The Most Trusted Name in Private High End Reptile Breeding.

Incomplete Page.  More pictures and text coming Soon!

World's Longest Albino Python! 

Reticulated Python Care and Husbandry:

Adult males may average 12 to 16 feet and weigh 40 to 100 pounds. Adult females may average 12 to 20 feet and weigh 60 to 250 pounds. Some individual snakes may grow even larger. The lifespan of a reticulated python should exceed 20 years.

In recent years this species has been produced in great numbers in captivity, helping to establish much more docile and manageable, present-day generations of these magnificent reptiles. This is not to say that these are necessarily "easy" to keep and care for. Quite frankly, we only recommend these for experienced herpers with an unyielding long term dedication. While relatively easy to care for when small, these true giants of the reptile realm attain truly great sizes in just a few short years when properly fed. While not an inherently aggressive species, reticulated pythons are often very "strong willed" and can be moderately difficult to handle when adult. They quickly learn how strong they are as they grow and they dont hesitate to let this be known.

Feeding:

Juvenile reticulated pythons may be maintained on mice and/or small rats, approximately double the girth of the snake, once every week. As your reticulated python rapidly grows it is necessary to continually increase the size of its meal items. Rats up to 1 pound suffice until the snake reaches 6 or 7 feet but at this point larger rabbits are strongly advised. If the retic does not readily switch to rabbits one may double and triple large rats to make a decent sized meal. In this event just be patient. The retic will eventually accept rabbits and before you know it rabbits will have to be doubled and tripled to make a decent meal. (guinea pigs and chickens may be substituted for rabbits). Rabbits may be rat scented by rubbing the nose of the rabbit with the mouth and genitalia of a freshly killed rat, transfering the rat's scent onto the rabbit.  

With any feeding always practice and follow safe and responsible feeding methods! Most especially when the retic is at or past a respectable size. We recommend  feeding only inside the cage. Raising your retic on pre-killed or frozen-thawed food items may eradicate much of its instinct to grab and kill its food items, thereby reducing the risk of accidentally hurting you or someone else in the process of being fed. Though this risk can never be eliminated entirely. We also strongly recommend either laying the pre-killed food item at an unoccupied end of the cage, or using proper tongs. Keep in mind that if you use the tongs the retic's instinct to overpower and kill the food item will likely be re-awakened by even just the movement of the dead animal. Retics have a very deeply ingrained instinct to hit hard and kill fast and you should expect this each and every time you feed.

Do not handle your retic until the visible meal lump is no longer detectible. Depending on the size of the meal and the age and size of the python this can be as short as 1 day, and it can be as long as 4 or 5 days.

When your retic begins to mature (10' to 12' or more) decrease the frequency of feedings to every two or three weeks as they wont require as much nutritional volume as often once their rapid growth stages are over.

Caging:

An optimum sized environment for your retic would be a cage that is large enough to move about in freely, while still small enough to cause the retic to feel secure. When a retic is small, (2 to 5 feet) this may be a cage that is as wide as the snake is long and half as deep. Needless to say, when a retic is a 20 foot adult this method wont be very practical. For an adult retic a 3 by 8 foot cage will usually suffice, though if it is possible to provide more space and size, please do so.  

Some keepers like to use hide boxes to help their little retic feel safe and secure. We only use these if the snake (based on each snake individually) shows signs of discomfort or "cage insecurity". If they appear to feel comfortable, safe and secure without a hide box we certainly don't want to create any unnecessary dependencies in them that could last into adulthood.

It is advisable to have a thermostatically-controlled heat lamp on one end of your enclosure, providing a basking spot of low 90s temperatures (92-94). The ambient, or general area, temps should be 80 or above and up to 86. If you live in a region with a dry climate you can move the water bowl closer to this basking spot until the cage humidity reaches an optimal level (60% to 80%). Misting the inside of the cage twice daily or more may also help raise and maintain a more comfortable humidity level for your retic. If the humidity is still too low check the size of the cage vents. If they are too large try covering them slightly and gradually more until proper humidity levels inside the cage are achieved. DO NOT EVER cover the vents all the way or to a point where the snake is deprived of adequate fresh air.

There are many suitable substrates (cage floor covering) in the market today. Any that are highly absorbent and somewhat sterile are acceptable. Many herpers/breeders (including us) use newspaper. Use a minimum of 2 sheets thickness per foot of snake. Others use different types of cypress bark or mulch available at most garden supply stores. Cleaning should always be performed the moment a mess is detected. This will help to ensure that your retic remains healthy, content and clean.

Handling:

We advise maximum handling, especially when the snake is young. This will help to familiarize yourself with your snake and vice versa so that in later years when your snake is a 200 pound, 22 foot python you have a positive, trusting relationship with it. Snakes that are mostly ignored often lack beneficial conditioning and thus they lack necessary familiarity and this can lead to additional unwanted mishaps. We suggest getting your retic used to a snake hook early. Remove him from his cage with one and he will soon accept this as normal. This practice will help you to avoid painful mishaps associated with this species surprisingly strong feeding response.

Your retic will be active once in the hand. He will roam and climb, reach and seek. Just keep moving your hands under his forward-reaching body and he will have the illusion that he is going somewhere and this will usually satisfy his need to explore. Try to keep his body level with the ground and well supported. If he is not supported in a secure manner he can "feel" that he could fall and this may frighten him. A frightened snake of any species often becomes highly defensive. A highly defensive snake will often defend itself against the perceived threat by biting and/or excreting urine and fecal waste. We always want to avoid scaring them if possible.

When a python is young it can be easily frightened. This can often be caused by a myriad of things. It can be triggered by a sudden, alien (unknown) smell. It can often be from sudden movement looming over them or seeming to come at them. It can be caused by many things that we don't anticipate. Even the most docile snake can suddenly become frightened and perhaps nip the first thing that moves in front of its face. As the intelligent one in the relationship it is up to us to understand the situation and to be patient and calm. If your python suddenly freaks out try to figure out what scared him. We recommend that you do not put him down or back in his cage in the event that he bites. You dont want your python to learn that he can make you go away with a bite. This will often lead to more of the same behavior later and this is not good at all when your python is much bigger and the bites are much more painful. In the event of a bite bring your hand slowly up under his chin, and allow him to smell you by letting his tongue touch your skin. As he probably already "knows" you by smell, as a harmless part of his world this will likely be very reassuring to him and he will begin to calm down once again. Not always, but usually.

When we say that your python "knows you" we do not suggest that he or she knows you in the way that a good dog knows and understands you, with intellect. Your snake will never harbor feelings of goodwill or warmth toward you. Nor will he ever actually like you, or miss you when you're gone. He will be almost entirely indifferent to you. You really only are relevant as the "bringer of food". This is not because he is necessarily "anti-social", but because he is not a species of an animal form that ever evolved a complex brain with inherent social dependencies and capabilities. Simply because this was never needed for reptiles to survive the eons, the way it was utterly necessary for pack animal species such as wolves or lions to survive. Snakes are loners by nature except for during winter den hibernation (non-tropical species) and annual mating.  Now, before this cold fact depresses you keep in mind that you can still achieve and maintain a productive, safe and enjoyable (for you) relationship with your snake built on trust, familiarity, contentment and security (for him).