Posted by:
Terry Cox
at Thu Jan 29 19:57:46 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Terry Cox ]
She has the colors...black, brown, red, orange, yellow, green, gray, and others. She has the shape...long body, long tail, long head, higher than wide body, stong ventral keeling. She has the scalation...large number of dorsals, large number of ventrals and subcaudals, large number of labials. She has the temperament...hisses, gets puffed up with air, rattles the tail, emits copious amounts of ratsnake musk, bites often. She can be a pain, but a gorgeous animal to work with. They often get over seven feet in length. Not for people who like small snakes. They are strong constrictors, witnessed by constriction of your arm cutting off the blood. They have some of the racer characteristics too, sometimes being stiff bodied and ready for flight. But she is a typical ratsnake in normal behavior being well adapted for semi-arboreal life and also quite fossorial at times. Red-headed ratsnakes are usually quiet and retiring, but they are real generalists overall. Isn't this what we think of as a typical ratsnake? To me moellendorffi is the mother of all ratsnakes 
Unfortunately, this is the last of our Chinese red-headed ratsnakes. She's been with us six and a half years, but we are one of those that likes small snakes. To save room and time, we've decided to stop working with red-headed ratsnakes. I just couldn't part with "Melany" though. She's kind of a runt at five feet, doesn't take up too much room by herself, and doesn't eat too much. They don't make very good pets, but there's just something about this snake that I love, haha.
TC
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Ratsnake Haven: Elaphe dione, bimaculata, mandarina, conspicillata, porphyracea coxi, t. taeniura, situla, emoryi; Lampropeltis zonata, and mexicana. 
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 Orthriophis (Elaphe) moellendorffi -- classic ratsnake (lg. pic) - Terry Cox, Thu Jan 29 19:57:46 2004
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