?

Thanks everyone, I do not know where to start. His temperment is good when he is out of the cage, but territorial while in the cage. I do not know if you could call a snake "intellegent", but it appears this snake is. He seams to be always trying to figure things out. He knows when he has the upperhand & will take advantage of it. I have had some close calls due to my own stupidity. I know that I should not attempt to handle him alone(or even open the cage).
One time, it was time to put him back in the cage. I thew his body over my shoulder & started walking back towards the house when , before I knew it he threw his coils around my waist & my legs. I could not move & he had one arm pinned in the coils. The more I resisted, the tighter he got. No one was home. I was yelling for help, but none of the neighbors were around either. All that was going through my head was how how everyone was going to say "I told him that snake was going to eat him". Anyhow, I stop resisting & hoping he thought I was dead. After awhile he loosened up & uncoiled off of me. I do not take him out now unless someone is here to help.:o I will simple say that large boids are not for the amature herpers.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_3036.jpg

last year, he is even bigger now
http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c306/norcalsnakemaster/IMG_0717.jpg

[Snake lover 3-25]

wow how heavy is he???

[jitami]

Thanks guys... he had had some health problems but had seemed healthy as of late. He died in his sleep looking as peaceful as a baby, with his dog curled up behind his knees. Not a bad way to go. Anyway, enough thread jacking... I'm so bad about that! I'm the same in person. Something reminds me of something else which reminds me of something else.. you get the idea! Thankfully my mom lives close to me, so we're working our way through it.

[Snake lover 3-25]

at least he died peacefully......

[jitami]

Absolutely stunning animal! Glad you made it through that incident ok! Yikes!

[adamanteus]

Wise words, Jerry.
I mentioned my friend who was hurt by a 9footer...
He was cleaning in his walk-in enclosure, using a dust pan and brush. The snake struck without warning, and threw a coil around him, tying his wrists to his ankles. He fell over like a skittle, unable to ease his fall he cracked a rib on the floor.
He was working alone at the time, and it took 35 minutes for him to get free.
The poor guy had shocking lacerations and bruising to the wrist where he'd been bitten, and he was pretty badly shaken up..

[Snake lover 3-25]

wow..... and that was only 9ft!!!!!!! omg!!!!!!:eek:

[Stefan-A]

Just wanted to say I'm sorry if I offended anyone with my comment about cutting the snake open after the fact.

Thankfully they were fake pictures anyway, but still.... I hadn't really thought of the family, because my belief is that the body is useless after our souls have left it. I know not everyone believes this way and proper burial is very important to some. Forgive me? :o
Definitely not offended. :)

[adamanteus]

wow..... and that was only 9ft!!!!!!! omg!!!!!!:eek:

Yeah, only a tiddler!
Anyone who's ever handled a rat snake or a king snake will know the power they have when they decide, for whatever reason, to give your fingers a good ol' squeeze..... Scale that up and you see the danger!

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol never had more than a baby constrictor b4...... but i can imagine!!!!

[Lori P]

I think I'll be happy sticking with the ball pythons as the largest snake I own after all!! lol

I don't know tho... if Mordecai keeps growing, he's going to beat that retic in a year!!! :-)

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol how big is he getting!!!!:eek:

[Lori P]

I need to get new pics and have you guys sex him... I suspect he's a she because he's growing so fast and so large. I'll weigh him, too, and see where he's at. :-)