Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought a yellow rat snake from a local pet shop here a few days ago- shes in great health, really friendly and active, but I noticed that when I first pick her up out of her cage she has a real strong odor..it almost smells metallic , but it fades after a while...

Tonight I noticed when I first picked her out of the cage her vent was open, as if she had been musking, but there was no musk, just that odor...

has anyone ever experienced this, or know what it is?

(btw-she will be going to the vet in a week, just to make sure everything is OK)

The odor that you smell from her when you first get her out of the cage is musk,.....she's just not giving you "both barrels" and is just nervous enough to gape open her cloaca(vent) and give you just enough to smell it. This is very typical of Yellows
when they are a tad nervous.

If she really let you have it, say if you just caught her in the wild, the stench from her musking would be unbearable!LOL
trust me!LOL

best regards, ~Doug

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

Thanks for the quick reply!

I figured thats what it was, I just wanted to make sure it wasn't in my imagination...I have a sick bullsnake that I've been working with for months and every little thing that happens with any of my other snakes have been setting me off into fits of ''is something wrong???'' ''is that normal???''

she's fine once she's been handled a few minutes, I guess I'll just have to work on taking her out several times a day so she wont be nervous about being picked up - she's not really too used to attention, she was basically cage bound at this pet store for months-I had to take pity on her!

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

I wouldn't say "unbearable"...... I think that a N.A. rats musk smells more like burnt rubber or oysters. That is not nearly as bad as some of the garters, ribbons, and water snakes!
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-David Harrison-
.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1. Striped Anery Corn "V" or "5".....Has two names
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
.1 Ball Python "Rocky Ballboa" (Didn't name her!)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko "The Crested Gecko"

"Have you ever tried simply turning off the T.V., sitting down with your kids... and hitting them?"

Man!,....if I ever smelled a stench comming from an oyster I was about to eat that smelled like ratsnake musk, I'd be "hurling" just like in the movie "EXORCIST"!LOL!!

Seriously though, the other snakes you mentioned are extremely foul smelling for sure!!...I agree!, because I've been "hit" by all those as well, and I don't remember enjoying it much!!LOL

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

BURNT RUBBER!!! thank you!! I couldn't find the right example to describe the odor, it's like burnt rubber and rusty metal.

...my wife refers to snake musk as "metallic tuna".

And if you think Garters and Ratsnakes are bad, try getting musked by a Blacktail Cribo. Good lord!
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Diego

I think Mandarins have the strongest, longest lasting musk of any species I've worked with, even the hatchlings. A very unique odor. Has anyone else noticed this?

Jeff

Jeff, I have a pair of Sichuan adults. I don't remember ever getting musked by them. My pair are rather timid. I'm sure it's very earthy though.

My biggest musker, actually, is my smallest ratsnake species. It's the Chinese twin-spotted ratsnake, Elaphe bimaculata. These guys think I'm the dumping grounds, or whatever. They nail me almost everytime I try handling one of them, even the little ones occasionally, and they pack a big punch (chemically) for such a small snake. Here's one of the ones I hatched this summer...

- Terry

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Ratsnake Foundation

That's a nice baby bimac, Terry! I actually kinda like the smell of bimac musk (weird, I know). Makes me think of strong coffee! LOL However, I agree that it is probably the strongest rat snake musk that I have experienced also.

-Toby

Funny you should mention that!!

As a matter of fact, I posted a number of months ago on this!LOL

To me,....Mandarin musk didn't seem nearly as offensive smelling as many other species. It was a VERY unique odor, and to me it sort of had a "nutty", "fresh grass clipping" sort of smell that's kind'a hard to describe!LOL.

Although the snake I got musked from might have only gave me a small amount of what he had, I'm not real sure, and if he REALLY let me have it, I might NOT have found it so unpleasant!

This was MANY years ago, and here's a pic of a W/C that had been in captivity with a friend of mine, and later me, for many years.

This was in the late 80's and well before they were bred in captivity. As you might know, most imported specimens would soon die in captivity no matter how advanced the keeper was due to their extremely high stress from being taken from the wild, in addition to being prone to high parasite levels as well.

~Doug

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

Not unbearable at all. In fact, some women wear this (unknown to me) perfume that causes an immediate gag response in me. North American rat snakes have a scent that stinks, but doesn't cause me to gag and want to hurl like this stuff.
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Gregg
The Corn Snake Pit

I scooped up a red bellied water snake once....

once....

I wont ever do it again. EVER.
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Tom

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

tip #1- don't work with snakes that are likely to musk you, then go stand in line for lunch at Subway. the other customers don't seem to appreciate it.

tip #2- don't work with musky snakes right before an important date. a quick hand/arm wash is NOT going to get rid of the odor. it might get rid of the date though...
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Man, a whole thread on snake farts... What's it all coming to?? LOL!!