The Reticulated python (python Reticulatis)is arguably the longest species of snakes in the world.The unofficel record is therty three feet.You can expect one to reach well into the twenty foot range.It is becomeing one of the more popular snakes now that they are being captive breed. As an owner of one I must tell you that if you are considering one for your first snake you should think twice.They have a horable reputaion for turning mean once they reach about twelve feet.My retic as us herpers call them is a tiger phase which has a great temperment he is puppy tame.He is about a year old and is already seven and half feet .They are one of the fastest growing snakes.I read an articale writen by Tracy Barker owner of VPI pythons and she said that her first retic grew twelve feet in it's first year.So when choosing a first snake, consider it's size. Would you rather make a first time mistake with a 3 to 6 foot Ball Python which would hurt if he bit you, or a large Retic that has a shoe box size head and half inch teeth that could do permanent damage. Ok, now that I have convinced you not to get one, I'll tell you that if you have the room and you can handle the size, they're excellent. We use them at the Herp society for our photo with a snake and for lectures. For the most part (CAPTIVE BREED) retics have a good temperment.
The Reticulated python can be purchased in many different color morphs but, just like anything, the more rare the pattern the more expensive it is. You can get a normal captive breed retic for $100. The color morph prices can vary from $2500 for an albino, to piceless for the new all black morph that Bob Clark has imported. Almost any color morph there is, is available at Bob Clark's Captive Reptile Breeding (www.Bobclark.com). He is responsible for most of the color morph's avalible today.
The only advice I can give on building a cage is make it big. Burmese pythons grow rapidly, so why spend the money on building a small cage when you will have to make another one in a year? The cage I'm building next will be 6 feet long, 4 feet tall, and 4 feet wide. I'll heat with a combination of a heating pad and a 100 watt light bulb using the light for the day and the pad for at night. The day time temp. needs to be at about 85 degrees and the night temp need's to drop around 5 to 10 degrees. They will also need a container of water lage enough to soak their whole body in. You also need to remember that if your cage leaves just a slight chance of escape, the animal will take full advantage of it. Make sure to make it fool proof, I have a lock on my cage but they're not really needed unless you have little kids in the house.
As babies, they should be feed 1 to 2 small mice a week. The larger they get you will need to alter their diet and their schedule. Go from mice to small rat's, then medium, and then finally full size adults, and very large snakes should get an appropriate sized rabbit once a month. Just remember over feeding is just as bad as under feeding.
