Posted by:
Ratsnake Haven
at Sun Jan 23 08:16:17 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Ratsnake Haven ]
Gus, welcome to the forum, and thanks for the very informative post.
>>As far as I know, I am the only person to bring ratsnakes from Brazos island to the hobby. The habitat there is nothing as pictured in the above post.. it is a desolate barrier island, sand, sea-oats and annual flowering plants.. not a single tree of any type is to be found. The dunes build until a storm tears them down and it begins again.. Ratsnakes depend upon ground-nesting birds, lizards and even invertebrates.
>>.
As far as I know you are the only person to have introduced BI rats into the hobby. All the stock I know of have come from your original specimens, about five I think.
I posted the habitat pic because we have dunes along L. Michigan. I have never been to Brazos Island and was trying to show that it was different. I wasn't sure if it had any trees or not, so your post clarifies that. Habitat is so important in cases like this.
We have dunes too, in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park, Lake Michigan...
Our dunes have jack pine trees creeping in, however. They can survive in sand and hot conditions...
Water can collect in low spots and provide habitat and drinking water for various hardy herps. Does Brazos Island have low spots with water?
When a tree dies and falls over it provides some cover for snakes, turtles, frogs, and toads. Does Brazos Island have any wood or anything for cover? Notice also the plant growing in the picture...
This is the hoary poupon, a native wildflower that grows in the dunes ecosystem, but not in most other ecosystems around the state...
Gus, thanks for the interesting post and pics. It helps clarify what I was trying to say. Hope you stick around and post some more. BTW, if we come down to Cameron Co, we'd be glad to hook up with you, if you were interested. I'll stay in touch.
Terry
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Ratsnake Haven: Calico and hypo Chinese beauty snakes, Mandarin ratsnakes, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes, South Korean Dione's ratsnake, leopard snakes, Great Plains ratsnakes, and corn snakes 
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Great post....more pics.... - Ratsnake Haven, Sun Jan 23 08:16:17 2005