Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am getting ready for the new year and making plans to extend my collection of Rat Snakes and start some new projects. I have decided that I can't make up my mind on my own so I will let you guys pick from my wish list to help push me in the right direction. We'll pretend money is no object (actully I am taking a part time job to finance this)

Twin-Spotted Ratsnake Elaphe bimaculata
Kunasir Island Ratsnake Elaphe climacophora
Mandarin Ratsnake Elaphe mandarina
Ladder Ratsnake Elaphe scalaris
Leopard Ratsnake Elaphe situla
Cave Ratsnake Elaphe t. ridleyi
Blue Beauty Snake Elaphe t. ssp.
Vietnamese Longnose Rhynchophis boulengeri
Moellendorff's Ratsnake Elaphe moellendorffi
Radiated Ratsnake Elaphe radiata
Bamboo Ratsnake Elaphe porphyracea Not coxi
Mexican Night Snake Elaphe flavirufra

and the winners are...

I am looking forward to your opinions as I start this new year. If you know of anybody who will have any of the above available that info would be appreciated as well. It is great to be back in herps after being away for long. What was I thinking when I sold off my entire collection 4 years ago???

Thanks again for your opinions.
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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

n/p
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Caligula)... coming soon

i agree with the mandarins......

i am looking for the right pair as well.....(i do quite well sometimes and when a good week presents itself.....i indulge)

anyway.....you need to make this decision on your own

others have given great advice......size.....temperment.....and value.....breedable?......and sometimes a challenge?

i have kept blind snakes just to see if i could get them to reproduce.....THAT was a challenge....(humidity is crucial, and seein they are only 3 inches long ...they dry out instantly if not humid enough.....)

keith

ps .....it took me a few months....but YES i did get them to thrive....no babies yet tho
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I'm not sure I want popular opinion on my side -- I've noticed those with the most opinions often have the fewest facts.

What's the primary appeal for you? Is it handling them, observing behavior, marvelling at the colors and patterns or figuring out how to get a problem species to thrive? Do you prefer large or small size? Do you want a display animal? Do you mind being bitten? Does the allure of an exotic locale add anything to the idea of the snake in your mind? Put together your profile with an order of importance and the choice of species becomes easier.

Regards
John

>>What's the primary appeal for you? Is it handling them, observing behavior, marvelling at the colors and patterns or figuring out how to get a problem species to thrive? Do you prefer large or small size? Do you want a display animal? Do you mind being bitten? Does the allure of an exotic locale add anything to the idea of the snake in your mind? Put together your profile with an order of importance and the choice of species becomes easier.
>>
>>Regards
>>John
>>
>>

John thanks for the questions to ask myself, the answer is YES!!! If you will notice color and pattern seem to dominate my list. The list I posted has already been weeded out a dozen times. I am mostly interested in getting the right conditions for breeding. I have always had an affection for the asian Ratsnakwes as well. But as I stated I just can't make up my mind and I need help.

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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

Starting with the most desirable:
1) A super bright yellow and light grey ground colored mandarin
2) A really pretty porphyracea
3) A bright red and light ground colored situla

I think my preference must show. I like bright primary and contrasting colors. It must come of being color blind.

Good luck in your selection
John

Well I've already got the Mandarins, Leopards, a Kunasir, and a Rynchophis that are on your list. I may have (fingers crossed) Mandarins and Leopards next year, if brumation and breeding go well. But I'm not counting snakes before they're hatched!

You want big snakes or small snakes? If I had the room, I'd go for mollendorffi or ridleyi. I've seen some nice scalaris recently available though, and they seem pretty nifty... If you're really making a wish list, what about conspicillata? That's next on my list!

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Lora

I'd go with something entirely different from what you current keep. So my vote is:

>>Vietnamese Longnose Rhynchophis boulengeri
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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

The best thing about this hobby is getting what you want.Have fun,hell get a trio of all on your list...Paul

>>The best thing about this hobby is getting what you want.Have fun,hell get a trio of all on your list...Paul

Now that's the right attitude and probably what will eventually will happen.
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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

Mandarin, Leopard, and Blue beauty in that order, but the Mandarin is definitely the most distinctive looking (insofar as coloration), and will probably yield the most money if you breed successfully. I know I'm dying for one (not that I can afford one).

.

>>.

there not on my list on purpose LOL!!!
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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

Well, put B. subocularis on the list. They are great snakes!

.

I tend to like big impressive snakes that aren't common in the hobby. I also prefer docile, hardy snakes,...so

Twin-Spotted Ratsnake Elaphe bimaculata
too average

Kunasir Island Ratsnake Elaphe climacophora
don't interest me, but pretty

Mandarin Ratsnake Elaphe mandarina
I don't get the appeal of these. I guess they are pretty, but they aren't jaw dropping. Certainly not worth the money people pay for cb babies.

Ladder Ratsnake Elaphe scalaris
Huge, impressive, hardy and uncommon. These would be my first choice easily.

Leopard Ratsnake Elaphe situla
These I like, and they need to be better established in the US. 2nd on my list.

Cave Ratsnake Elaphe t. ridleyi
Pretty, but too high strung.

Blue Beauty Snake Elaphe t. ssp.
I have never seen a Blue that I regarded as any better looking than the average freesi.

Vietnamese Longnose Rhynchophis boulengeri
I think these are all hype, primarily put forward by the first few people who imported them to try and drum up business. So they have a long nose, big deal? Dryophis are cooler looking.

Moellendorff's Ratsnake Elaphe moellendorffi
Spectacular, but not worth the trouble? 3rd on my list.

Radiated Ratsnake Elaphe radiata
Too psychotic.

Bamboo Ratsnake Elaphe porphyracea Not coxi
Some of the non-coxi ssp are certainly stunning, if you can find them. Coxi are too pretty and the species is too nervous as a whole.

Mexican Night Snake Elaphe flavirufra
Why? Pretty, yes...interesting? No.

These are, of course, just my random opinions off the top of my head, and you know what they say about opinions!
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Chris Harrison

Perfect answer even if it is what you would term as "cynical" Thanks Chris
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Joe

"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"

1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
0.1 Snow Motley
1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
0.1 Albino Emory Rat
1.1 Taiwan Beauties
0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
and a Partridge in a pear tree
actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw

Good post by Chris, but each person will give a response based on their prefs and experience. I will make pics based mostly on what I already have or have experience with, but my list will also lack some favorites of mine you don't have on your wish list.

1. Elaphe bimaculata...too many pluses to list here, but one good one is that they are inexpensive and too much fun to ignore. They don't get enough attention as far as I'm concerned.

2. Euprepiophis mandarina...in the right environment a very hardy and easy to manage snake and very interesting. Main drawback is they are nocturnal and not easy to observe. They are fairly expensive too.

3. Toss-up between Kunisar Island and Mexican night snake...I quit working with Kunisar's because they are a little large, can be a little tricky managing, and didn't fit in with my research too well. The night snakes are a little bit large also and are nocturnal, but a pretty snake and unlike someone else, I think they are interesting. They are suitable for the Southwestern part of the country and I'll probably get back into them one of these days.

Note: I could spend hours telling you why I'm not keeping the others on your list. Most of them I've already kept, and while there's good things about them, I don't keep them any more. I have two main criteria, btw, that they are great pets and/or interesting exotics.

TC

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Ratsnake Haven: Calico and albino Chinese beauty snakes, Mandarin ratsnakes, Chinese twin-spotted ratsnakes, South Korean Dione's ratsnake, Great Plains ratsnakes and corns

Well, I'm going purely by the fact that these are snakes that I would like, if I had the money and/or wasn't afraid to get bit every 2 seconds:

1. Cave Ratsnake Elaphe t. ridleyi
2. Radiated Ratsnake Elaphe radiata

Of course, as others have said, get what YOU want.
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1.0 Hypo "Coral" Snow cornsnake
0.1 Ghost cornsnake
1.1 Bloodred cornsnakes
2.1 Hypo cornsnakes
0.2 Normal cornsnakes
0.0.1 Amber cornsnake
0.0.2 Caramel cornsnakes

Hey Joe, first let me say that I did the same thing about 6 years ago and got rid of my collection. 3 years later I was back into it, but on a much smaller (and more enjoyable!) level. So welcome back to the hobby!! With that said, I would choose caves, leopards, climacs and bimacs as my first choices. But maybe some blues would be nice too.....and bamboos are really smoking looking snakes and still really rare in US collections, kinda like those gorgeous rhino rats.....hmmmmm, I guess I'm really no help here am I? Good luck with your decision. Just pick what will keep you interested for a long time! Billy

>>I am getting ready for the new year and making plans to extend my collection of Rat Snakes and start some new projects. I have decided that I can't make up my mind on my own so I will let you guys pick from my wish list to help push me in the right direction. We'll pretend money is no object (actully I am taking a part time job to finance this)
>>
>>Twin-Spotted Ratsnake Elaphe bimaculata
>>Kunasir Island Ratsnake Elaphe climacophora
>>Mandarin Ratsnake Elaphe mandarina
>>Ladder Ratsnake Elaphe scalaris
>>Leopard Ratsnake Elaphe situla
>>Cave Ratsnake Elaphe t. ridleyi
>>Blue Beauty Snake Elaphe t. ssp.
>>Vietnamese Longnose Rhynchophis boulengeri
>>Moellendorff's Ratsnake Elaphe moellendorffi
>>Radiated Ratsnake Elaphe radiata
>>Bamboo Ratsnake Elaphe porphyracea Not coxi
>>Mexican Night Snake Elaphe flavirufra
>>
>>and the winners are...
>>
>>I am looking forward to your opinions as I start this new year. If you know of anybody who will have any of the above available that info would be appreciated as well. It is great to be back in herps after being away for long. What was I thinking when I sold off my entire collection 4 years ago???
>>
>>Thanks again for your opinions.
>>-----
>>Joe
>>
>>"Life is a banquet and most poor fools are starving to death"
>>
>>1.2 Amel Motleys het Snow
>>0.1 Snow Motley
>>1.1 Emory Rats het Albino
>>0.1 Albino Emory Rat
>>1.1 Taiwan Beauties
>>0.0.3 Yellow Ackies
>>and a Partridge in a pear tree
>>actually he's a Blue & Gold Macaw