Posted by:
foxturtle
at Tue Nov 30 01:59:18 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by foxturtle ]
My point was that it is all anecdotal. Guys like Bill Love and Tom Crutchfield will tell you that yellows have always been found side by side with Glades. They are certainly well-known and respected.
As far as Glades Rats being found in present day, the first rat snake I found south of Lake Okeechobee was a perfect Glades Rat. I was surprised because popular literature said they didn't exist anymore. I have herped that area extensively over the last 7 years and have seen hundreds of rat snakes from out there. You've got about a 1 in 10 chance of finding something that looks like a Glades, and occasional one turns up that rivals the best captive specimens. The captive specimens are just selective bred to be awesome. The original description for Everglades Rats was a lot more forgiving than hobbyists are.
A photo of one I collected with Daniel Parker is shown on his website ( the adult sitting on dirt):
http://www.sunshineserpents.com/Rat snakes/Everglades Rat.htm
Here's a photo of 3 rat snakes sporting different looks we found together under the same piece of bark

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