Hi all! When will a female retic reach a true unmanageable size, or will one still be manageable? I have a male mainland that’s a year and a half and under 6 feet. Ofc google says he’d be like 12 feet long by now…so I want responses from real keepers! I kinda want one, there’s one I want, but what can I expect?
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I am tagging someone who can advise you as he is a retic keeper, both male and female….
@banereptiles Nathan This one is for you! 
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It depends on the the genetics of the parents. Some females will max out at around 12 feet with normal feeding while others will max out around 20. If the Dam is a 7 year old mainland that is 14 feet then that is what you should expect a 12-16 foot female depending on feeding schedule and sire size.
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Thanks @caron I do love talking about retics! @logar is right as far as the genetics playing a decent role in determining size, and any that you are interested in see if you can get info on the parents, especially the females size seems to genetically be slightly more on par with the mom then the dad. That being said there is also a whole other aspect to size that is feeding that @logar touched on as well! No one has a 20’ retic that didn’t feed it a lot! I’m not saying overfed or overweight but these snakes like most grow super fast in there first few years then slow down, so you can feed a baby/young retic once every 4-5 days, weekly or bi weekly and these are all very acceptable schedules as long as the size of the prey isn’t much larger then the thickest part of their body. Can you guess which one will grow faster and more likely will be ultimately larger? I have seen pure mainland males at 8’ to 16+’ females do get naturally larger obviously and everyone says to get a male because they stay smaller, which is true. To answer your main question though a “handleable, manageable size” depends on the attitude of the particular snake, with males somtimes getting grumpy during the breeding season. Right now my male super dwarf at 7’ is not handleable at all, because of his attitude at the moment! While my 16’ female is a no legged puppy, whom I never have a problem managing her by myself! So I would get some real retic breeders to show you the parents for the genetic size, and then pick one you like, whether male or female the choice is yours, always tap train even if it’s not needed, and gain experience and a sense of the snakes body language, and if in doubt just have a friend or someone around you when getting them out of the cage, until you are comfortable enough to do so on your own! My favorite snakes are my retics(just not my male at the moment)
Good luck, keep us updated and ask any other questions you may have.
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Thx for the advice! I love my retics. My male mainland is right under 2 years old rn, so I’ve yet to experience male grumpiness. He has the nicest disposition. He made me get a 50% SD female. She is over 2, she’s probably 6 ft, but not big around. She has a hella feed response, but bc it’s like being stalked by a spaghetti noodle, I’m really not intimidated. After breaking, she’s sweet as can be.
The reason for my post, I saw my little guy’s sister has not yet found a home. Like I mentioned, he’s great. Very sweet. Buuut, dame is over 18ft. Sire was 9ft, I believe. I didn’t know if she’d for sure hit that or how long it would take her.
I appreciate all advice, suggestions, & feedback!
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How you feed plays a huge role in what size you’ll see as well. I tend to feed lightly until I upgrade them to a 4’ enclosure, at which point I put the gas on a little more. They usually don’t make it more than a year in a 4’ before they go to an 8’. My 3.5 year old mainland male was only about 5’ and nice and lean at a year and a half. He’s 11’ and still growing steadily now. My wife is 6’ tall for reference (everyone can spare me the “don’t let it be around your neck” stuff there were 3 adults an arms length away.)
I would encourage you to take a scroll through Bill Bradley’s instagram and look at his retic. He keeps it lean the way they’re supposed to be. They should look like a 12-15’ boa, not a 12-15’ blood python when they’re grown. Most retics you see on social media are obese.
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Are you kidding me Don! I would trade places with that sweet lady in the picture in a skinny minute! I have never ever so much as touched a retic in person much less worn one as a scarf!
Bucket list maybe……and btw that retic is lovely! 
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