RETICULATED PYTHONS


LOCATION:

Reticulated pythons come from S.E Asia, thay can be found on mainlands and islands. this is where location covers the names ie: jampea, makassar etc known as locals!
on the mainlands they are found in the following:
Burma,Thailand,Laos,Vietnam, Cambodia, and on the Malay peninsula
also on, Sumartra, Philippines, Borneo, Celebes,Moluccas, Java, Lombok, Sumbawa,Sumba, Flores islands, Timor, and a number of smaller islands!
so as you can see very well spread species
this is also why it is hard to see what local you actualy own!!



HABBITAT

Retics can be found in a number of habbitats which include:
Rainforests, woodlands, savannas and cultivated land and often can be found close to human populations ie: towns ,villages!

SPECIES

family : PYTHONIDAE latin: PYTHON RETICULATUS status: LOCALLY COMMON
some islands are now on stop from collection of WC retics (dwarfs),

IDENTIFICATION

This species can be a mix of grey or olive-green, overlaid with a netlike pattern of black,yellow and silvers!
this pattern is what give it the name "reticulated" , they have grey, olive-green or bright yellow heads or a mix of these,also a black stripe at the midvein and two fine stripes extending from the rear of the eyes (mostly orange)

SIZE

WC retics (more the dwarfs) dont seem to get as big in captivity as most CB retics, there are so many differences between people on this subject!
IMO! most mainland forms are between 12-18ft +, dwarf forms are 9-12ft+ and super dwarfs are 6-9ft,
retics are also a slender snake for their length, normaly about half as thick as a burmese python the same length

HOUSING

young: these do better in tubs! they feel real secure and will settle well and tame down
sub-adults: these too can be kept in large tray units or giant tubs,
adults: these should be kept in a viv at least (6ft x 2.5ft x 15") better is (8ft x 3-4ft x 2ft)

plastic vivs seem to be better for retics! Herptech and Rhino are best but the Rhinos only come in 2ft depth!

they realy dont do good in huge vivs and most breeders keep them in vivs like this

ain't they cute in the pic!!!lol!!!

FEEDING

most retics feed without problems in fact they are greedy buggers!
but they are easy to over-feed! so take note! i dont care if they look at you with soppy eyes!!!!dont feed them! lol!!
they start on mice and small weaner rats and with age go onto rats, guinea pigs,rabbits, piglets, lambs and goats
your retic should not be encoraged to strike feed as you may find out why when they are 10ft +
simply place the food on the floor the other end of the viv but! be quick!!!
when you have very young cb or wc retics these if from the usa would have been fed live prey so you will have to start with strike feeding and wean them off this later!
never handle a retic after you have handled food items!
never handle a retic for two days after feeding!



you could be next!!!!

HEATING /HUMIDITY

heating a tub can simlpy be with a strip or mat!
vivs with large mats or ceramic heaters, spot bulbs etc
all must be fitted to a thermostat
they should have a hot spot of 90-92'f and a cool end at 77-82'f
this can be lowered by 8-10 'f at night
retics enjoy medium high humidity and this is easy to get with regular spraying (easy in a plastic viv!)

a point on heat mats : make sure you never let your retic sit in its own urine on a heat mat! clean it straight away! if left any period of time they will get scale rot real quick!!! you have been warned!

HANDLING

in order to get a retic tame you must handle the animal as early as possible, Never put your hand into a retic viv or tub! always put a hook in first and rub the snake on the head before you hook it out!
this will be valuable when the snake is hungry and 10ft+ this is done due to retics having a great feeding responce! as soon as the door opens ""food"" but the hook will let them know its you!
always make sure there is another person near by when working with retics! never handle a retic over 8ft on your own!
always wash your hands first!

AVAILABILITY

many shops in the uk sell WC & CB retics! if you are new to the hobby CB is the best for you!
they range in price from £65-£8000+ they are available from bob clark, mike wilbanks, prehistoric pets via import from the usa or from european shows
Henry Batton can collect them from bob for you and we can help with mikes stuff and prehistoric pets

MORPHS

now there are so many morphs available that im not going to list them
google is a good place to start!
albino, tiger, super tiger, blonde, sunfire, stripe, fire are just a few!
these are also available in dwarf forms
more and more will be produced over the next few years in the uk and the usa
you can also go onto bob,mikes sites and see them all



Hope this helps all you new retic keepers comming to the hobby!

but please do make sure you read this and other books, net pages etc

"BEFORE" you get one

Gray at Retic Domain
__________________

Good care sheet mate.

glad sombody liked it!!!!!

dont know why i took the time!!!

as you have all been told i know nothing about retics in anyway or form

but hey those people could not be assed to do it!!!


cheers mate

To me it seems 100% spot on, im glad you took your time to do it because it will help some one along the line, you cant get a much better one than that it tells you every think.

sound!!

thanks mate