My name is James Coppen, I am 29 years old and have been keeping snakes for as long as I can remember. My favourites were always the colubrids and during my teens I had many breeding successes with snakes of the genus: Elaphe, Pituophis, Lampropeltis and Lamprophis. Then I started keeping Reticulated pythons!! In my opinion Retics are the most
amazing snakes on the planet. They are recognized as the
longest snake in the world and are the undisputed “king
of the boids”. They come in a huge array of colour morphs/phases and locales. There really is something for every taste and I still believe the albino retic to be the most beautiful snake of all. They are renowned for their intelligence and there are many reports of them actually recognizing and responding to their keepers! (This highlights the amazing level of interaction the owner can have with them). The notorious
and “aggressive man-eater” reputation they
have been slighted with in the UK is simply not justified.
Virtually all these reports are very dated and are based
on wild caught animals which were understandably very defensive
and afraid. All the captive-bred Retics I have dealt with
have been very even-tempered, intelligent, inquisitive
and fascinating animals. |
That is not to say they are for everyone, the huge adult size, combined with the quantity of food they consume and the sturdy and top quality housing required makes them unsuitable for many. However, they are the ultimate challenge for the experienced boid keeper and are by far and away the most rewarding snakes I have ever worked with. I have put my Reticulated Python collection together over the last few years and all my animals are selected from the best US stock – I firmly believe I have one of the finest and most diverse collection of retic morphs in the UK. My hatchlings are bred for the brightest colours, most placid temperaments and are guaranteed to be of A-1 quality. I am always on-hand to offer advice or just talk Retics and guarantee full after sales service. Enjoy the Site |