I'm terrible at necroing threads, but I feel some of the points in this thread need to be properly addressed for future keepers. I hate some of the things said against large snakes and I sure hope everyone doesn't come reading this thread getting negative impressions or taking some of the ideas here seriously...
The bite in the picture above is from a large male. I have seen a few of these bites over the years. In breeding season- males seem to have pretty nasty hormone spikes. Most high end breeders know leave males well alone during this season, as they can be pretty testy around breeding season. Some more novice keepers choose to randomly work with males and free handle them and get pretty lax, that is when accidents happen.
One bit of advice that i am aware of....
Never...I mean NEVER allow a retic or burmese to make direct eye contact with
you! These guys are smart!
Burms are not overly smart, retics are but that's not the point. Looking into their eyes is only a problem when dealing with females on eggs. Do what you want, but don't let them see your eyes and you're usually pretty safe. I look into my retics eyes, and it's a pretty cool experience, they are for sure an animal that looks back at you, and you just know they are thinking something up there.
I think anything larger than a morelia should only be owned by the most dedicated reptile keepers. Because an 8' jungle carpet and an 8' BCI are two different animals. Granted the jungle is probably meaner, the BCI is stronger. A two person animal for sure. Not knocking any burm owners or anything, just thinking out loud.
8' is not a two person animal for most people to be honest- and with so many advances in care of giants/large constrictors even a novice keeper can successfully get into some dwarf/superdwarf stuff and be just as safe around them as around some of the pits (bulls/pines)
Any constrictor over 6 ft should never be handled alone. the rule is one person for every 6 ft. Hardly anyone ever follows the rule though. Gets people hurt or even killed and creates more legislative fodder for the cannon. I've gotten some decent bites from my chondros but none requiring stitches. Have dug a few teeth out of my arm weeks later though.
The rule is bad and outdated and strongly pushed by people who are terrified and or ignorant of big snake handling. I've had several bullsnakes 6'-8', and the idea that I need a second person to hold that snake is silly. I mean if you're a 14 year old kid I'd agree, but if you cant single handedly handle a 6' snake, you have ZERO business owning it.
People get hurt of killed because of poor feeding practices, not by "handling rules". Besides, more people die of beaver attacks every year than large snakes. More people are killed by icicles every year than have been killed by large constrictors in the last 30 years combined
Our rtb is 6'6", the carpet python well over 7' and that's about as much "snake" as I like to handle. I don't feel retics, burms, anaconda's etc are for anyone but the most experienced keepers. We are potential food to any 20 foot snake; it may not choose to put you on its menu...but it could, and you vs a 20' constrictor is a bad headline waiting to happen. Jmho
I've handled a few 20 foot snakes, and no, you are still too large, and your shoulders are too broad for a snake to eat. We are about as edible to a large snake as an elephant. It isn't possible unless somehow someone is dumb enough to put a retic/burm/rock/conda around their newborn child or very very young kid.
And that is the problem. The common keeper rarely builds an enclosure that is suitable for a snake that size not sets up the precautions that allow safe handling of snakes that size. I've worked with some giant snakes in my years and common sense will take care of a LOT of the issues with these things getting you. Using shift cages and doors will eliminate a whole host of problems as well. I used to work with my large burms "alone" but that was because I was never really alone with them. I used shift doors and cages so the snake was always one cage away from me and there was always a door between me and the snake. I would clean up and leave food on the non-snake side and then remove the door when the cage was locked. The door was a 3/4 inch melamine piece that would divide the cage in half and I always kept the snake on one side while I worked on the other. It was the same type of deal when working with king cobras, retics, anaconda, large rattlers...anything that can really get you good.
Shift cages/doors sound like people who are afraid of the snake. If you can't work with it properly don't own it. I hook train them, remove them from the cage, put in a locking tote, clean the cage, put back. Standard procedure used by a vast majority of keepers and it's perfectly safe. Problems arise at feeding time, or people who don't learn to kill feeding responses properly. I work with my snakes daily, and all are perfectly calm and fine to interact with. Although, I can see if you stuck them in a cage and only used shift doors that an animal would become unaccustomed to human interaction and become more dangerous/wary. I find that more dangerous myself.
Honestly I would like to see retics, burms, and anacondas go to a "have a permit to own" type of deal in all states. Vendors out to make money don't really have a lot of scruples when it comes to sales. I listened to some of the most unreal crap from a retic peddler at the Columbia show three weeks ago.
"If you hold them every single day, they will stay tame as kittens forever." Bull crap.
Nonsense like that only ends with more snakes owned by inexperienced people and more people doing stupid stuff with big constrictors. The average joe-blow hobbyist does not need a retic or a burm.
Both my ex-husband and I were very experienced with burms, so we figured the retics would not be that much more challenging. Wrong-o. Burms are slow and lumpy. Retics are big, slim, fast and wicked smart.
Most vendors are VERY good these days about making sure retics end up in good hands, and they educate owners very well. If you hold and and interact with your average retic, and keep it properly, they will stay perfectly tame. Might you get randomly bit? Sure, but you run that risk with ANY animal you own.
Permits are silly, retics are not what they where years ago when the first imports where brought in and they where defensive and scared as hell of people. That is where they have such a bad rep from. Considering so many breeders are working to get stuff down into the superdwarf/dwarf range- I would also say that yes retics are becoming more and more for the average keeper. a 6'-12' snake is more than manageable for someone to keep. You aren't pushing for permits for boas, when I've been struck at and nailed by boas more than retics and burms combined (condas another story), and they get 6-12' !
Although I will agree, a burm and a retic are a DRASTICALLY different animal. I got my first retic after a similar event. I had a 10' burm and decided to rescue a 10' retic (it was 14' when I got there LOL), and within 10 minutes of interacting with it I knew it was a completely different animal. Burms just sit there, retics actually have a thought process to them !
