[kwiky]

yeah!!! he's here, i picked him up today from work,
he is so lovely and gentle, he cost me £60,
my girlfriend has chosen his name.......kaa like off the jungle book (yes i know the one on the jungle book is a burm :roll: )
i'll post pics up later on as im letting him settle in to his new home at the moment,
expect me picking the brains of all you fellow retic keepers for advice because i have heard people say retics are made by their keepers so i need to know all the little tricks of the trade to ensure i have a nice gentle predictable animal in years to come
anyway im off now to sit and stare at him in his tank :roll2:

 

[andysharpe]

congrats mate! 60 quid, lovely price!

 

[cornmorphs]

bargain... i saw some nice ones tonight too.. nice super tiger

 

[Dan]

Don't stare at him, let him come say hi!! Open the door and let him come out

 

[Hammer Man]

Lucky git! I look forward to seeing the pics!!

 

[simonc]

Good stuff mate,look foward to the pics!

 

[kwiky]

here are the pics as promised

i had him out for about 30 minutes today and although he is slightly jumpy he still showed no sign of aggression, how often and for how long should i handle him as i dont want to over do it until he settles in properly,
i used to handle my young boas for about 10 mins at a time every other day when i first got them, will this be enough or too much for the retic???

 

[Hammer Man]

Awsome looking snake! Bet your well pleased!

 

[cornmorphs]

very nice mate

 

[Dan]

You will struggle to handle him too much. By their very nature they are inquisitive beyond most species and LOVE to be out wandering.
As long as you can keep him relatively warm while he's out (ie don't be taking him off into a snowy garden) and you don't have him out for too long for a day or two after feeding, he will love every minute he is allowed to explore.

 

[simonc]

Mine are always on the move into everything definatley very inquisitive as dan says.Looks like you got a nice retic there,one word of warning though i have found that you need to continualy interact with them for them to stay used to it!

 

[welshgaz]

He does look like a very pretty looking snake, should be a real stunner when older. Love the shade of green over him

 

[repti-girl]

that is a lovely snake but what u gonna put it in when it gets older cus they can grown to 10 meters

 

[Dan]

Repti-girl, while the record length for a retic is 33 feet 10 inches you wont see any.

You would be extremely lucky to see any over 25 feet anywhere and only a few over 20 in this country.

It would be fair to say that the average (key word there folks, don't miss it) size for females is FAR FAR closer to 18 feet for females and 15 feet for males.

As a minimum an adult retic can be kept in a 72x36x18 viv quite happily.

 

[pie_man]

luvli snake der

 

[andysharpe]

just handle like a normal snake and in all honesty you should wait till he has settles in but its not that important tbh... handle about 5-45 mins you know...

 

[Dan]

I don't know if it would help or if you need it but i wrote a caresheet a few months back if you want it?

 

[snakeseller]

Glad you got him mate and not the Burm :wink: !!! Looks very nice and if you have any questions I would say ask Reticulatus , Will tell you how it is .....

Mike

 

[kwiky]

I don't know if it would help or if you need it but i wrote a caresheet a few months back if you want it?

yeah definatly mate, thanks,
i have 4 boas and have been keeping snakes for 10 years but i still like to know the exact requirements of the particular species in my care, especially a snake that will grow as large as this,

 

[kwiky]

thanks for all the kind words and helpful advice guys, like i said earlier i have handled him for 30 minutes today so i am going to give him the weekend to rest and settle in to his new home, early next week i will try to give him a feed as he was due yesterday (a job i usually do in the shop but i skipped his feed because i knew i was bringing him home so i would need to handle him)

housing wise i am going for a 6ftx3ftx3ft vivarium, i already have a double 6ftx2ftx2ft set up for my boas so i will have this as the bottom of a 3 viv stack,

one thing i am wanting to find out about is growth rate if fed a normal diet (not reduced feeding to stunt growth)
i know the rough eventual size but not how long it will take him to reach it,
he is 3ft long now so:
how long could he be in a year?
in 2 years?
in 5 years etc, i know it is hard to predict exactly but if anyone has any growth charts of their retics (especially males) it would be most helpful

oh and if anyone can recommend any good retic books??
thanks.......................kwiky :wink: