if you lived near me id let you come and give my largest boa a hug - or should i say she hugs you and doesnt let go, as they are big they will cling on for feeling secure and if they cling to hard, your might be stuck.

shes a handfull, my brothers 10, and no way would i let him handle her, so a year and half is not much more.

if you want anything, maybe a male BCI to start with.

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we have gone from royals to a hog island boa lol .but really think befor you buy and read all posts

the royal is urm.. 16 months .

Was just going to say what's wrong with a BCI for the OP, obviously get what you wish (which you undoubtedly will) but really do keep in mind the strength of the older snakes, and the fact that even if you bought an 08' at 12.. When its grown A LOT or even fully grown you'll still be reasonably young.

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omg im 18 i cant even handle a boa i dont think lol
well its up 2 you but i think you should talk with your family to get help coz big snakes get big
hope you find one that your happy with.

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what large snake have you just got?

Royals are decent snakes as long as they are kept in the correct conditions...and the setup is completely spot on.

People don't hate on young people owning large snakes, it is just that most young people (purely down to their age) haven't physically had the opportunity to gain the knowledge and experience they need to handle and keep such large snakes correctly and safely. It is nothing to do with age...but yet everything to do with age; if you follow??

It's not because you (for example) are young...but instead because you haven't had enough years to actually get everything spot on...99 times out of 100 at least.

There are just as many adults who are new to snakes and want to get a large boid (sometimes just to show off to their mates, or on impulse) that purely do not have the right knowledge or experience to manage a snake of such size to a good level.

Any large snake is a huge responsibility due to the management they require.

A large snake produces a phenominal amount of waste (urine/faeces) and they have a habit of excreting twice...usually the second time as soon as you have put them back into a freshly cleaned viv.

The running costs are high due to the higher wattage heating elements required in a large viv...this really adds to the electricity bill.

The feeding costs are high - one rabbit every two weeks (or less) for even the juveniles of some species...these are around £3-7 each...so if you are keeping a pair of large snakes and feeding them each alternate weeks, in effect it could cost you around £20-30 a month just on feeding.

You will need a large space in the house to keep a large viv...an adult burmese would require a 8 x 4 x 4 viv, and you will need to house each snake seperately. Vivs this size are costly.

Vets bills are much higher with larger snakes due to the higher dosage of drugs required should any ailment crop up, even the smaller things.

You would also need to have parents that are okay with larger snakes, as anything over 6 foot is deemed unsafe to handle on your own - so you would need at least one adult with you at all times, even when changing water. I would even go so far as to reccommed two adults; especially for cleaning out and feeding.

I hope you have a good job as it will be costing you a fair amount to pay the leccy bill, feeding bill and to put money aside for vivs and vets bills.

I think you should get a lot more experience with medium sized snakes before you jump in at the deep end...most people don't realise the full extent of the responsibility until they are there.

Burms and retics do most of their growing in the first 24months, so ''growing with the snake'' doesn't always work out - they grow at a phenominal rate.

Carpets would be ideal, or for a first large snake a BCI/BCC...but get a couple years more experience before jumping in the deep end with retics and burms.

I got my first burm as a baby; it was my 4th snake and I was around 14...

It is something that really needs a lot of thought though and not to be taken on lightly.

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honestly mate don't get one i was holding my common today and lost some flow to me hand as she was just holding on and when i tried to remove her well she wasn't having none of it and well i ended up holding her for ages lol get more royals

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0.1.0 common boa
0.0.1 hermans
0.0.1 missippi map turtle
0.0.1 bearded dragon
1.0.0 leopard gecko
0.1.0 burmese python
1.0.0 doberman (duke)

Hi I once went on the water guns at Thorpe park , do you think I should now serve in Iraq or Afganistan, I'm 14

Sorry couldn't resist

But I do feel that it is a fairly valid point

a couple of quick questionsd for you

do you have the money to keep it fed and watered correctly?
Do you have the space available>
when you go on holiday who will help look after it?
have you handled larger snakes?

Chris

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You need to reconsider. i am 23 years old and without blowing my own trumpet, i'm not weak ! my biggest snake is a 12 foot burmese python, she is 3 years old! when she wants to do something, i cannot stop her, the power is unbelievable! at 12, you will be totally overpowered unless your dads had you on human growth hormone from bottle feeding! i'm not being cruel, these snakes have killed people! wait until you are old enough to handle huge snakes and then get one. there is a huge variety of species for you to try, get loads of experience with these and move up the ranked slowly and sensibly and enjoy learning as you go, don't be in a a rush as it could kill you.
i know its hard to listen to advice sometimes, but if you take an example from my life at the moment, i'm going through hot training and being honest, I am desperate to get a black mamba as they are my favourite snake. This is not a good idea for a beginner in hot keeping and my mentor would certainly advise against it so i won't be getting one for a good while and a large constrictor is not a good idea for you so listen to people on here, who on the most part, know better than you!

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My Reptiles and inverts1.1 Pantherophis Guttata Guttata0.1 Pituophis melanoleucus sayi1.1 Boa constrictor imperator1.0 Eunectes murinus1.0 Python Regius1.1 Python molurus bivittatus1.1 Python curtus brongermai1.0 Morelia amethistina1.0 Python sebae0.0.1 Bitis Arietans0.1 Atheris chlorechis1.1 Atheris Ceratophora0.0.1 Cryptolytrops Albolabris

i must say in your defence though, the wanting to upgrade the size of the snakes you own is part and parcel of when you get bit by the snake addiction. i think 90% of people always want a bigger snake than the one they have.

my advice is wait a little longer, see if there are any forum members who live close by that your parents could take you round theirs so you can get a hands on experience of larger snakes so you can see the strength difference etc

also dont try and run before you can walk i.e jumping from a royal to a retic - if your dead certain after all your researching that you want a bigger snake, try and find something big but in between - i.e a boa - You need to be making sure you are able to house the larger snake correctly and give it enough room etc as there is alot more work and thought that needs to go into a larger snake as they are much more dangerous

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