Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking through some old posts and found that their are quite a few new morphs out their but I dont really find any as attractive as their regular colors.How can i make sure that my hatchling black ratsnake is going to turn out all black with a white stomache like a wild specimen.i am looking into getting one from lllreptile but should i ask them first about what they will look like when they grow up.thanks for your time.
nick

The best thing you can do is ask what the parents look like. If you can see the parents, and they're both nice big black animals, hopefully their offspring will turn out the same. Along the same vein, light-coloured black ratsnakes will probably throw similar offspring.
That being said, one of my blackest black ratsnakes came from an albino x albino breeding (there's two incompatable forms of albinism in them, so she's het for both). Her roughly half sister (het albino mother that was sister to the other female albino x same albino male) is much lighter in colour (more like a tx ratsnake). She may get much darker, but it may take longer than her hal sib.
Hopefully, even if your snake doesn't turn out the way you want it to, in a few years you'll still love it as a pet.
Alex

I will still love it as a pet.but it sould be nice to have one this color because it is what got me interested in them in the first place when i was about 6.I just like the black coloration because it is somewhat natural.I am not big on the new color morphs like the usual colors.either way if i end up with a dark one or not i will still love it and take care of it all the same.
nick

Dwight Good produces some terrific Jet Black snakes. He doesn't have any in stock right now but he keeps a waiting list. If you're interested, send me an e-mail and I'll give you his contact info.

Dwight's a great guy, but I believe Split Rock Reptiles has some right now and one of their breeders looks nice and solid on their rat page. You might check there too (www.splitrockreptiles.com) in case Dwight's list is filling up too quickly.

One more option is to buy a black rat that is two or three years old. That way, you already know what colouration he/she will have, you know whether or not it is a good eater, it is 'probably' already calm and you dont have to wait long to breed it.

You dont have to buy a hatchling. Just a thought