Coelognathus radiatus is not as easy as, say, a Cornsnake or a Ratsnake. These snakes can be very aggressive and certainly are not everyone's cup of tea. Most of all, Coelognathus spp. are racers, not ratsnakes at all, but closely related to Zaocys and Ptyas spp.



When you read herpetocultural literature you may get the impression that ratsnakes generally are an easy to keep group of colubrids. The problem is that what we call 'ratsnakes' does not exactly make a good group of closely related snakes (as in: monophyletic taxon). Consequently, while some ratsnake species may be very easy to keep, others can be very difficult.



Here's a list of recommendable asian species:



1. Elaphe dione

2. Elaphe schrencki

3. Elaphe anomala

4. Orthriophis taeniurus

5. Rhinechis scalaris



Not quite as easy, but still highly recommended:



6. Elaphe climacophora

7. Elaphe quatuorlineata

8. Elaphe sauromates

9. Zamenis persicus

10. Zamenis longissimus



Stay away from Oreophis spp., Euprepiophis spp., Gonyosoma spp. and Orthriophis moelendorfi.



Regards, Herman.

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