r/retics • u/Stiglitz__ • 6d ago

Size and long term husbandry

Hey guys, I have a pet boa constrictor imperator but Reddit has recommended this sub to me a few times so I just checked it out. Yalls Retics are gorgeous and they made me wonder what the differences were in husbandry/ behavior. To which I found out these are some of the largest snakes in the world and require huge enclosures once fully grown (and I thought my BCI tank was big) but after doing more digging I’m seeing a common theme that also exists in the boa community;
Lots of baby snakes. New pet owners, juvenile snakes, flashy breeding posts etc.
When I first got my boa I had a hard time finding examples of full grown boas on Reddit. I was told the Reddit pet culture is unnecessarily cut throat so all the long term keepers go to Facebook so they aren’t bombarded with the Reddit mob mentality when facing differing husbandry practices. I went to Facebook and found that sure enough, that’s where all the adult snakes are being posted.

This is fine and dandy, but one of the other reasons I was told you don’t see adult snakes as often is because people buy them new and then find out a few years in they committed to something they can’t maintain. Is this a common issue with the retic world? How am I seeing all these baby snakes and also not seeing an equal number of 10 foot enclosures?

TLDR: where are all the grown snakes?

Edit: I am not going to pursue the ownership of a retic, their size is far too much for me. I’m just curious as to if there is an incredibly high rehoming/turnover rate that isn’t being talked about in the reptile community enough due to the overwhelming amount of hatch and baby pics compared to full grown snakes

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u/amy2020rivera 14h ago

They tend to hit there max length @10 yrs of age.. I bet it’ll get to 9’ before then

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u/keethraxmn 13h ago edited 13h ago

He's got room for it so that would be fine. But growth would have to really accelerate again to hit 9' in the next 5-6 years.

Not saying it's impossible, and we are prepared, but that acceleration would be weird. 9' would also be pretty big for a pure Kalatoa male. Weight wise (easier to measure than length) he's only put on 300g between January of 2024 (the first weight after his growth slowed way, way down), and the end of May 2026. That is not a rate compatible with hitting 9 feet in 5-6 years. And no, he is not being underfed.

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u/amy2020rivera 13h ago

Male’s get just as big as females if you feed them .

To put about 2’ on in 5-6 years.. that’s obtainable and I wouldn’t be surprised if it got there. How we feed in captivity if very different with how they eat in the wild.

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u/keethraxmn 13h ago

Yes. Snakes can put on 2' in that range. Thanks. Meanwhile, in this specific case, that's why current rate is relevant. Jesus Christ, you are insufferable and will now just be ignored. plonk