Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can anyone tell me how big they get? And what their temperament is? Do they have any special requirements as opposed to other rats? Also, what can you expect to pay for a pair? Thanks.

Most average between 3.5-5 feet, though I've heard of a couple close to 6 foot.

They are shy snakes that don't seem to appreciate a lot of handling, prefering to hide most of the time. Of the 5 I've kept, one was pretty defensive and would tail rattle and strike, the others were generally timid. I don't handle them very much because it seems to stress them a bit and can throw the female in my pair off of feeding regularly. Mine eat smaller prey items than similar sized North American rat snakes. They require cool temps (mid 70's) and a humid hide to help them shed easily. Wild caught are very difficult to acclimate. Captive bred animals are much hardier and will feed more readily.

Expect to pay around 1000.00 for a pair of good quality captive bred, though prices have dropped a little since more breeders are working with them. There are some posted in the classifieds, so that will give you a start on determining pricing.

Here are a couple of care sheets I found on google- you may want to search the archives here and in the Asian rat snake sub forum also for posts on them.
www.easternindigo.com/mandarincaresheet.html
www.proexotics.com/care_mandarin.html

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Lora

Thanks for the Info. They are really nice looking snakes.

I do not own (and never have owned) any of these beautiful animals...Too cheap (frugal?) to buy a captive-bred one, and too caring to willingly cause the death of yet another wild-caught one. Therefore, I freely admit having NO personal experience with them. From what I have read, mostly on these forums, the wild-caught animals have a huge mortality rate. Please correct me, experts, if I am mistaken. The above post mentioned that they were "difficult" and I suspect that this is an understatement.

It seems to me that this snake is one example of how importers are "making a buck" by killing vast numbers of these snakes. Obviously somebody had to work with some wild ones in order to begin establishing a c/b stock (and it's great that they did), but I strongly suspect that many individuals are taking a chance on a w/c one to save money and winding up torturing it to death. I am not a big fan of keeping w/c snakes in general, although that is a slightly different discussion. I am personally vehemently opposed to the catching, selling, and ultimately purchasing of snakes with such a high mortality rate. OK...I got that off my chest.

I also have heard of the high mortality rate of the wc ones...awesome looking snakes though..i would own a pair if i had the cash

Yes wild caught are damn near impossible although I have had success with two that I took off a guy at a show that had no idea how to care for them, one a female is now one of my best breeders. But for the most part you are right dont get wild caught. Invest the extra and get C/B, if you watch the ad's you can get a bargin, for example last year I got a pair of yearlings for 600.00 shipped. They are in my colony and doing well, so if you keep an eye out deals can be found. Also if you just want one for a display animal single males can be found for 250 or so dollars.