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Re: Wanting a Burm!!!
I recently acquired a rescue albino Burmese. I too, have wanted one for years but wanted to gain experience with smaller animals first. I have had Silas for a bit over 3 weeks now, and he's a great snake. He's measuring in at 8 feet 9 inches and 19.8 pounds. Silas was being neglected because the previous owners didn't understand the proper care of large constrictors, and he was also bred too young so he may not reach his full size potential.
I have cared for large retics for a friend, however, and that was an experience! I have a thread here on my issues with Big Boy and his female friend. Big Boy was next to impossible to keep in a cage- he was over 100 pounds and very strong. He busted out of the cage he came in twice, despite heavy locks. When I moved him to a cage with drop-down doors instead of sliding ones, he did not escape again, because there was nothing for him to brace against to move the doors. Retics are also generally more ornery than Burms, and can cause quite a bit of damage on an "off day". A Burmese is a good choice for getting into the giants, because they are generally very docile, and a male will average out to 11-13 feet, smaller than a retic. Some male Burms have been known to get over 16 feet long, so don't count on it staying smaller than a female, but the average length of a male Burmese in captivity has been said to be 11-12 feet. Even at that size, it will be taking several jumbo rats in a sitting, or a rabbit. At his current size, Silas ate 3 large rats for me. And he can be difficult to move around and control even at this size. He is at the maximum size I can handle him alone. As he grows, he will put on weight rapidly and require 2 people to move him out of his cage for exercise and soaks.
Despite their mass, the giants still require exercise and interaction, or they will become obese and ornery. A far too often fate for giant pythons is obesity and related health problems - an overweight snake is at risk of respiratory issues, liver failure and heart disease. Their lifespan is reduced as well. So you need to make sure you have room to house a snake that can potentially hit 16 feet- at that point, you need a cage that is at least 8 feet long x 3 feet wide, and preferably larger. Your food bills will also rise significantly- a single frozen rabbit is $8-15. And a 16 foot snake will eat 2-4 of those per month. You will also need to make sure you can handle cleaning up dog-sized poops and copious amounts of urates. From my experience, the larger snakes require a long soak and thorough cage scrubbing every single time they go, because they just soak their bedding and run through it and make an absolute stinky mess.
However, if you are sure you have the time, money and space, a Burmese python can be a very rewarding and impressive pet.
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Dr. Viper
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