Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After having my male blackrat for going on 4 years now,I have observed a pattern in that he ALWAYS goes off feed in mid. august and won't feed again until after brumation in about mid march.Anyone else have a predictable wild caught snake like this?

not only wc's but cb too. alot of my snakes slow way down starting around labor day due to lessing daylight. the farther north you are, the quicker they are to stop feeding. it's fall in philadelphia......

I've had many do just that, over the years.

during the winter months. I have never brumated them, and have always kept their temps the same year round. They seem to eat half as often, but do fine with no weight loss and pick right back up in the spring. I guess millions of years of survival instincts cant be bred out in a few years!!! LOL

This is my '01 male KY locale black rat. Not nearly as big as your monster, but he is getting there!!

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1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Punisher and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Yellow rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

Hotshot, I was wondering if you have any pics of your MO locality black rats you can post. I've heard the MO's can get blacker than a West Virginia coal field in the moonlight, which is my favorite morph for obsoleta. I'd like to compare them to my SC 1.1. They are very black, especially the female, but they have retained some faint outlines of their juvie pattern. Thanks.

I will post some pics. They are maybe 2 years old, and still have a faint outline of their pattern, but they are pretty dark. Whats interesting is they both have quite a bit of red on the belly. I will try and get some decent belly shots as well and post them or e-mail them to ya......

>>Hotshot, I was wondering if you have any pics of your MO locality black rats you can post. I've heard the MO's can get blacker than a West Virginia coal field in the moonlight, which is my favorite morph for obsoleta. I'd like to compare them to my SC 1.1. They are very black, especially the female, but they have retained some faint outlines of their juvie pattern. Thanks.
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1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Punisher and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Yellow rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)

Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian

I have a 03 W/C Black Rat that eats like a pig all year round. (I know, there is one in every crowd.) My W/C came to me last October from PA. Not only does he eat well, but he is a very calm obsoleta as well. Just a great snake.

Rick

Mine is a Pa. specimen also.He would not even touch a freshly killed chipmunk that the cat dragged in.He doesen't even seem to lose any weight during brumation,and at warm up time he does 2 med. rats a week.

Funny you should mention that. I've had my WC South Carolina male now for almost a year. He has just gone off feed within the past month. I think he took his last meal, which was a good-sized rat, back in mid-August. He's been totally cleared of parasites and has really put on good weight, so I haven't been worried but was preparing to start if he didn't chow down within a couple of weeks. He almost took a small f/t mouse two nights ago but eventually turned it down. Other than not feeding, he seems to be doing perfectly fine. My female adult from the same locality is still pounding small/medium live rats. I may turn off the male's heat since there's no reason to keep him metabolizing at a spring and summer rate. Very glad to read your post, as it puts my mind at ease. I had 1.1 amel Emory's several years ago that did the same thing.

I have an adult male gray rat, I'm not entirely sure if he's W/C. Anyway, he goes off-feed on irregular fasts. He just finally came off an 8 month fast just a month ago. I've heard that brumation will help boost their appetites during the warm-up period. So, I'm thinking about trying that with him this winter. I just need to get him fattened up first. Do you think brumation will help with his appetite?

I'll be making another post on brumation methods.

Bry

I've never tried that myself, although I have heard of other folks doing it. My Obsoleta have always been reliable feeders. My E. Climacophoras though are another story. Every August the male goes off the feed and pics up again in late winter. (I suspect furnace activity in the winter helps that along. There's only so much climate control available.) I got some good advice a couple years ago. When one of Climacs has been on a fast for too long, I start offering pinkies every few weeks - no matter how big the snake. Apparently the easy little morsel is just too much. Afterwards, the appetite starts to pick up just fine.
For what its worth, I think some snakes are just more finicky. i try to deal with the snakes "personality" and treat them accordingly. If they aren't losing weight, I roll with it. If they start to lose weight, I would probably cool them down for awhile.
BTW, like Brian, I've never brumated a NA Rat Snake and never had a problem breeding or keeping weight on. They eat less for a time then kick into gear in the spring.

>>After having my male blackrat for going on 4 years now,I have observed a pattern in that he ALWAYS goes off feed in mid. august and won't feed again until after brumation in about mid march.Anyone else have a predictable wild caught snake like this?
>>

I live in WV and finally caught my yearing in July. So far he is still eating great and is as easy going as any store bought snake I have ever owned.

What is the exact length of your guy now? He sure is a great looking snake.
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Like I said; I`m Gonna Getcha Good!

You know,I really have never tried to measure him.I really should get my son or wife to help me do that some day(maybe even tonight)He is so docile,it should not be a problem.If I had a digi cam,I could try that measuring program(serpwidgets?)
I think I will try the string thing tonight.Will post results.

>>You know,I really have never tried to measure him.I really should get my son or wife to help me do that some day(maybe even tonight)He is so docile,it should not be a problem.If I had a digi cam,I could try that measuring program(serpwidgets?)
>>I think I will try the string thing tonight.Will post results.

Thanks for the reply. Please post and let us know what the results are if you get the chance to measure him.
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Like I said; I`m Gonna Getcha Good!