Captive Care of the Reticulated Python

by Kestrel(me)

General Info
Reticulated Pythons, Python reticulatus, are a very intelligant, giant python from Indonesia and its surrounding islands. Easily reaching 18ft, up to 25ft, the Reticulated Python is NOT a beginners snake. Owning a very large and nasty tempered retic could easily proove fatal for an ignorant, unexperianced keeper. On the other side, retics are a very awesome and rewarding snake to own. They are increadibly intelligant and inquisitive snakes, which will identify and recognize their keepers. My retic is the only snake i've ever owned which will accually follow me with his eyes, and watches my movements around the room. A large, tame retic is a very impressive snake.

There are several different localities of retic. There are also a few "dwarf" localities which I recommend for someone who's never owned a large snake before. Kuyuadi retics are expected to stay below 8ft when fully adult. Jampeas are a slightly larger "dwarf" expected to stay between 10 and 14ft, females being much larger then the males. Ambon's also stay fairly small, rarely exceeding 16ft, and also generally have a brilliant yellow head. Sulawesi, Polopo, and Thai retics are known for obtaining very LARGE sizes, of possibly beyond 20ft, so keep this in mind when purchasing one of these localities.

Housing
Retics grow VERY quickly, reaching up to 10ft in their first year, and require alot of space. You will usually need to build a custom made enclosure for them, but snakes of a smaller size can be kept in tupperwear or rubbermaid containers, or glass aquariums. General rule of thumb is for the enclosure to be at least as long as the snake. Retics also like to climb, and will use perches if given to them. Best cages to use for larger retics are the biggest Neodesha or Vision cages, but for the biggest snakes, a custom enclosure usually has to be built. Make sure whatever your keeping your snake in is secure. Retics, being very smart snakes, will test every weak spot in its cage for a place to escape through.

Heating
Retics, being from a tropical enviroment, need a temperature of 80°F at the lowest, to 92° at the warmest. You can use heating pads, and heat bulbs, but do not use a wattage over 100, unless its for a VERY LARGE enclosure, and where the snake cannot reach it. You never want an exposed bulb where the snake can get to it. Retics are very active snakes, and will explore every inch of their enclosure, including trying to get to heat lamps. You usually want to have a thermometer at either end of the snakes enclosure, one side being slightly cooler then the other, to allow the snake to thermoregulate.

Feeding
A baby retic should be started off on weanling mice, or crawler rats. At about 3 to 3.5ft a retic will be big enough to take down weanling rats. A retic at about 5ft is big enough to start taking large to jumbo rats. At about 10ft, medium rabbits are in order. The largest retics will take goats and calves, so keep this in mind when purchasing one. You will want to keep in mind how fast you want your retic to grow when feeding it. Feeding every 5 to 7 days will result in pretty fast growth. Adult retics require less frequent feedings, every 3 weeks or so. When feeding your retic, its usually a good idea to feed in a seperate area or container. NEVER handle the food, then handle your retic. This is a very bad idea.. lol..

Humidity
In the wild, retics spend much of their time in water, and require a pretty high humidity percentage of at least 60 or 70%. You will also want to provide it a very large water tub to lay in. You can keep the humidity up by misting down the enclosure daily, or placing the water tub under/on the heatsource. When building your own cage, the humidity is something to be kept in mind when chosing materials. Plexy glass and some other plastics are very porous and do not hold humidity well.

Handling Large Retics
When handling a large(10+ft) ALWAYS have someone else with you. Safest way to carry a large snake, is to support its body with its shoulder, holding its head and neck with your hands, and have someone behind you carry the rest, the same way(over the shoulder). You never want to put a large retic around your neck for several reasons. Its stressful on your neck for one, but also very uncomfortable for the snake, and doesn't offer proper support. Not to mention the fact that if the snake decides to flex its muscles, it can easily crush your windpipe without really meaning to. NEVER let one wrap all the way around your neck. Even a 6ft retic can very easily cut off your air supply. This is when that extra person comes in handy. They can either run to call 911, or help pry the snake off you. A 6ft snake isn't all that hard to pry off, but a 10+ft snake IS, so always be cautious.

Email: kestrel@antisocial.com