Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Since it looks like it is picture posting season....here is another attempt to capture the color of my adult bairdi.

It seems that bairdi colors never come out when photographed.

These are a pair of WC snakes from Real County, TX (at the NE end of the range).

the female

and the male

There are two types of snakers in the world - those that have never seen a nice live adult bairdi and those that own them!

Still the most underappreciated NA colubrid. It amazes me that people herp in their range and get excited about Trans-pecos Rats and pretty much disregard bairdi.
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham

Wow, those are AWESOME looking bairdi!!!! Expecting to produce offspring this year? Please let me know, I would definately be interested in a pair...

By the way, I definately agree with you - they are by far the most under rated NA rat. I just love these guys.

Paul

Great snakes you have there. I someday hope to have a pair like that. You have to guess many people get the impression all Bairdi are the drab ones........I bet there'd be a lot more interest in them if some Corn people saw pics of some beauties like yours. Thanks for posting Tom

Chris..........now that's a nicely matched pair. I especially like the head and neck coloration on the female. The pic below is of a WC 277 male. I've got to get my Bairdi boys hooked up with a fine lady like you have there.

Another pic of the same male. He really has a neat metallic gunmetal gray glint on his scales beneath the lateral stripes, but I can't seem to catch this with my camera. I'm going to have to try some outdoor shots with these guys.

I love bairdi.... Very nice animal, where did he come from or who produced him?
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Hi, my name is Don and I am a colubrid addict!
My posts are just my opinion or what works for me.
Thanks for letting me share.

Don........this bairdi was collected off a road cut on 277(Red Bluff) on 5-30-00 by a friend of mine who gave it to me. That was a memorable Memorial Day weekend, as I collected a very nice alterna the night before just south of Loma Alta.

Those guys are really nice. First time I've seen that color phase.

"There are two types of snakers in the world - those that have never seen a nice live adult bairdi and those that own them!"

I'm beginning to understand where you're coming from. You may convert me, yet, haha.

"Still the most underappreciated NA colubrid. It amazes me that people herp in their range and get excited about Trans-pecos Rats and pretty much disregard bairdi."

>>Chris Harrison

I agree. It is a very underappreciated snake. When I retire in about four yrs, and move to a much warmer climate, I'll look at the American ratsnakes much more closely. Thanks,

TC

I guess I should never load and post pictures from my laptop again! When I looked at those pics from my desktop monitor, I too was impressed by the amount of red that showed up in my female.

Unfortunately, that was due to my digicam's oversaturation of the red/orange color wavelengths. On my laptop, I didn't notice it. When I looked on my desktop, I was shocked.

Here is a comparison of what she looks like in reality. She is still a beautiful bairdi (maybe I'm biased?), but she isn't on fire!

Here is the laptop picture -

And here is (on my monitor, at least) a more realistic representation of her color -

The lesson, becareful with any bairdi pics on the web.

Actually, for my money, what makes bairdi stunning is the contrast of the red/orange with the soft blue-gray of their scales. It is something that is impossible to capture well in a photograph.

The really orange snakes from further south are pretty, but they don't do it for me like a nice red-edged blue-gray bairdi.

Add to that their great easy going personality, and you have the best Pantherophis species to keep (IMHO).
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham

My digital camera does that for some reason. I was thinking that if I needed to sell my blood python, I'd be the only person in the classifieds EVER to say 'This picture does him too much justice! Doesn't really look this good in real life!'
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

A doctored pic, eh??......lol.....Sort of like going home with a late night bar room hottie to do the naughty, and waking up the next morning with a pain in the brain while looking at plain Jane.....haha......Just kidding......that's still a nice bairdi!

>>
>>It seems that bairdi colors never come out when photographed.

>>There are two types of snakers in the world - those that have never seen a nice live adult bairdi and those that own them!
>>
>>Still the most underappreciated NA colubrid. It amazes me that people herp in their range and get excited about Trans-pecos Rats and pretty much disregard bairdi.
>>-----

I am a corn snake man but I do own two "rat" snakes. A pair of Texas Bairdis from Renegade Reptiles. They are 13 and 14 months old.
They are great snakes and I love the change in colors with each shed.
It is almost impossible to get photos showing their true colors, especially at this early stage of their developement, but I have tried. They have more color showing then I have captured but they still have a way to go.
These first two pics are of my female: Rosie


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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

>>I am a corn snake man but I do own two "rat" snakes. A pair of Texas Bairdis from Renegade Reptiles. They are 13 and 14 months old.
>>They are great snakes and I love the change in colors with each shed.
>>It is almost impossible to get photos showing their true colors, especially at this early stage of their developement, but I have tried. They have more color showing then I have captured but they still have a way to go.
>>These two pics are of my male:Sam


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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

That pair of '02 bairds you got from Rick at Renegade Reptiles is coming along real good Jimmy. Take them outside on a nice sunny day and see all the colors that shoot out. I'm planning on getting a few females from Rick at Renegade Reptile at the IRBA show in Pomona in December. I have a few lone '03 males to match up with the females I'm getting from Rick. Here's a pic of a non-Adam Block Texas bairds that is currently in my collection. It's amazing they are underrated, but so are quite a few other snakes

Tery Parks

Hey Terry,
I think my snakes and the one you just pictured will end up looking quite similar.
I think as long as we keep posting pictures, reminding people how easy they are to care for, how well they acclimate to handling and how well they feed, we will begin to get a lot of converts.
I won't be breeding mine until the spring of '05 so hopefully by then we will have sparked a lot more interest....LOL
Jimmy

Jimmy -
Interest has really picked up on bairds over the last couple of years. They've always been popular with people who have or have had them. A lot of the pic posting on forums and photo gallery has contributed to it. People have been able to see their great colors and ease of keeping that hobbyists/breeders have known for a long time. Here's another pic of one from Val Verde County, Texas

Terry Parks

Those are nice looking bairds. They have alot of red/ornage/lavender in them. Nice colors. I bet they really take your breathe away when you see them in the daylight. I've seen a couple times when someone posted a pic of their bairdi indoors and then posted a pic of the same snake in the daylight and it looked like two different snakes. It's amazing. I can look at some of mine at different times and see different color and stripping on the same snake. Thanks for posting pics Chris.

Terry Parks