Reticulated Pythons

Today I decided I would write about the Reticulated Python.  For those of you who may not know, the reticulated python is the longest snake currently living, with the current record being 25ft 2 in, held by a female named Medusa.  As a hatchling, the reticulated python will normally be between 24-36 inches long and they quickly grow from there, in fact, it is not unheard of to be able to get a retic to 10ft in their first year by feeding them every 5-7 days.  As the retic grows so does its need for food.  An example I currently have in my collection is Valentine, our Lavender Albino Motley Tiger.

This picture is of Valentine the first day we brought him home, as you can see he easily fit in my wife's hands.  That picture was taken in July of 2015.  Now we have never power fed him and up until recently he was still eating small rats once a week.  He is now sitting at about 6.5 feet and growing faster since we moved him to the medium rats weekly.  As a result of their ability to grow so quickly most people are not aware of the incredible responsibility that comes with owning a retic.  My two bigger retics are both females, Princess is a platinum het albino, and Maleficent is a Motley het Snow, the biggest difference between them being that maleficent is part dwarf and not nearly as big as Princess.  Using Princess as an example, when we got her in February of 2015 she was about 4.5-5ft long and roughly 4 lbs.  On her last measurements, taken last month, she is approaching 14ft long and weighs almost 25lbs.  I know that 25lbs may not sound too large considering an adult female can easily get upwards of 200lbs, but she is only just now starting to fill out.  We are still feeding her slowly and she has gone from eating a medium rat weekly to eating a 4lb rabbit every 3 weeks in about a year and a half.

Aside from the incredible size that a retic can reach another thing to consider is the difference in intellect between these and other constrictors.  For lack of a better term, the boa constrictors we keep are generally dumb, they just sit around and wait to get fed.  They are either sleeping of eating, with the occasional wandering around.  Totally opposite of that are the retics.  These snakes are constantly on the move and trying to learn.  My one female, Maleficent, has watched me and now knows what needs to be done to try and unlock the latch on her cage, luckily they are tight latches and she is not big enough for that to work, but that does not stop her from trying.  Another thing that are the retics we own have figured out is feeding day.  They will actually come to the front of their cages on feeding day even before the food is ever brought into the room.  Its really amazing to see the difference in intelligence between the snakes.

However, a word of caution to anyone thinking of owing a retic, they have an extremely dangerous feeding response.  A lot of people talk about this with retics and I have first hand experience that even the nicest retic will turn on you in a second when food gets in the way.  I have been bit a few times by the retics and all but one was when they were in a defensive mode.  When a defensive strike occurs it is quick and over before you know it, but when a feeding strike occurs it is very painful and happens with lightining quick speed.  The one time I was bit in a feeding response it was by a 5 ft Purple Goldenchild female, Aurora, and she struck so fast I did not see it and she grabbed my hand and coiled around it before I could even think.  Luckily she realized I was not food she could eat and let go, but if it had been princess I would have been in a lot of trouble.

This is a picture showing the damage that an adult size retic can do to a person.

Now most people will tell you that retics are not the animal to have as a first snake and while I agree on many levels, I cannot say that I completely back that idea.  The reason behind that is the second snake we purchased was a retic and that snake made me fall in love with the reticulated python.  They are definitely a snake that has to be respected and treated accordingly, but they are extremely rewarding once you gain their trust.  Just remember to plan on having the space to house a 15 plus foot snake and be a responsible owner.  If for some reason you get to where you cannot handle the animal any longer, contact someone who can and do not release them into the wild.  If you have any questions about retics or snakes in general, please email me and I will do my best to answer them for you, I love teaching and talking about them,

intelligence