Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are yellow rat snakes aggresive, and i assume care is like a cornsnake

It's pretty much an individual case scenario. Usually they are rather well mannered, but you do get the occasional one with additude. Even in the wild, some tame quickly some don't.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Yeah, as far as disposition goes, they really can vary from one to the other. I have kept many odsoleta and this one is quite variable, even in coloration. As far as caring goes, they can get a lot bigger than corns and will need a properly sized enclosure, also think ahead on food options. They can eat a lot, and you should be prepared. Heating and humidity are about the same as gettata, but enjoy climbing more than corns IMO. They are very active, and a beautiful large yellow in a nice sized enclosure with sturdy climbing areas will a lot of fun to observe. Oh yeah, here is a pic showing the offspring of a yellow rat x black rat chowing down on a meal. CB '01. Good luck-Brett

One more showing a degree of color difference in some CB '01 offspring. Be careful where you get your yellow rats from. Even WC are most likely a cross between everglades, black, and many other (ssp?) or color forms of obsoleta. These are from two different clutches- yellow x black, and yellow x everglades. There is three snakes in there somewhere.....-Brett

The basic care is the same as a corn snake. As far as yellows being aggressive they can be just like every other snake out there.Most will tame down after time with handling but some won't tame at all. It depends on the snake itself really.Most wild caught yellows will tame down,especially yearlings or hatchlings but as with any wild caught herp they need to be check for parasites.Most adult yellow rats that are wild caught will give you some trouble and a large yellow rat will inflict a nasty bite as they tend to hold on a scrape the teeth into you.Captive bred yellows usually are really good feeders and are easy to tame after some handling. My yearling use to strike at me all the time then after about 2-3 months of me handling him i can pick him up no worries. ONCE in awhile as with any snake he will strike at me if I disturb him. Yellow rats can get rather big. The avg length is usually about 5 feet but they can get up to 6-7 feet in about 2 years so just be prepared to have a large snake in that time.

There are plenty of people breading Yellow Rat Snakes. If you get a young captive bred snake from a good breader, by the time it gets big enough to hurt you with a bite, you will have it very tame. I have five of them, and all of mine are just as tame as can be.

Since Yellows are so easy to get from breaders, I would hope that you would only take pictures from the wild.

Terry at Kern Reptile Research Center breads very nice healthy Yellows. Terry will even email you pictures of the parents if you ask. I got mine from him, and I am very happy.
Kern Reptile Research Center