I agree with the forum members that said that mandarin ratsnakes will not become the next 'hot' species of snake in the hobby. While these snakes are beautiful and are being bred in larger numbers these days (especially in Europe, where I'm from), they don't make very good pets. Mandarins don't like to be handled (they stress very easily), they're flighty and most important of all: they like to hide during most of the day, only coming out of their hides at night and at dawn. So you will hardly ever see the snake. And despite the popular story that CBB hatchlings are easy to care for, it's not uncommon that they have to be forcefed during their first year of life.

In the group of ratsnakes the bamboo ratsnakes (Oreocryptophis porphyraceus ssp.)will stay popular for the coming years. The prices for Thai bamboo ratsnakes have come down considerably, so that these stunning snakes have become more affordable. And this year broad-banded bamboo ratsnakes have become available; they're the newest and 'hottest' and most expensive ratsnake at the moment. In the coming years other subspecies will also make their way on to the market. Bamboo ratsnakes are, however, similar in respect to behaviour to mandarin ratsnakes (they're spunky little snakes), so I don't think that they will make an ideal pet also.

I would like to see that CBB gartersnakes would become more popular than they are now. They're being seen as 'junk snakes' and this image is in my opinion very unfair, to say the least. Gartersnakes are relatively small, active and good-tempered snakes that will often feed on a diet of mice without much trouble. There are a few species and subspecies (Thamnophis cyrtopsis ocellatus, T. sirtalis concinnus and T. s. infernalis come to mind) that are stunningly beautiful and deserve more recognition than they're receiving now.

Quite frankly I'm baffled by the whole ball python story. First of all, how is it possible that a species that has been frequently imported since the '70's (?) has yielded so many different mutations (far more than in cornsnakes, wich have been extensively bred for at least 20 years (?) now) in the last 15 years? And second of all, why are people willing to pay up to $ 100,000.00 for a single snake? To be honest, I find many of the designer morphs not as attractive as a good looking (above average) normal ball python. But that's just me. Frankly, I cannot imagine that there will ever come a different species of snake that will yield so many different mutations while demanding such ridiculously high prices...

Just my two cents,

Bert Grit
The Netherlands

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