Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just thought I'd share a pic I took tonight of the little female.

enjoy!

~Doug

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

Simply beautiful... looks like she is daydreaming.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

Thanks alot for the nice comment Aubrey!

BTW,...she IS day dreaming..........about if I get much closer, she'll zap the crap out of 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!"

Is that a texas or a black rat? How do you tell them apart? Does one tame down better than the other?

Sorry for all the questions. I have only had corn snakes, (and a couple of boas many, many years ago). I have heard some of the rat snakes can be nasty, but don't know if that is true or not.

Thanks.

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Kent

>>Is that a texas or a black rat? How do you tell them apart? Does one tame down better than the other?
>>
>>Sorry for all the questions. I have only had corn snakes, (and a couple of boas many, many years ago). I have heard some of the rat snakes can be nasty, but don't know if that is true or not.
>>
>>Thanks.
>>
>>
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>>Kent

Kent,......

These are Texas Ratsnakes(allegedly)that I acquired recently in August '07. The reason I say this is because there isn't much of a way to tell the two apart at all without a pattern. The two subspecies are virtually identicle meristically(scalation) to on another. I actually believe there is some geneflow from obsoleta(Black Rat) in a substancial percentage of them in the market, and vice-versa as well.

Bothe ssp. can many times be a bit nippy, as you probably already know, but as a very generalized rule, I'd have to say the Texas Rats are the "zappier" of the two, although there are certainly exceptions to this "loose" rule. Mine are both as mean as the devil himself!..LOL ...........so YES!, they both are really not known for their overly placid personalities, but like I said, there are many sweet individuals, as well as nasty out there, just as in most other types.

These snakes are rather widely inbred as a general rule in the hobby, and thus, some other less desirable traits have went along with the leucistic mutation. A fair percentage of these in the hobby can express what is known as a "bug-eyed" trait. When you see these animals, you will certainly know the difference between the two. This "bug-eyed" trait can also come in varying degrees from light, moderate and severe.

hope that helped some!

~Doug

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

Thanks, that was very helpful. Beautiful yellow rat, by the way.
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Kent