I recently bought a hatchling 'missing red' hatchling ratsnake. The seller advertised them as 'ratsnakes' with no further specification as to what kind.
I actually assumed they were red ratsnakes (elaphe guttata guttata), the patterns on the snake are an exact match for my regular red ratsnake, except ofcourse in lovely shades of grey and black.
Funny thing is, I saw this hatchlings parents yesterday and they weren't red. The parents were patterned exactly like a red ratsnake but both of them were a blonde sandy color with darker brownish saddles.
I know enough to care properly for my ratsnakes but I've never really looked into the work that's being done with breeding new colorations and such. Anyway I'm wondering if I inadvertently bought something other than elaphe guttata guttata or if the parents are simply 'red ratsnakes'with a very interesting coloration. (I'm aware there's quite a few different species of ratsnakes but I can't think of any that are a blonde sandy yellow with the exact same patterns as a red ratsnake)
On a sidenote I was wondering about the possibility of keeping this snake in a shared tank with another ratsnake. I've already quarantined it for three weeks and it still looks healthy, shiny and it's eating well.
I was hoping to eventually house it together with a red ratsnake in a display tank to show of the contrast between their colorations. I know ratsnakes can peacefully coexist in a big enough tank, I was wondering if this was also true for snakes that haven't grown up together. (I'd still feed them seperately)
