Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Those of you that keep different types of snakes have probably noticed that each subspecies smells different when nervous. My Thayeri kings smell different than my California kings. My Rhino rat snake smells a bit like English Ivy when I first pick him up. My Bairdi just plain stinks when nervous, but settles down quickly. My newest rat snake, a Kunashir Island, smells just a little like chocolate when I first pick him up! Gotta love that!
Any similar stories?
Vicky

Baird's musk is burning metal scented
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V.P.
Austin Herp. Soc.

TX rat snake musk is eau de corpse (seven days in a hot dumpster)
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V.P.
Austin Herp. Soc.

agreed.

atleasts ratsnakes are nothing compared to watersnakes
thank god
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1.0 Amelanistic greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Greatplains ratsnake
0.1 Amelanistic Cornsnake
0.1 Virginia cornsnake
1.1 Everglades Ratsnake
0.1 Greenish ratsnake
1.1 Texas Ratsnake
0.1 Black ratsnake
1.1 Speckled kingsnake
1.0 abberant northwestern garter
0.1 Oregon Red sided gartersnake
1.0 Leopard Gecko
1.0 green iguana
and a bangin @ss drumset

Yeah, that's it! I couldn't figure out how to describe it.
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2.4 Thayeri (and a gorgeous '07 female on the way)
0.3 California kings
1.0 Sinaloan
1.1 Honduran
0.1 Black Milk
0.1 Rosy Boa
1.0 Rhino Rat
1.0 Kunashir Island Rat (and a lovely '06 female on the way)
0.1 Bairdi
0.1 Ruthvens? mix....just a beautiful pet
4.0 cats
1.0 dweeb dog

I totally agree. Smell an upset trans-pecos some time. They smell sweet, literally. Randy W.

Oh and if you scare a elaphe randallas whittingtonas bad enough it smells like crap. No kidding. Randy W.

like a ribbon snake, sweet smelling musk, not great but definitely better than indigo and water snake!
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Todd Hughes

yeah but how do they TASTE?

Well, they taste like chicken, silly! Everybody knows that! lol
Vicky

Yea, why back in the seventies, I found the very first Black Thayeri. Funny part was, I(no one) had any idea they exsisted. I found it and yelled to my friend Ted. Hey I found some blacksnake. He asked what kind. I said I don't know, but get your behind end over here and help me. Its head was wedged under a rock and it was in shed.

He lifted the rock and then again asked, what is it? I placed it out in the open and it did not jet away, so it wasn't a black racer(occurs nearby) I picked it up and smelled it, I said, it smells like a kingsnake. But it could still be a splendida(which occur in the exact same place) Then I said, it smells like a thayeri(sweet) and flattens its head like a thayeri. It was an adult female which later produced many many black babies. Cheers

Lucky you! A black Thayeri! I wouldn't mind having one of those in my collection. That's cool that the smell helped you identify it.
Vicky

I've noticed that a preturbed copperhead has a smell like cucumber and something else I cant pinpoint.

At the time of this story, I had 3 copperheads in captivity.

My wife is addicted to those damn Glades smelly things you plug into the wall sockets. Well, they came out with a new flavor which was Cucumber Vanilla and she bought one, and put it in our bedroom.

I came home from work one day, walked into the bedrooom and stopped dead cold in my tracks and my eyes were going a million miles an hour searching the floor for the pissed off copperhead in the bedroom. My wife was in the room ironing clothes or something and I told her to freeze, and then asked her if she smelled that smell, and when she explained it was the room freshener thingy I couldnt help but chuckle a little, and then was amazed at how similar it was to copperhead musk. I told her, for my sake and sanity, to NEVER buy that flavor ever again heheee!

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Tom

"The more people I meet, the more I like my snakes"