retic vrs anaconda the great debate

[Anubis77]

I don't have much experience, but the Retic I'm raising right now has been one of the most enjoyable snakes I've kept yet. For me at least, the appearance, in pattern (especially the normals) and body shape, of the Retic have always won out against any other large constrictor. Now that I keep one, I see they can also have a wonderful demeanor.

I did want a Yellow Anaconda for some time though. Sort of having second thoughts about getting that one in the future after reading this thread.

 

[Jmugleston]

I don't have much experience, but the Retic I'm raising right now has been one of the most enjoyable snakes I've kept yet. For me at least, the appearance, in pattern (especially the normals) and body shape, of the Retic have always won out against any other large constrictor. Now that I keep one, I see they can also have a wonderful demeanor.

I did want a Yellow Anaconda for some time though. Sort of having second thoughts about getting that one in the future after reading this thread.

Retics used to have a horrible reputation since most were WC and few worked with them. Now that there are a lot of people keeping them, it is well known that they aren't as bad as originally thought. Of my four retics, three are typically well behaved...i.e. they don't try to take my face off. The males are a bit more rambunctious during the breeding season but not too bad. One of the four is about as predictable as a coin flip. Sometimes she's no problem. Other times I'm using a garbage can lid to shield her strikes. Annies are the same way. I've had greens that were nippy as neonates, but eventually calmed down. Yellows seem to be mellow as well if you work with them. With few people caring for them (and it seems most that do have them shouldn't) their reputation for being nasty carries on. A few breeders will attest to having a few that are calm as other boas, but you always have your exceptions.

 

[pitbulllady]

Retics used to have a horrible reputation since most were WC and few worked with them. Now that there are a lot of people keeping them, it is well known that they aren't as bad as originally thought. Of my four retics, three are typically well behaved...i.e. they don't try to take my face off. The males are a bit more rambunctious during the breeding season but not too bad. One of the four is about as predictable as a coin flip. Sometimes she's no problem. Other times I'm using a garbage can lid to shield her strikes. Annies are the same way. I've had greens that were nippy as neonates, but eventually calmed down. Yellows seem to be mellow as well if you work with them. With few people caring for them (and it seems most that do have them shouldn't) their reputation for being nasty carries on. A few breeders will attest to having a few that are calm as other boas, but you always have your exceptions.

Very true. While captive breeding doesn't seem to matter much with Colubrids, it does make a difference with large constrictors, although nearly all Python and Anaconda species, cb or not, tend to be bitey when they are babies, probably because at that size they'd still be on the menus of most predators. I actually had a cb African Rock that was very tame, as tame as most Burms. At the last Repticon show in Columbia, SC, there were several vendors selling "farmed" baby AfRocks from South Africa(Python sebae natalensis), and all of those were very mellow little guys. I held several so the vendor could probe them to determine gender, and none tried to bite. Even baby Colombian Boas will usually(understandably)take exception to such an invasion of their privacy! A guy I know fairly well had a 7-foot female patternless green AfRock, and then went and traded the darn thing for a Colombian Rainbow Boa, a snake that wholesales for around $65.00, and that python was very tame, also. If it hadn't been a female, which get much larger than males, I'd have gotten it myself. She looked almost like a Papuan Python, and only had a vestige of the head markings, with a totally patternless body, unlike the so-called "patternless" Burms which still have blotches.

pitbulllady

 

[Toirtis]

Most of the retics I have worked with were Sulawesis, which I found to be mainly nippy until they got 16'+, then you had to be quite careful (they have some nasty serration on their teeth to go along with size and power). I found that most of the smaller species (Jampeas/Kayaudis) were pretty reasonable.

 

[Jmugleston]

Most of the retics I have worked with were Sulawesis, which I found to be mainly nippy until they got 16'+, then you had to be quite careful (they have some nasty serration on their teeth to go along with size and power). I found that most of the smaller species (Jampeas/Kayaudis) were pretty reasonable.

My Jamp male has been a beast (though at most 7 feet) for the last 3 years. He finally calmed down this last winter. It was nice having my most defensive retic also be my smallest. Now one of my larger girls has suddenly decided she is going to be a punk. It has gone from free handling her with little worry to having a garbage can lid to block her strikes when I take her out.

 

[Sunset]

retic

retics are the biggist snake in the world they keep proving this over and over again. just look it up on line and you well see for your self.

 

[Dyn]

Longest yes... Biggest debatable.

I'd say a 500pound 28 foot snake was bigger than a 300 pound 33 ft one.

200 pounds > 5 feet.

 

[Draiman]

Longest yes... Biggest debatable.

I'd say a 500pound 28 foot snake was bigger than a 300 pound 33 ft one.

200 pounds > 5 feet.

The trouble is, anacondas don't even get to 28ft!

 

[pitbulllady]

The trouble is, anacondas don't even get to 28ft!

Actually, the world record Green Anaconda DID measure 28 feet long with a girth of 44 inches. That snake was not weighed at the time, but her weight was estimated to have been approximately 500 lbs. Nowadays, of course, an Anaconda of that size would be an extreme rarity. Dr. Jesus Rivas, a Venezuelan biologist who studies Anacondas and is considered a world-reknown authority on them, has spent decades trying to find a giant specimen for decades, without any luck, so that 28-footer might have been an exceptional animal, rather than the norm.

pitbulllady

 

[Draiman]

Actually, the world record Green Anaconda DID measure 28 feet long with a girth of 44 inches. That snake was not weighed at the time, but her weight was estimated to have been approximately 500 lbs. Nowadays, of course, an Anaconda of that size would be an extreme rarity. Dr. Jesus Rivas, a Venezuelan biologist who studies Anacondas and is considered a world-reknown authority on them, has spent decades trying to find a giant specimen for decades, without any luck, so that 28-footer might have been an exceptional animal, rather than the norm.

pitbulllady

Really?

Wikipedia says:

The longest (and heaviest) scientifically recorded specimen was a female measuring 521 cm (18.1 ft) in length and weighing 97.5 kg (214 lbs).[7]

And the reference provided is a paper by, surprise surprise, Jesus Rivas!

"^ Rivas, Jesús A. 2000. The life history of the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus). With emphasis on its reproductive Biology. Dissertation. University of Tennessee. PDF Accessed 10 May 2009."

 

[Kaimetsu]

i looked up Dr. Jesus Rivas and hes got a ton of really fascinating articles about his research into green Anacondas in their natural habitat, I'm reading them now and they are really enjoyable.

This site has links to a bunch of articles hes published.
http://www.anacondas.org/research.htm

This is what I'm reading right now, apparently Dr. Rivas has documented two unsuccessful predatory attacks by green anacondas on his researchers. Fascinating stuff.
http://www.anacondas.org/strike.htm

Theres also an article there about green anaconda size that i havnt gotten to yet. I think Green anacondas and reticulated pythons are both absolutely amazing snakes in their own ways, and i would love to own one of each. Oneday if i ever have the space, money, and time to adequately provide for them i may attempt to aquire them, but thats a big if. And thats assuming it will even be legal to own them by the time i'm ready, some of the horrible legislation thats out there right now scares me. I always thought it would be awesome to own my own very small zoo and if i did the anaconda and reticulated python would be the star attractions, thats just a pipe dream though.

 

[1truth]

I exclusively keep retics now but once had 2 anacondas also. IMO retics are the king for many reasons. Size wise a retic on average is larger than a anaconda and will get bigger way faster. My 18 ft female just turned 4 years old this summer, for a annie to get that big it will take atleast 1o years. If you find both snakes to be around the same size the retic will still be more alert, easier to work with and the amount of genetic morphs is unreal. My anacondas were not comparable to my retics. They had their own beauty however and i did like them, but sometimes they would attempt to side swipe bite out the blue and then act like everything is ok. I was alot more comfortable working my retics. My retics have never done that big or small. Once they know food is not coming they are fine and ive seen instances where they have shown owner recognition which amazed me.
On average the dwarf or super dwarf species are flighty and harder to handle than the mainland retics, many people make the mistake of thinking oh ill get a dwarf cuz its smaller in fact it actually is harder. Feel free to check out my youtube channel and see for yourself. TheReticRoom is my channel name.

 

[Kaimetsu]

I exclusively keep retics now but once had 2 anacondas also. IMO retics are the king for many reasons. Size wise a retic on average is larger than a anaconda and will get bigger way faster. My 18 ft female just turned 4 years old this summer, for a annie to get that big it will take atleast 1o years. If you find both snakes to be around the same size the retic will still be more alert, easier to work with and the amount of genetic morphs is unreal. My anacondas were not comparable to my retics. They had their own beauty however and i did like them, but sometimes they would attempt to side swipe bite out the blue and then act like everything is ok. I was alot more comfortable working my retics. My retics have never done that big or small. Once they know food is not coming they are fine and ive seen instances where they have shown owner recognition which amazed me.
On average the dwarf or super dwarf species are flighty and harder to handle than the mainland retics, many people make the mistake of thinking oh ill get a dwarf cuz its smaller in fact it actually is harder. Feel free to check out my youtube channel and see for yourself. TheReticRoom is my channel name.

I already enjoy watching youtube videos of large pet snakes so i looked you up and i just watched your episode 27. Thats an incredibly beautiful snake and your passion for the species is contagious. Your making me want one.

 

[1truth]

Thanks brother

 

[dtknow]

I think it is interesting what snake keepers call intelligence...pardon me, but is it a bit of anthromorphism and perhaps justified awe at the majesty of such snakes.

People general consider retics/some other large pythons, indigos/cribos, king cobras, and perhaps another species or two the most "intelligent"(perhaps this should be termed-owner responsive? or alert?) snakes. Note high price tag and aura around these species. Is their anything significantly different between their behavior and that of say, a large ratsnake, a more manageable python, etc.? Perhaps this kind of demeanor is typical of large snakes which live in a stimulating environment?(e.g....not loafing around in a pool waiting for something to step on them)

 

[Dyn]

I think it is interesting what snake keepers call intelligence...pardon me, but is it a bit of anthromorphism and perhaps justified awe at the majesty of such snakes.

People general consider retics/some other large pythons, indigos/cribos, king cobras, and perhaps another species or two the most "intelligent"(perhaps this should be termed-owner responsive? or alert?) snakes. Note high price tag and aura around these species. Is their anything significantly different between their behavior and that of say, a large ratsnake, a more manageable python, etc.? Perhaps this kind of demeanor is typical of large snakes which live in a stimulating environment?(e.g....not loafing around in a pool waiting for something to step on them)

They seem more aware of their surroundings and from what I've seen they seem to respond to learned behavior better than some other snakes I've dealt with. Hook training, feeding schedule, all of that.

 

[pitbulllady]

I think it is interesting what snake keepers call intelligence...pardon me, but is it a bit of anthromorphism and perhaps justified awe at the majesty of such snakes.

People general consider retics/some other large pythons, indigos/cribos, king cobras, and perhaps another species or two the most "intelligent"(perhaps this should be termed-owner responsive? or alert?) snakes. Note high price tag and aura around these species. Is their anything significantly different between their behavior and that of say, a large ratsnake, a more manageable python, etc.? Perhaps this kind of demeanor is typical of large snakes which live in a stimulating environment?(e.g....not loafing around in a pool waiting for something to step on them)

They are definitely more aware of their surroundings and demonstrate a fairly obvious ability to distinguish individual people, whereas most snakes that are tame will allow themselves to be held by anyone. Not so with many Retics. They are also really good at watching how you open and close their cages, and finding how to escape from cages that had previously held other snakes with no problems. I always fed my snakes on a certain day of the week, and the Retics would know EXACTLY when that day was, and therefore when they were due to be fed, and they'd start standing up next to the glass, as if anticipating me coming in with their food. The other snakes didn't react until the food was put right in front of them, while the Retics KNEW it was coming already.

By the way, the higher prices on these snakes(and normal, mainland Retics are not that expensive)isn't a result of the "awe" that people hold them, so much as their rarity, especially the Indigos, which are an Endangered Species and require a Federal permit, or King Cobras, which are so difficult to maintain or breed in captivity.

pitbulllady

 

[blacktara]

King of the snakes? I'd vote for the king cobra - longest venomous snakes and it eats what? other snakes

 

[Dyn]

King of the snakes? I'd vote for the king cobra - longest venomous snakes and it eats what? other smaller snakes

Fixed that for you. =P

I do like king cobras though.

 

[dtknow]

pbl: Fascinating thanks! Are you only talking of retics here? Any other species asides from those mentioned you'd consider more intelligent?