I’m looking to buy my first retic. It will be a pet only, zero interest in breeding.
My main goal is to get one that has a calm demeanor. Size and color are less important.
Is it true that tigers and super tigers are less defensive animals? And are super tigers even more calm than tigers?
Thanks
One of the most anxious Retics I have ever met was a tiger. Like, to the point of striking at himself and causing injuries. I can’t really say much as far as other morphs. I think it all comes down to the individual snake.
Have you had experience with them before deciding on owning one? Or any other large snakes?
Also remember that this is an animal that can be difficult to handle alone. I’ve seen a lot of owners who will still refuse to do maintenance and such when alone because there can always be a risk of injury with them.
Mine decided she was done when she saw me use a paper towel in her enclosure. 
Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, I have 3 adult yellow anacondas. 2 are extremely tame. The other 1 not as much lol. No experience with retics or large pythons.
I’d just like to avoid getting a retic with a naturally nervous and defensive personality if possible. I understand the strong feeding response of retics is unavoidable and not something I’m overly concerned about.
Hey at least you have the anaconda experience! I’ve seen people try to jump in after just owning a ball python or cornsnake. The condas at least give you some of the massive snake experience along with some of the sass.
Food motivation is definitely the only downside I’ve had with my male retic. He’s been pretty sweet. I haven’t even had them a year yet so hopefully we stay on track and the female eventually trusts me again after the paper towel incident.
Honestly I think the younger you get them and work with them you should be able to get around any really tough issues … I just went with an older pair because I can’t handle a mainland and wanted to get a pretty established SD so I knew what size I’d be working with.
Yeah I’m probably going to go with some percentage of SD. Maybe 25-50%. Mostly because caging becomes an issue with the monsters. I don’t believe in stuffing a 18’ snake in a 8’ cage.
How big are yours and what percentage SD?
I know NOTHING about retics, but you might be able to reach out to breeders and take a look at the calmest babies bred from the calmest adults. This won’t 100% ensure a calm retic, but a well socialized baby is always a good start, and in mammals at least level is somewhat genetic, so starting with calm parents can only be a plus!
Might also be good to pick from an expo, since you can see the animal in person, and in a time of high stress.
(If this is wrong, please someone with retic and/or expo experience correct me)
They’re 62.5% kalatoa. Hatched in 2016.
They’re both over 7’. Female is slightly closer to 8’.
I lucked out and they really are the perfect size for me and any extra size they put on now probably won’t be too much of a growth spurt.
The downside is even with the %, you can still end up with a big snake. Polymorphic traits don’t inherit the same was a recessive or dominant gene does. Going pure blood dwarf or Super dwarf is going to be the most surefire way to stay smaller. Otherwise ask for the sizes on the parents. There’s better chances of the hatchlings being small if both parents are on the smaller side as well.
I think @cmills suggestion of talking to breeders about temperaments of parents and individual babies is a great one. I don’t have any experience with retics, but when I got my boa, I wanted a bomb-proof snake I could use as an educational animal, so temperament was very important to me. I found a breeder with some boas I liked at an expo, told him what I was looking for, and asked about the temperaments of the boas I liked. He helped me pick out a beautiful snake who has turned out to be everything I hoped she would be.
So yeah, a good breeder is a great resource. They know the species and they know their animals, so they’ll hopefully be able to link you up with a snake that’s a good fit for you.
Thanks! I’ll do that
The tiger retic is my favorite retic morph.
My first tiger was aggressive at first. But she was abandoned in a house on the south side of Chicago. Took some work to make her tame. But after that, she was one of my tamest snakes I have owned.
My purple phase albino retics have also been very tame.
All gorgeous animals Tom!! 
Update! Got my retic! Nothing particularly special genetically but still an incredible animal. Wild type female 25% kalatoa 12.5% jamp.
She is super calm and the high intelligence level retics are known for is definitely there. I can easily get her out without a hook. After a bit of exploring she will coil up in my hand and sit there for as long as I let her.
Thanks for y’all’s advice!
She’s beautiful, congratulations!!!
Oh man! My dream snake! Congratulations! 
Her behavior as it relates to getting her out is going to change as she grows. Their appetite starts to get serious around 2 years old.
Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to start using a hook from now on then. Just to get in the habit.
All my retics have had a very strong feedings response. I always use a hook when getting them out. If your married they are like your wife they’re nice, you can hold them but they will bite. 
