Posted by:
LdyPayne
at Thu Mar 16 01:13:11 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by LdyPayne ]
I had not realized there was heavy debate on the actual existance of leucistic black rat snakes etc. This is my first and only rat snake (aside from corn snakes which are also known as red rat snakes). What I have is either one or the other, I don't have both (see pic a few posts down under my PH nic...) It was giving to me by a friend for free, as his career will be forcing him to be away for several months and possibly a year abscence not long after his return.
Anyway, I just can't remember if he said it was a Texan rat snake, or black rat snake, only thing i knew for sure, is it is leucistic. Thing is, I recently found out (at my local reptile association meeting) black rat snakes are local and protected, so having one in my possession could mean a fine etc... As my friend isn't currently available to confirm which rat species it actually is, was hoping there was a fairly easy way to identify it, besides normal coloration (as it doesn't have normal coloration LOL). I had hoped a scale count would be possible to tell the difference..but from reading the responses to my post, scale count cannot be used. If there really isn't any way to determine visually between the two species and I really don't feel my friend is an expert, he probably will be going by what the breeder/petstore (not sure where he bought this snake) told him. The fact leucistic black rats are not known to really exist or tend to have a much higher price tag or just not common, I am under the opinion, a leucistic texas rat is most likely what I now have. THis works good for me as Texan Rat snakes are not native to the area i live, thus are not protected or prohibited in any way, shape or form.
Thanks for all your feedback. I plan to still see if I can find a local expert on rat snake identification and confirm beyond a doubt just what kind of rat snake I have, to be on the safe side. I have no problems getting a permit to own this snake, as it is very obviously not wild caught nor capable of living in the wild at all.
Since it has been mentioned that this particular topic has been discussed in this forum in the past, I will see if I can find some of those posts, to get a better understanding of the issues.
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RE: Texas Rat vs Black Rat Snake - LdyPayne, Thu Mar 16 01:13:11 2006