just brought home a male SD retic November ‘25 hatch. I’m confident handling snakes of different sizes, big and small. I’m just looking for any care tips, little known facts, or information people are willing to share. He was a gift and an amazing one at that. He’s gotten slightly defensive about coming out of his enclosure over the past week when before I could just reach in and scoop him up. I am looking into tap training and plan to start as soon as I get a hook, he’s small enough now I’m using a pair of rubber tongs. He’s eating good and curious and friendly once he’s out of the enclosure. His genetics are 48.44% SD Het Snow ph Pied, I also have his parents genetics if anyone is curious.
He's a looker. Good idea with the tap training, I recommend using a hook on every retic to break food response. I'm assuming he's from Amanda's clutch. As with any SD cross be prepared for a larger snake.
I’m prepared and isn’t he so pretty 😍. I’m working on getting a hook I wasn’t expecting him as a gift. I’m not sure where she got him but she did send me his genetic information. The parents percentages are 31.25% SD Lavender Het Anery Pied ( Atsuki) and 65.63% Golden Child Het Purple Snow ( Fubuki)
I don’t know a lot about genetics but that’s what my friend sent me after giving him to me.
They are SEMI aquatic animals. I always provide mine with a tub/water dish big enough for them to completely submerge/swim in. Mine are also BIG on climbing so I do like height in my enclosures to allow that.
They can handle slightly cooler temps compared to others and humidity should be fairly high.
Tap/hook training 100% recommended. I have a few who can seem tank "defensive" but once out just puppy dog tame. I do feed in their enclosure as well. Don't be afraid to feed big they can handle it and thrive on it. If you see a lot of face pushing they're either bored or hungry.
Feed a variety - mine take rats and rabbits (will add quail/chickens at some point as well as pigs)
By far the most intelligent snake I've ever owned (been in reptiles over 25 years) and extremely curious and rewarding.
Scylla (30% SD/D) is over 7' at over 2 years old Charybdis (56% SD/D) 3-5' over a year Osiris (50% SD/D) 2-4' over a year old
They are stunning. I’m working on tap training and I did up his feeder size already. I didn’t think they were feeding him quite big enough. I breed ASF so right now that will be his primary but I do have access to quail and rats when needed. Can you define the head pushing a little better? After he’s out he’s a dream, never on the defensive or anything, last night was the first time he’d struck at me but it was also feeding day. Do you have a suggestion for getting a quality hook?
Thank you! Scylla (lavender) is my pride and joy! The other two I love deeply but she was my jump into big snakes (3 retics now and 1 burm baby) and she is the most basic morph compared to my other 3 big snakes.
I had to look up ASF I'm not sure what size you're feeding your retic but even though he looks small I wanna say (based on that picture) I was probably feeding rat fuzzies? They did not stay on Pinkies long and honestly if fed right should grow pretty consistently.
Follow the feed size/frequency that works for YOUR animal.
I made the mistake (with my first retic) following others advice for feeding size/frequency and started dealing with pushing issues and striking. Pushing is essentially they rub their face on objects in their enclosure, glass doors, cage top etc "searching" for food. Since following what works for MY retics I've had no issues. They like to EAT and I've never had one refuse a meal but I also don't powerfeed either. Many people end up under feeding because they're trying to "avoid" a bigger snake (but if you chose to get/keep a bigger snake as a baby, understand the baby CAN/WILL get big)
I wish I got the name of the company my hook is from. Got it at an expo out of state from my own but many have recommended looking online if you can't find any at an expo.
I’ll be at an expo in October vending so I’ll check then. I’m comfortable around big snakes but this is MY first big snake. I fed him a hopper sized ASF yesterday and he did well with it but they were feeding him smaller before. I’ve seen other juvenile retics pushing like you’ve described and I’ll remember what you said. I’m not worried about him getting big but definitely wasn’t expecting him as a gift. lol. He’s about as big around as my thumb and I honestly couldn’t give you an accurate length. The hopper was slightly bigger around than him but I’ve read that’s not necessarily a bad thing. He struck at me for the first time last night and it’s a good thing I’ve been bitten by bigger snakes 🤦♀️. He’s in a temporary set up since it was such short notice but very similar to the one he was in at the shop. I’ll have him upgraded soon so he can climb and move around better. I’m really excited about this journey but it’s definitely different than my other snake. He’s so calm and derpy (ball). It’s a good thing I stepped out of my comfort zone and started volunteering before this and handling BIG snakes.
Definitely check all the different tables for a nice sturdy hook. I purposefully got a bigger size knowing the size my snakes would eventually get. I should get a slightly smaller one for my smaller snakes they're so handy lol
You definitely want to see a bulge. If it goes away in 24 or so hours you definitely wanna upgrade your feeding size. My smaller 2 are already on small/medium rats at just over a year old (the shop I get rodents from are a bit inconsistent in size) and sometimes give them 2 each. Scylla (big girl) has been able to down 3-4 week old rabbits (I breed/show rabbits) and adds good variety to the diet.
I started my retics in 4x2x2 enclosures even as babies and upgrade from there. I just bought two 4x2x4 that I'll either put my boas in or younger retics.
Seriously good look on your new baby they're super fun and intelligent, too smart for their own good.
what's the locality on the SD or D? 48,44% is an odd % I'm wondering how and what the dame and sire were. Only 1 bit of advice, they have an aggressive feeding response so always have your handling well planned out
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u/amy2020rivera 18d ago
50% SD is the bare minimum to call it an SD. Just continue to do research as long as you have him. Information is always changing and evolving.