Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was out collecting branches for my skinks for climbing, and on the ground there was a large branch. The bark was loose and I could see a small snake underneath some of the bark. Since it was in the 60s the little guy was pretty sluggish.

he's 15 inches long and when I found him I was 99% sure it was a baby black rat. Looked it up and confirmed it. I guess these guys can tame down with a bit of handling.

Sure,...they can be very tame with some gentle handling, especially when acquired when very young. Some of it's "tame" behavior right now could very well be due to the cold temp. It could change very drastically when it warms up too though..LOL! I have experienced this MANY times..hahaha!

One minute the cool snake is just sitting there in your hand, and a few minutes later after it "thaws-out" some.....BAM!! Jeckel & Hyde instantly appears.

Certainly it can also be a very placid, easy-going individual too, and that is great to have from the very beginning. It's very interesting to me to see all the individual personalities that snakes can have. I have over 150 snakes right now, and I am very much in "tune" to all their individual behavior. This is a great part of what makes herpetoculture so interesting to me, aside from all the cool colors and patterns I have produced.

BTW,...great find!

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

lol....I purchased a 3 foot male macklot's python in the winter time at a reptile show...I was handling him and he was "baby tame"...when he got heated up " at home" I reached in and he grabbed and started constricting my hand and I hade a tough time getting him off my hand...his name became "The Terminator" and he still hasn't changed over the many months I have had him...he grabs and constricts and "try's to kill me" every time. He eats his food in the same fashion....I can't tell if he is defending himself or simply considers me a food source...I love him though even though he wants to kill me lol.....also had an adult wild caught black racer...tamed him down and all...one year later I brought him outside into natural sunlight and well he suddenly remembered his wild caught nature and latched on to my chin...I have seen sunlight have this same effect on rat snakes as well that here wild caught adults and tamed down as well.

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Thanks,

Frank Roberts

Man,..that's too funny!, because I can relate to every single word you just mentioned. Sunlight, and being on the natural ground can cause an INSTANT change in a captive snakes behavior for sure. I have seen this happen MANY times before.

One second, you think it's all good, and the next, they're off to the races!..LOL!

Oh!, about the Macklots too!, I had some many years ago, and one large seven and a half foot female in particular that I had was really placid .......ONCE she was pulled out of the cage with a long hook. Otherwise, she would go BONKERS and try to eat ANYTHING that came near her enclosure, and I mean ANYTHING!!! water bucket, chair, 200 pound man, it didn't matter.

One time she missed a huge rat I was offering her, and she grabbed my entire hand instead, she was all wrapped around my entire arm trying to kill and consume me. Every time I went to un-coil her, when I got towards her head, the pain was too great with her mouth all contorted sideways, and all her teeth must have been digging right into the nerves on top of my hand,...it was freakin' EXCRUCIATING PAIN!!, so I had to let her go and start all over again after she re-constricted my whole arm and hand once again. This went on for several times until finally I got her off of me. I was a bloody mess at the end of all that.

So a long while after that, I eventually sold her to a good friend of mine. I strongly warned him about the "do's, and don't's" of owning her, and told him he MUST follow these certain steps if he is to own her without incident.

Well, not long after that, I get a call from him, and the first thing he says is...@#$%^&$@%&.python!!. I then knew EXACTLY what happened!..LOL!. He went on to tell me that she tried to eat him as well!..hahaha!

Man, So like I said, I can certainly relate to what you said, it's funny, once she was out of her enclosure, and knew she was being held, or even outside for a cruise on the lawn, she was puppy dog tame, and very easy going, but before she was OUT of her cage.......LOOK OUT!...that girl was a true absolute feeding machine MONSTER!!, she was like a HUGE Florida kingsnake..LOL!

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

Funny stuff! Yes he does try to strike a little and vibrate his tail but once i get him out he's fine. he'll just crawl around. He (or she) will try to lauch off my hand and just drop to the floor. if I put my hand up high, he or she knows and just sits there.. funny...

I'll try to get a pic on here