Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, today I was in a pet shop about 50 miles from where I live. So I was just looking around and I see all kinds of corn snakes, boas, and pythons in nice warm cages. Then I came across a Gray Rat about 2 1/2 feet. In a 10 gal with no souce of heat at all, no hides, a very very small amout of aspen as bedding(About a hand full), and a water bowl. I'm thinking this is a wild caught but I'm not sure. It looks very nice. The guy said they've had it about a week. I was planning on going back tomorrow to get it because I didn't have any cash on me today. I want it to be kept properly so it can live a happy life. It's marked $19.99. I know it's still eating on pinkies but my local pet shop where I get mice only sells adults. When I go get the snake I'm going to get about 10 or 15 pinkies to feed it on for a while. I was wondering how long they would live and if it would be ok to put them in a plastic zip-lock air tight bag and thaw him out a couple every week. Don't get me wrong I'm very experienced in snakes but I've never had but a couple that ate pinkies and my pet shop had them back then. Also do gray rats get as big a black rats and yellow rats? I've only had blacks and yellows and they are huge now. Thanks.

That is perfectly fine. I always feed frozen/thawed - as a matter fo fact, everyone I know does it that way. I buy mine in bulk at A reptile show and typically get a 4-8 week supply. They are vacuum packed and store terrifically well.

I advise caution here, based on the conditions you described. If you've already gone ahead and bought the snake, I hope you gave it a thorough inspection before doing so. Make sure it's a healthy snake with good disposition and no obvious health problems. If it seems too thin or too supple, or it has any evidence of disease, parasites, etc., avoid the temptation to "feel sorry" for it or to "rescue" the snake; you may regret it. Verify through the seller whether it's a cb or a wc. If it's the latter, the risk of parasites or disease go up.

They can get up to a size comparable to a Black or Yellow Rat snake. Average adult size is listed as 42-72 inches. As for feeding, a 2.5 foot specimen can handle fuzzies and possibly hoppers. I'm surprised your pet shop only carries adult mice.

Good luck!
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MichaelB

I got the snake. I gave it a very good inspection before I left the store. Very healthy, no parasites, owner said that it was CB and showed me the paper work of when it was ordered, not too thin, hasn't shown and sign of agression but that doesn't bother me anyway. What happened was a guy asked them to order a Gray Rat and he would come pick it up. He left his number but they got no answer in over a week so they put it up for sale. Yea, if I want pinkies my pet shop has to special order them and they have to have a weeks notice.