Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Found him in my shed a month ago. Also found 6 baby mice too, probably the reason the snake was in there. A little nippy at first but hes calmed down since then. I put one of the mice in with him and he ate it, 3 days later I found the mouse. He didnt look like he was totally digested either. I live in Wichita, Ks and I havent ever seen this kind of snake before. Is it a black rat snake?
How do I post pictures?

>>How do I post pictures?

You need to have the photo online somewhere like pbase or photobucket and post the image tag links here (or just put the URL in the Image URL box below the message box when you enter your posts here.
Alternatively, you can upload your photo to the kingsnake.com photo gallery and include it in your post that way (by choosing it from the photos list below the message posting box).
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thanks for the help Chris. Here's the pic I was talking about. He is almost 2' long and I dont know what to feed it. Any help would be appreciated, we plan on keeping him.

>>Thanks for the help Chris. Here's the pic I was talking about. He is almost 2' long and I dont know what to feed it. Any help would be appreciated, we plan on keeping him.
>>
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thanks Chris. What should I be feeding him and how often? I gave him a baby mouse the day I found him, came home from work the next day and found that he ate it. 3 days later, I found the mouse and it looked like he wasnt fully digested. Is this normal?

That looks like a regurgitation. Your little friend probably needs veterinary attention to treat for internal parasites. I caught a black rat at my parents' house 2 years ago that had the same problem. Fed it several times but would not keep its meals down. Treated it with Flagyl if I remember right. After that the snake ate, digested, and grew normally. Released it the following spring.

Steve

There are a few of things that may cause regurgitation beside internal parasites. One is handling the snake after a meal & before it has digested it. Another is temperature. If the snake is not warm enough, or too warm, it often will regurgitate. A third cause is eating a meal that is too large.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

But, being a wild caught snake, the chances for internal parasites are higher. Being a wild caught rat snake, I wouldn't think that room temp in someone's home is likely to cause regurge due to low temps. The handling could be an issue.

Greg does make good points. You may want to check these things first. Find a care sheet for rat snakes (corn snake should work) and check your set up. Give the snake a week, and try a smaller meal. If it regurges again, then consider treatment for parasites.

Steve

I disagree. Well, I think its more likely that the snake is nervous because its in captivity for the first time. I would wait at least a week or two to start feeding it. I've had newly caught snakes take meals quickly but its risky because of how nervous they remain for a while, especially if they are handled or are in an area where they can see people moving about.

Thats entirely possible. However, in the last 3 years, I've had 4 wild caught snakes, 3 rat snakes and 1 bull snake. The only one to regurge was the rat snake mentioned in my first post in this thread. He regurged 3 times before I treated him for internal parasites. He never regurged again.

Steve

>>Thanks for the help Chris. Here's the pic I was talking about. He is almost 2' long and I dont know what to feed it. Any help would be appreciated, we plan on keeping him.
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It looks like an Emory Rat Snake (a.k.a. Great Plains Rat Snake) to me. A little darker saddles than mine have, but the head markings are characteristic of emoryi. Don't young black rats have more solid grayish heads? At any rate, you might want to post this over on the rat snake forum for confirmation.
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1.0 Albino Emory Rat Snake (Shirako)
0.2 Het Albino Emory Rat Snake (Tsugiko & Kazumi)
1.0 Het Albino Ball Python (Kouki)
2.1 Children (Aidan, Ethan & Isabel)

The pattern on the head makes me think corn snake or Emoryi.Jeff