Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone. I'm new to the Rat Snake forum although a long timer on other Kingsnake.com forums. I am very excited, I am getting a Yellow Rat Snake this Wednesday. I wanted a friendly snake that I could use on public demonstrations, our local herp society holds monthly Kid's Clubs open to the public and we do other demonstrations throughout the year to expose people to the wonderful world of reptiles and amphibians. I use my 7 foot Carpet Python who is a hit, but I can't hand him over to the kids. They like to see him and touch him but what they really want to do is to HOLD a snake. My Hognose is small and fast. I wanted a good sized snake, but not too big. I was offered a 12 year old Yellow Rat from a friend who rescued it last fall. The previous owners were feeding it one mouse per month. Poor thing was starving. My friend who has it now is feeding it 1 to 2 rats a week and he's doing great. He has alot of snakes and no real time to spend with this one so has offered to give him to me. I don't know if it's a boy or girl, and don't know what it looks like, but he's supposed to be very handlable and should work out well for what I'm looking for. Here is a picture of the enclosure I set up for him. I was told he likes to climb so I put in lots of driftwood. There is a hide in the far right corner but it's hidden by the vines. I hope he likes his new home. I'll post pics of my new snake as soon as I can!

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www.LynsLair.com
0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose (Wilbur)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
1.0 Albino American Bullfrog (Prince)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.9 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess Leo, Twister)

Nice enclosure BUT yellow ratsnakes are FAST also and like any other snake will strike if spooked. I'd be careful with it at first around any kids.. My yellow rat is fine when I am holding him but as soon as my kids come around he gets a little skittish,wraps tight around my hand and gets in the 'S' position aimed right at the kids.. so just becareful..adult yellow rats will give a nasty bite...

Oh yeah... My yellow rat is now eatting like a little pig again.. I put in two HUGE fuzzies this weekend and he ate em both in minutes.He is lazy,he doesn't even constrict em cause they don't put up to much of a fight,but when they do he'll wrap around em.... so thats 4 fuzzies since last Saturday. He hasn't eatten like that since summer time so now I am excited. Like I said over the winter he ate maybe once every 2-3 weeks even though I offered him 2 pinkies every weekend.He is starting to get more and more yellow and the stripes are becoming more visible down his back and it kind looks like some of his saddles are starting to fade out. The color transformation from last year to this year is amazing! yeah.. he shed fine and found the shed under the apsen in one piece...

So glad your snake is eating again, his fast was just due to winter like my Python. I think I mentioned in reply to one of your posts that Bear didn't eat a thing for 3 months (I kept offering just like you did, but he refused). Now he's pounding down the rats. I fed him large rats the first two weeks and now moved him back to the Jumbos. He's big enough for rabbits but I haven't decided if I'm going to make the jump or keep him on rats. Not sure if the rabbits are better, worse, or the same as far as nutrition? I'll have to look into it then make a decision on it.

If your snake is not bothering to constrict then this is a perfect time to switch him to frozen/thawed. Fuzzy mice can't hurt him, but if you keep him on live then adult mice could bite back, and rats can do serious damage when he gets old enough to eat them. I highly recommend switching him to frozen, and feeding him in a separate container to avoid him accidentally biting you thinking you are food.

Your yellow rat is probably fast because he's young like my Hognose. Most young snakes are fast but calm down as they get bigger and older. The snake I'm getting is 12 years old and from what I've heard he's very mellow. Plus, I think it's easier to hold a larger fast snake then a smaller one, so even if he does get moving, he'd still be easier for them to keep hold of than the Hognose. The kids at Kid's Club are all into reptiles already. They either own their own reptiles or come from homes with reptiles that their parents have. So they are pretty good at handling the animals gently. You are right, any snake is capable of biting under certain circumstances. I'll definitely handle the snake often and get a feel for his personality before handing him over to one of the kids. I don't have any children of my own to see how he is around them.

Here is a picture of my little Hognose "Wilbur"

Here is me with my Python "Bear" at his first show. He did very good with all the people coming up to us to ask questions.

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www.LynsLair.com
0.1 Cat (Mia)
4.2 Ferrets (Wolf, Shadow, Verdell, Sullivan, Boo, Peach)
1.0 Carpet Python (Bear)
1.0 Malagasy Blonde Hognose (Wilbur)
1.0 Whites Tree Frog (Trevor)
1.0 Albino American Bullfrog (Prince)
1.0 AFT Gecko (Cocoa)
5.9 Leopard Geckos (Trouble, Scooter, Simba, Firenze, Teddy, Buttercup, Nala, Mystique, Jewel, Freckles, Dotty, Zipper, Princess Leo, Twister)