Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi ya'll,

Thanks for all your help in regards to snakes. I've learned so much in the last few months, but know I have to keep researching even more before I decide which snake to purchase. (I'm doing more research on snakes than I did on my car and house combined!) Does anyone here know which ratsnake is the most nervous, and which one is the most laid back.(Other than corns) I'm really interested in American ratsnakes. Thank you so much!

Mike

You cant go wrong with a bairds ratsnake.

I love my little baird's...But talk about nervous. Doesn't nip at me like my leucistic tex did as a baby. But rattles that tail and still treats me to a good musking now and then. Did you find yours to jumpier than average as a baby? I was holding him just yesterday and all of a sudden he's in "escape-mode" and then *whew* STINK! The little sucker never misses a meal, though.

My corns have all been calm. Besides that, I guess most of my ratsnakes did their share of musking and rattling. Except my OTHER texas rat who was probably too skinny and weak to care when I first got him. No fight in that one at all. He was about a week away from my friend's freezer when I adopted him. He's fat & sassy now...and still calm. Duffy

Even my juvie bairds stopped musking me.None of my bairds have tail rattled.I do have to watch the adults when there in feed mode.My juvie cali kings are flat out insane.They both will musk,bite,chew till I put them back down.My phsyco hypo corns are tame compared to them.LOL.
I also love the subocs but dont think I can keep there husbandry right this far north...Paul

My little bairds isn't mean...He's just a little jumpy. I also need to handle him more often, as I find I'm not doing that as much as when I first started and only had a few snakes. He'll grow out of it, but...MAN what a li'l stinker!

I felt the same way about the subocs, being in Ohio. Grew up north of Chicago, btw, which is your area, right? Anyway, I get to reconsider now that I will have a room I can regulate in terms of temps. Get this: My wife, who is always building things, is finishing up a project, and says "I'm thinking that my next project might be to build you a reptile room in the basement." Now it is under way and I'm already re-examining my wishlist. Talk about lucky!

Out of all my NA ratsnakes, my emoryi are the most nervous. They don't bite, they're just very skittish. My corns are my calmest.

I have had
- wc and cb corns
- wc and cb Texas Rats
- wc and cb Black Rats
- wc and cb Yellow Rats
- wc and cb Everglades Rats
- wc and cb Great Plains Rats
- wc and cb Baird's rats
- wc and cb Trans-pecos Rats

and there is no contest. Trans-pecos Rats are the most docile, probably followed by Baird's then corns. The obsoleta are all about the same.

Even wild caught Trans-pecos ratsnakes are docile, although that doesn't mean wc TPRs make good pets - they generally don't eat well. CB babies are fine and as easy to keep/feed as a cornsnake.

This one in the photo from Pandale, TX, is an exception to the rule. I have seen a lot of wild and cb TR Rats and have only ever seen a few defensive TP Rats. Even the "mean" ones - less than 1% - are slow biters and they bite very gently. And even they stop biting once in hand.

If you want a guaranteed docile rat, get a Trans-pecos Ratsnake. Plus, they are much cooler snakes that most other NA Ratsnakes.

.

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Chris Harrison

I have given some consideration to the Trans-Pecos in the past, but have not really thought about them for awhile. I find the blond and silver phases really stunning. Your post has piqued my interest once again, and I will likely start looking for them at the Ohio Show this year.

I have avoided them in part due to their southern status and my assumption that they probably need to be a little warmer than I keep many of my snakes. There is a reptile room in progress in my basement right now, however, and it will give me the ability to keep all my snakes at a much cozier ambient temp.

Any other thoughts on this particular snake? My book says that they have a preference for smaller prey in general. Have you found this to be the case? Duffy

Any other thoughts on this particular snake? My book says that they have a preference for smaller prey in general. Have you found this to be the case?

I find they are hardy snakes that fare well in captivity.

I keep mine the same way I keep all my snakes, but I find they don't generally spend much time in the hidebox that has the heat tape, except right after eating. My room is kept at 70-75°F most of the time and the heat tape is around 85°.

In their natural range, it gets cool at night (mid to low 60s) most of the summer but they tend to be active during the earlier, warmer times of night.

They generally eat smaller prey, but adults readily take large mice or even small rats. They won't eat the huge meals that obsoleta will choke down, but they will eat most things that a snake of similar girth will eat. They are actually docile, shy snakes, so I only feed them pre-killed prey.

They don't like to be wet (if you spray them with water, the go crazy trying to get away). Some people say you shouldn't leave water in the cage, but I haven't had any problem as long as the cage remains dry and well ventilated.

VPI has a decent care sheet about them - http://www.vpi.com/8VPICareSheets/Colubrids/TransPecosRatsnake/TransPecosRatDesc.htm
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Chris Harrison

n/p

I'd have to agree, Bairdi Ratsnakes are hard to beat. Mine used to do a little tail rattling, but now he doesn't even do that. Very calm, slow moving ratsnake when being held. Trans Peco's are excellent also, very calm, gentle ratsnakes. Russian Rats are also known for having a very gentle nature, though they can get some decent size to them. Get what interest you, because most ratsnakes, even if nippy or nervous when young, will develope in to excellent calm adults.

Steve

My licorice stick black rat snake is the most docile thing i've ever seen. I got her as a yearling, but she has never once even gotten a defensive stance against me. There was a while when I was so busy I didn't have much time to handle my snakes (lasted about a month, maybe a litle more), but when i got back she musked me one time. hasnt since then. Never rattled her tail, tried to "race" out of my hands, strike, bite, or even the striking stance.

However, my bairdi neonate is a very spirited little thing. she will rattle her tail and is very jumpy - but also has never struck at me (except during PMS - post mouse syndrome. but that was thru the glass of her cage.) The differences here may also be the fact that I did get my licorice stick as a yearling and my bairdi isnt but about 7 months old.

If you want an agressive snake - go vietnamese. My blue beauty has bit me more than I care to imagine... every time i handled her (at least once) for the first month nad a half or so that i had her.
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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
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
Information on substrates

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

Chris,

I'm still a bit confused about the licorice stick. Is this a black rat variation? Thanks so much, I'm continuing my ongoing reasearch. Hopefully someday I will finally decide which snake to go with.(It took me over 2 years to figure out which kind of dog to get. However, it was worth all of the books- I got a pain in the you know what Shar pei that drives me crazy everyday!)

Mike

lol... well yes a licorice stick is a genetic morph from a black rat snake.

Lola

Frankie and Lola

Full Grown Licorice Stick

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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
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote
Information on substrates

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
0.1 Texas Bairdi (Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Monty)

lol.. and my lil baby licorice stick is the most aggressive snake i own, including my cal king. she's the only snake that has ever tagged us (got my wife, not me ). i was shocked when she did it, but have committed myself to handling as needed to try and make her feel more at ease. the last thing i need is an aggressive snake to put my wife off.

from what i have read, they are fairly individualistic.

How is licorice morph possible? I'm new to this, so how does the breeding crosses happen? Thanks for any help.