Posted by:
lolaophidia
at Tue Mar 8 06:22:29 2005 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by lolaophidia ]
Most average between 3.5-5 feet, though I've heard of a couple close to 6 foot.
They are shy snakes that don't seem to appreciate a lot of handling, prefering to hide most of the time. Of the 5 I've kept, one was pretty defensive and would tail rattle and strike, the others were generally timid. I don't handle them very much because it seems to stress them a bit and can throw the female in my pair off of feeding regularly. Mine eat smaller prey items than similar sized North American rat snakes. They require cool temps (mid 70's) and a humid hide to help them shed easily. Wild caught are very difficult to acclimate. Captive bred animals are much hardier and will feed more readily.
Expect to pay around 1000.00 for a pair of good quality captive bred, though prices have dropped a little since more breeders are working with them. There are some posted in the classifieds, so that will give you a start on determining pricing.
Here are a couple of care sheets I found on google- you may want to search the archives here and in the Asian rat snake sub forum also for posts on them.
www.easternindigo.com/mandarincaresheet.html
www.proexotics.com/care_mandarin.html
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Lora
[ Hide Replies ]
- Mandarin Ratsnake - billanddee, Tue Mar 8 05:35:53 2005
 RE: Mandarin Ratsnake - lolaophidia, Tue Mar 8 06:22:29 2005 
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