Positive remarks are nice to hear, and it could very easily become easy-going and tame down substantially in time. This happens quite often as a matter of fact. We are only being realistic about this is all. Out of countless ratsnakes I've kept of many different kinds, you never really know how they become unless you give it a whirl and find out.



I have some "greenish" Yellow x Black intergrade ratsnakes that are very well-mannered, and others from this same line that are quite nervous and nippy. The very bottom line is ALL individual snakes have very different personality traits in any given environment and situation.



Cornsnakes are usually pretty easy going too, but I have a W/C female here that is as agressive about biting as a junkyard dog!. By the same token, a couple others captured only feet away are very calm and gentle, and seem like almost all other captive corns.



I have numerous young miksnakes too that are generally flighty , sling musk, and are typically nervous as all HECK that can often bite at that young age, but I also have a few that came right out of the egg that just calmly move around slowly in my hand and even didn't thrash around and crap all over me while biting as I sexed them too.



You just never know until you work with them a while. I really do suspect that your young Black Rat will probably be quite manageable with time, but we are only letting you know that it isn't always this way with Black rats or other individuals of all different types.



Your assessment of Texas Rat attitudes is generally pretty accurate, but some are quite well mannered as well.



After 45 years of owning countless thousands of snakes in my lifetime, I don't think anyone is going to realistically convince me that my wild-caught cornsnake is going to become a great handleable pet snake at this point from what I have observed...



Best of luck with it. And if you see that it doesn't work after a while, simply let it go in a safe spot near where you found it when good weather permits.



A good way to get nervous striking snakes out of a cage to hold them is to fashion a little hook out of a stiff piece of wire or clothes hanger. Then just go in and assertively hook it at mid-body, lift it out, and slowly lower the hooked snake into your other free hand. After doing this make SURE to not put your ffree hand in FRONT of the snake so it can "zero-in" on it as a threatening target, but rather come up slowly from underneath at it's blind side and let it be supported in a sort of "escelator" fashion.They don't nmaturally see this nearly as offensive as a giant "monster hand" swooping down and grabbing them to do harm.



You can also do it this way. Again, just methodically go down without hesitating giving it time to notice you and "zero in" on your hand and simply go in with an open flat palm while in the same motion covering the head and grasping it. This often doesn't give them enough time to prepare to strike if you just do it as soon as the lid is lifted. But you may want to use the hook method over this depending on how comfortable you feel.



Over some time of doing these things it is very possible that the snake will no longer associate you with having to protect itself, and gradually become very used to you.



.............or not!..







~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"





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