Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there, just aquired a snake from a friend.
Was told it was a rat snake, more specifically the 4 stripe elaphe quatuorlineata.

I know nothing about this snake, only ever owned a royal ball python myself!

So basically i require a little bit of help.

Firstly i have a couple questions;

1. How often does it require feeding (its at least 3 1/2ft long - age is unknown)

2. What sort of temperature and environment does it like.
Shall i use lights and/or a heat mat?

Also any other advice would be very much appreciated.

Thank you for taking to the time to read and thank you in advance for any replies!

Use a heat mat for sure, but according to some quick googling these snakes spend a lot of time in the trees so a mild basking light might and something to climb is a good idea. Just make sure to provide a temperature gradient so the snake can control its own body heat.

They're european so they no doubt prefer a bit cooler temperatures, probably 75-85 F.

I'd start feeding once a week. If he seems hungry you can do it a little more frequently, or if he's leaving food sometimes slow it down to every 9-10 days. At 3.5 feet he's still young, he should get up to 5-6 feet.

This is a really cool snake, congrats

disclaimer: i don't have any experience with 4 lined snakes personally, this is just from looking stuff up on google right now

Most European species do best at a background ambient temp in the mid 70's,....low to mid eighties should ONLY be used at one far end of the enclosure. I like to go with underneath heat sources, as heat bulbs from above can tend to dry the air in the enclosure a little too much and sometimes leads to shedding problems.

Whatever the case, use an ACCURATE thermometer placed down on the surface were the snake "actually" is,....guessing at temps doesn't cut it so to speak.

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

Thank you for the repsponses!

I gave the snake its first meal since i have had it (i got it this morning)

I just gave it a pinky and it took it with no problems at all, swallowed it very fast!

I will increase the size of feed in a couple days as the pinky was a little small.

The snake its self is currently in a glass tank just a little short of its actual length with a heat mat one end and branches/log that it seems to love to climb followed by a fair sized bowl of water.

I've just recently moved in to this home, i plan to build a home for the snake in the spare room/office later this week to give it plenty of room to explore.

I also plan to get it a partner later in the year when i learn a great deal more about this specific snake.

Is there any way to tell what sex the snake i have is?
Are they easy to pair up or are they likely to fight?

Again i thank you in advance for anymore replies!
With little knowledge of this snake i have alot to learn so expect many more rookie questions to come!

Hi
I will try to tell my experince with that species. It likes it cooler than usual ratsnakes. I calculate in Celcius not Fahrenheit and the best temperature in the terrarium is about 23-25*C Use a heating spot high up in the terrarium, and you will find the snake there in stead of in a hiding place. I uses old birdnests on branches under a spotlight. They like to stay there and owerlook the surroundings. They really like birds so my main food is 4 days old chickens (no yolk sack) Rats are preferred to mice, and they also really like Natalmice. If the temperature is high, they often will refuse to eat for months. Feed them a lot in the Spring and Autum, in case they would refuse to eat in the Summer.
They are very easy to keep but hard to breed.

Best of luck with you animal
Søe

Yes, it's very easy to tell the difference between the sexes in snakes. Males tails are thicker just after the vent(cloaca) than a female's, and the males is also longer because it stores the dual sex organs known as "hemipenes"(two penis')on each side of the tail. In adult male snakes, they can often have a slight bulge just past the vent as well.

A female's tail tapers more abruptly past the vent, and is shorter in comparison to a male's tail.

To give you a better visual idea of what to look for, I've included a link to a well-known cornsnake breeder that has some video's on how to sex snakes. This should make it easy to understand.

A young hatchling snake can be sexed by what is known as "popping". When this method is performed correctly, if it's a male snake, you will see the two little hemipenes pop out of the cloaca vent,....on the other hand, if nothing comes out, and all you see are two "dots" on each side, these are the pheromone "scent" glands of a hatchling female.

Anyway, here is the link so you can actually see for yourself how it is done. Keep in mind, your adult snake will have to be "probed" instead of being "popped" like a hatchling would be to know what sex it is.

Here's the link........
Sexing snakes

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