Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ratsnake photo-tour.. a partial sample of my first trip out in 2004...

1) Inland Willacy county, on the Gulf coastal slope or plain.

.
2) .. same specimen, ventral view.
.

.
3) Pretty rat from near Calaboz, along the Rio Bravo just west of Brownsville.
.

.
4) From Green Acres, a low-lying colonia of north-central Cameron County.
.

.
5) Adult male ratsnake from north Brownsville, Texas.
.

.
6) Dormant female adult from Tule Lake (dry), near Los Fresnos, Texas. Note the fiddler crab burrows in the foreground.
.

.
7) A really colorful and beautiful female...
.

.
8) Plain yellowish ventrals of above example..
.

.
Yearly, there is a very small window of opportunity for Field-collecting ratsnakes and most other herps in the immediate Brownsville area.
-----
Gus
A. Rentfro
RioBravoReptiles.com
www.riobravoreptiles.com

"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

Thanks for taking the time to post all those gorgeous pics, Gus. I really like the different shades of brown on the s. TX meahllmorum ratsnakes. Also, it lets me do some comparisons which satisfies my imagination as to how they must look around s. TX.

You said one female was dormant. Do they brumate for very long, and can they stand fairly cold temps?

>>Yearly, there is a very small window of opportunity for Field-collecting ratsnakes and most other herps in the immediate Brownsville area.

Gus, I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean a small window for when they are diurnal, or do you mean summer is too hot and they aestivate? I would think spring is probably the best time as it is in other areas of the country.

Thanks again for the great post. Those are some nice snakes. Keep us posted on how you do this spring.

Terry

Great pics. I'm used to seeing all your phenomenal boas so this was a surprise, but a nice one! Billy

>>Ratsnake photo-tour.. a partial sample of my first trip out in 2004...
>>
>>1) Inland Willacy county, on the Gulf coastal slope or plain.
>>
>>.
>>2) .. same specimen, ventral view.
>>.
>>
>>.
>>3) Pretty rat from near Calaboz, along the Rio Bravo just west of Brownsville.
>>.
>>
>>.
>>4) From Green Acres, a low-lying colonia of north-central Cameron County.
>>.
>>
>>.
>>5) Adult male ratsnake from north Brownsville, Texas.
>>.
>>
>>.
>>6) Dormant female adult from Tule Lake (dry), near Los Fresnos, Texas. Note the fiddler crab burrows in the foreground.
>>.
>>
>>.
>>7) A really colorful and beautiful female...
>>.
>>
>>.
>>8) Plain yellowish ventrals of above example..
>>.
>>
>>.
>>Yearly, there is a very small window of opportunity for Field-collecting ratsnakes and most other herps in the immediate Brownsville area.
>>-----
>>Gus
>>A. Rentfro
>>RioBravoReptiles.com
>>www.riobravoreptiles.com
>>
>>"Quality is not an accident. Perfectly healthy animals are a minimum requirement.. everything else is just salesmanship" gus

When we attend my step-son's high school graduation in May, I'm looking forward to some east texas herping.

regards,
althea