Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Has anyone else noticed this!?.........I'll never forget when I got musked by my my Mandarin for the first time!,....it smelled strange, but wasn't that offensive at all to me.

Quite unlike other colubrid musk that is just plain repulsive!. Seems like North American ratsnakes(and some others) have the "title" for the most extreme vial stench!LOL

Anyway,...point being the Mandarin's didn't smell like musk at all to me,....it was a weird "nutty" smell that's hard to describe!LOL.....has anyone else gotten musked by a Mandarin and noticed this too?
Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Doug, I don't have any Mandarins so I don't know how their musk smells. However, I have several NA rats, and have caught almost all of the colubrids native to South Texas, and have to disagree about musk stench level. Our NA lampropeltines (rats, kings, Pituophis) have nothing on water snakes (Nerodia) and indigo snakes (Drymarchon) for powerful smells. If an indigo gets ya good, you are gonna be stinkin' for a while!

-Toby

Yeah!, I agree,...watersnakes and Indigo's stink to "high heaven" for sure!!LOL,.....I got musked by "Nerodia fasciata pictiventris" just the other day. While fishing, I caught four(got musked four times!!).

Anyway, yeah, I've had all those great experiences you've mentioned.........which actually adds to my point, about the mandarin's not being that bad, when compared to other total stinkers!LOL

In four decades of snake experience(and getting musked), I've never smelled anything like the Mandarins, it just wasn't anything near as foul as all the others!LOL
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Ahh, I understand, NA rat snakes in addition to other stinky NA colubrids!LOL Do those Florida waters have the typical cheerful water snake attitude?

Maybe I'll get some Mandarins myself some day (so I can enjoy their fragrance), but I'm going to start with some easier Eurasians first. You don't usually hear of exotic snake musk compared to our common NA snakes, so thanks for the post.

-Toby

I'd probably bite too if some 75ft giant snatched me out of the water!!,....I'm sure I'd musk too, only the musk would be brown!!LOL

Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

but if a giant picked me up, I think I'd be doing more musking than biting!LOL

n/p
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Definitely different for sure and maybe not as bad as our natives. My son comments everytime we handle my mandarin.
Now, ounce for ounce I think the pine woods snake beats them all. It stays with you a long time too.
:Mark
-----
Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

I caught a few Pine Woods snakes(R.f.flavilata) last year, but was real gentle with 'em so they didn't "get" me!LOL

I will certainly take you're word for it though, and keep that in mind!LOL

Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

...I just put a male in with my female (pictured earlier) and it looks good!
:Mark
-----
Surrender Dorothy!

www.crimsonking.funtigo.com

Mark,....Hey!,...that's great!!

That will be cool to see some "little gems" polking their heads out of their eggs!!,......I'm sure you'll try to get some pics of that to share!!
good luck!,........~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I haven't thought about it but now that I am I dont remember ever being musked by one of my mandarins. They just dont seem to even when they are angry.
I have noticed several times though that trans-pecos smell very different than any other species that I keep or have kept when they musk. It is a definate sweet smell. Very weird. Later, Randy W.

n/p
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I always thought that the subocs smelled sweet. I guess their's really doesn't stink!!! Of course maybe it's more a defect in my nose but you've reinforced my opinion.
Regards
John

I don't remember ever having been "musked" by my Mandarins either, and if they were anything like some of the other Asian ratsnakes, I'd remember. There definitely are some Asians that can put a lingering smell on ya'. Even my little Chinese twin-spots have very powerful stuff. I don't remember any N. A. ratsnake musking like that.

When it comes to unique smells, however, there are several snakes that can claim to smell rather nice, instead of being extremely odiferous. The copperheads are said to smell like cucumbers and having seen several in the field I can attest to this. Fox snakes are supposed to have a "foxy" smell. I can attest to this too. Those seen in the wild have a unique smell, not too unpleasant. There are probably others. I'd say a lot of snakes from Asia probably have a unique musk and other wild smells.

Terry

Yeah!, I've heard of the cucumber smell that copperheads musk allegedly smells like,...weird!LOL

And I vaguely recall reading some book many years ago that mentioned the "foxy" smell of "vulpina" as well..pretty strange!

but it only makes sense that everything has it's unique scent, otherwise they would have much more trouble identifying each other!LOL.

best regards, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

NA Rats are bad, and Nerodia are bad, but there are others than can beat them cold.

Copperhead and Prairie Rattlesnake must is downright unpleasant, cucumbers or not!

Indigo musk isn't as bad as some, but man they paint you with a lot of it!

The blood that Longnosed Snakes exude out of their cloacas smells absolutely disgusting.

But, by far the champion snake I have experienced are the Blind Snakes (Leptotyphlops). They can really buckle your knees in a way that few others can. It's simply amazing that a snake that size can make you roll down the car windows!
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Chris, I found a few L. d. rubellum in my yard, a few days ago, and picked one up. It smeared me with whitish cloacal fluid, which was very noxious, but it washed off easily and I didn't notice it lingering like indigo musk. Maybe I didn't let it settle in long enough before washing, to get the full effect! LOL

-Toby

Hmmm, that's interesting!,...I guess those little dudes need all the repulsive stench that they can muster, to fend off would-be predators, as they sure don't have any other defense.

best regards, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I've never even seen a Mandarin in person, let alone been musked by one.

However, as far as NA snakes go, my vet had a baby Sonoran Gopher that had attitude out the wazoo. He was quite generous with the musk and laid a good dose on me. I could still smell the lil stinker 4 hours later!!!

Makes me think of Pepe La Pew.

jpd
-----
I am so not lesdysxic!

0.1 Creamsicle Cornsake "Yolanda"
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake "Steely Dan"
0.1 Desert Kingsnake "FATTY"
0.1 Black Rat "Roberta" RELEASED!!!

Doug,

I noticed this also when I first picked up my mandarins...The first scent that came to mind was grass shavings, you know that smell after mowing the lawn...It also makes me think of some kind of pine or forest smell...I'm not sure exactly what smell it is but it's a hell of a lot better than any other musk I've smelled before!

-----
Snakes to the Max

1.2 Variable Kingsnakes
1.1 Grayband x Ruthveni
0.1 Western Massasauga (WC)
1.1 Jungle Carpet Pythons
1.1 Pastel Red-tail Boas
1.0 Lavender Motley Cornsnake
4.3 Hatchling Variable Kingsnakes
0.2 Hatchling Grayband x Ruthveni Kingsnakes
0.0.2 Baby Western Massasaugas (big surprise!)
1.1 Black Milksnakes
2.4 Honduran Milksnakes
1.3 Cornsnakes

LOL!!ha-ha-ha!!, Finally! someone out of all the people that own them now, that can relate to what I said about their weirdly unique musk scent!!LOL.

I got musked many years ago(about 1989), but I'll never forget the weird "sweet nutty", and maybe kinda' "grassy" smell, as you mentioned.

I also thought it was the most "pleasant"(as far as musk goes)that I ever expeienced from ANY snake I've ever encountered!

I'm glad it wasn't just me thinking it wasn't so bad!LOL

best regards, Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I hear ya doug! I have a male female pair and they definately have a distinct smell to them. I've noticed it even when I'm just handling them whether or not they've recently musked.

-----
Inventory
1.2 Bairds Rat Snake
5.11 Ball Pythons
1.3 Boa Constrictors
1.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boas
0.2 Cal Kings
1.2 Carpet Pythons
26.38.4 Corn Snakes
1.2 Dumerils Boa
1.0 Eastern Fox Snake
1.1 Green Tree Pythons
1.0 Grey Banded Kingsnake
1.1 Hog Island Boa
1.3 Jallisco Milksnake
1.3 Kenyan Sand Boas
1.1 Mandarin Rat Snake
1.3 Mexican Black Kingsnake
0.0.1 Northern Water Snake
1.1 Red Milksnake
1.1 Ruthvens Kingsnake
2.5 San Luis Potosi Kingsnake
1.1 Spotted Pythons
1.2 Taiwan Beauty
5.5 Western Hognose