Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am 16 and do snake removal in North Carolina, So that means I am called to remove hundreds of black rat snakes a year. I might try and keep a yunger one. Do they make ok pet, I Know CB is better but I also have little cash. Do black rats calm down a little, Most dont bite bad anyway. What size cage will it need. Do they eat well in captivity.

ps. sorry about any spelling mistakes I have troble with spelling.

Randy
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1.0.0 albino okeetee corn
0.1.0 red tail boa
0.1.0 sinoalon milk snake
0.0.1 green snake
0.0.1 green igauna

Most wild caught B.R.'s that I find here in Pa. are in the 5-6' range.I have never found a neonate or yearling here.Never had a problem getting them to feed or tame down.The big W.C. male I have had for almost 4 years now is VERY tame and will even tolerate my young neices and nephews holding him.He was bread to my captive born Amel. female last year and all 9 eggs hatched out nice sized Het. babies.You can see pics of me holding him in the photo gallery under rat snakes.Just put my user name in the search.Black rats are my favorites because they can reach a pretty impressive size.Good luck!

Yes, black rats are great snakes to keep. If money is an issue, you want to get the biggest Sterilite (Rubbermaid, etc.) that you can find and put holes in it with a woodburner or soldering iron. Make sure that you do this outside or at least where things are VERY well ventilated. I have found the 50 gallon ones a few times (at Super Wal*Mart) for ten bucks each. Can't beat that!
Also from a $$ perspective...Captive born & bred black rats are fairly inexpensive animals. If you DO choose to keep a wild one, make sure that there is no cross-contamination with your other snakes. I would not put ANY item in with my c/b snakes that had been in the same cage as a w/c ...that includes uneaten prey items! That's just me...I tend to be very careful in such matters.
On the other hand, if you are "removing" lots of black rats...you may wind up with a nice one that you don't really have the option of relocating within a mile or so of where it was caught. In that case, keeping it might really be for the best.
Good luck. But like I said, be very cautious not to put your other snakes at risk. Duffy

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1.0.0 albino okeetee corn
0.1.0 red tail boa
0.1.0 sinoalon milk snake
0.0.1 green snake
0.0.1 green igauna

Trouble is we don't find anything scarier then a 3' garter around here, and you've got to go looking for them (S. Ontario).

What kind of snakes do you usually get calls for? Anything exiting?
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"Way to breath! No breath"
-- Jimbo Jones

and be glad you don't live in ohio :