Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,
I am new to this forum, and have a few questions. I just acquired a Leucistic Texas Rat to add to my collection of corns, and 1 BP. Could anyone offer any suggestions of a good care sheet on these beautiful snakes.

He is a hatchling around 5-6 weeks old, very nippy. As soon as you walk over to his "house", he rattles his tail. He doesn't exactly strike to bite, he comes at you with mouth wide open, like he is just trying to scare. He only connected once or twice. I am not concerned about these actions now, as he is to small to do any real damage. I was told that they may continue to act this way until they reach around 2 feet or so. Then I have read that they are just an agressive snake, and will always be bitey. Could someone here that has expereience with these snakes give me some ideas on what to expect with him. Will regular handling calm him down? Is the husbandry basically the same as the corn, or do they need anything different? How big do they get? As a hatchling he seems to be alot bigger than the corn hatchlings. Do they get alot bigger than the corns? Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

I got him because I have always admired the beauty of them at shows and from pics on the internet. There is just something about that all white snake that really attracts attention.

Well, thanks in advance for any help. You will probably be seeing me around this forum now.

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SpardaWolf
Corn Snake Addict
"Always Learning"

Your new leucistic TX ratsnake will possibly stay nervous, but should calm down some with regular handling. Texas ratsnakes are known for their irritability. The snake should become even whiter as it ages.
The care is similar to most North American ratsnakes' care, and it should be fine if you keep it like your cornsnakes.
The linheimeri grow a bit larger, on average, than corns do, and it would not be at all surprising to see it reach over 5'.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

I once was lucky enough back in 81 to see a giant Texas that was around 7 feet! That is just shy of the record (according to Conant). It was at the old San Antonio Snake Farm....Impressive!
Frank

That's exactly how mine was when I got her a year ago. She also was a hatchling. Now she's just as easy to handle as my corns and other ratsnakes. She's the only one of my snakes that has really tagged me so far, but of course she was so small that she barely drew a couple drops of blood. She calmed down with regular handling and now she NEVER strikes or even poses (the open-mouth thing) at all. For a brief period, I used latex gloves, hoping that she would not like the taste. I don't know if that made a diff, but she's a super calm snake now.
As stated in the other post, you can keep her like your corns, and she will get bigger. Possibly quite a bit bigger.
They sure are pretty snakes, aren't they? Good luck. Duffy

If you aren't a rodent than you're a predator. The leucistic Tx rat snake has been captive bred enough so that most calm down and become docile with handling. You are correct when they strike at you they are just scaring or pushing you away. One of the few snakes that really will make a stand and strike at you. I love them. I have a trio of w/c locality Texas rat snakes, a male w/c, 3 female w/c, a pair of orange morph Texas rat snakes and a pair of leucistic Texas rat snakes. Husbandry is about the same as a corn snake. They get larger than corns and should reach 5 plus feet. A very pretty snake. Here's one of mine

Terry Parks

thats just how they show their affection. In all actuallity I dont see much difference in their personality than other NA ratsnakes.
Just have to stick up for the underatted Tx ratsnake

WC '00

One accidental nip and your the meanest rat snake on earth. You must have some beligerant NA rat snakes in your collection Travis. LOL. Actually, my pair of yellow rat snakes are the meanest obsoleta in my collection. I think it's the fact that Texas rat snakes will raise their head right up towards a person rather than turn to look for an escape path. Tx rat snakes will cock in the "S" deffensive/strike position and I think this adds to their erroneous (yeah right)reputation. Of course, they get framed by the black rat snakes. LOL. I do think they are at the top or near it for musking a person. Whew.

>>thats just how they show their affection. In all actuallity I dont see much difference in their personality than other NA ratsnakes.
>> Just have to stick up for the underatted Tx ratsnake
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>>WC '00
>>

Well, I guess I just have some docile Tx rats. My most aggressive snakes are a greenish rat, amel corn, and two of my black rats (based off of frequency of bites Maybe my Tx rats just KNOW I like them best, lol.

You have all been a big help. Eventually I will post a pic. I am really excited about working with him, and watching him grow up and be as beautiful as yours.
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SpardaWolf
Corn Snake Addict
"Always Learning"

Before you get too mad at me, it does have mites and is super aggressive. From what I'm told it's about 2 feet long. I'll probably be taking it and a mexican black kingsnake (a guy is in desperate need of space so my friend and I are taking some free snakes/enclosures off his hands). Anyway, I'm supposed to pick them up in a few hours so I could wait and find out for myself, but the guy said the leucistic has a white tongue? I thought they had pink tongues, but their bodies were white. Would anybody care to enlighten me? If not, I'll know in a few hours anyway. This thread came at the perfect time for me since I'll be working at taming this one down and was plannning on caring for it just like my corns too. I hope it's not too set in its ways already-I'll let you guys know more later.