Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A young neighborhood boy today received a snake from some folks who said they caught it in a tree. They gave it to the 11yr old boy to keep as a pet. Needless to say he is quite pleased. His mother is not. They brought it to me to observe and for reassurance that it is not venomous or dangerous in any way. They were told it was a cornsnake. However, this guy does not have any checkerboard pattern on his belly. He is quite dark in color with some saddles of dark orange and his belly is white. He is about 3 ft long. I am in Southeast Louisiana. Anyone want to venture a guess as to what this snake is? If not, we will post some pics this weekend for better identification. I removed his from his aquarium enclosure and he was docile and calm. He didn't musk or try to bite or escape (much). I was impressed that this wc fellow was so calm. Does that give a clue to what he is? I'm guessing a ratsnake. But is it normal for them to accept handling like that? I placed the snake in the boy's hands (he has practiced holding my tame cornsnakes) and he held and handled the snake without any problem. I've heard folks around here sometimes refer to "egg-eaters" snakes, whatever that means. Is an egg-eater a ratsnake? The men who caught this snake told the boy to feed it some quail eggs or a mouse. Sorry about the long post but I would like to see this young lad be successful in his first snake adventure.

Well, let's see...what we have so far:

1. At least partially arboreal (found in tree)

2. Dark ground color

3. Dark orange saddles

4. Plain white venter

5. relatively docile.

Doesn't add up to anything I know of yet, and I'm from that area. If the belly is plain white, it's not a Corn Snake. If it is dark with orange blotches, it's not a Texas Rat Snake.

However, if it's has a gray ground color with brownish blotches and just a little red or orange pigment on the skin in between the scales, maybe a little dark pigment on the belly towards the head, and the head is a little darker than the rest of the body, then THAT would be representative of the Texas Rat Snakes in that area. Post a pic for positive ID.

They call them egg-eaters and chicken snakes because they will sometimes eat chicken eggs as will many members of the Elaphe obsoleta group.

I'm with Old Herper on this. The info we have does not yet compute. A pic will certainly be a great help.

~~Greg~~

Kind of sounds like it could be a pine. what do you think?

Mike

I doubt it. The only Pine Snake who's range even comes close to that area is lodingi (almost solid black). The only one I've ever heard of being collected in Louisiana came from Washington Parish, as I recall, somewhere around Bogalusa. Of course, there probably have been more found and killed by locals over the years, and I'm sure I haven't heard of every one collected there, so there may have been more. If they are still present in Louisiana, I would think that they are exceedingly scarce there.

Appreciate the comments and the help. I am leaning with Old Herper and thinking that this is a Texas Rat Snake. The tail looks masculine so I'll bet it is a boy. Is this common for this species to be so docile when handled? A week ago I gave this boy a copy of Kathy Love's Corn Manual and he has been devouring it. So he knows the basics. I told him to just observe the animal in it's tank until the weekend and then we would offer a f/t meal. Is it possible that this snake could make him a good pet? Or should he return it to where it was found? I would have prefered to see him with a cb yearling cornsnake but I'm not his parent or in charge of the situation.

I have known Texas Rat Snakes that were puppy tame. Then I've known some that would try to chew your arm off every time you get near them. I had one once that was sneaky. He would allow you to get him out of his cage and hold him, but then wait until you weren't looking or expecting it and just calmly turn around and latch on to your arm or hand and try to pull a plug out. If you have an individual that is docile, it will make a good pet. If you have one of the ornery ones, they seem to never really calm down. They usually feed readily and do quite well in captivity, provided the basic essentials. I think if this one is docile and hasn't tried to remove any of the boy's appendages yet, he will be fine.

I have a WC texas rat that is absolutely docile. My five year old son caught him and carried him a mile across a field and the snake just gently crawled through his fingers and sat in his hand. He's never tried to bite at all (although he's learned to rattle his tail in the rocks and scare us to death). He's also let several boy scout troops and a couple of dozen elementary school classes pass him around.

I would question that it is a texas rat though. I wouldn't use orange as a color description and the rats I've seen all have a patterned belly.

I was always taught that a chicken snake was a type of rat snake but not the same species as a texas rat snake . . . could be wrong . . . it sounds like what we've always called a chicken snake though.
e

although oldherper's advice has been sound (as usual) your description of the snake coupled with the mellow attitude (particularly the no musking part!) make me wonder if it really could be a TX Rat.
Here is a yearling TX rat for comparison...

Although they can have some orange on them, I have never heard them described as having orange blotches.

Post a pic so we can all be sure.
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Chris Harrison

>You say its belly has no checkerboard pattern. Does that mean its belly is entirely plain white?
>Is the anal plate single or divided?
>Are the scales smooth or keeled? If you rub your fingers across (not along) its back and down the side, does it feel rough?
>Some saddles are orange. How would you describe the color of the other saddles?
>His ground color is “quite dark”. Would you say it is black, brown, gray, or….?

Sorry for the third degree, but you’ve got me curious.

Thanks,
Joan

This is fabulous. Thanks, everyone, for your input and help. I will post a pic as soon as I have access to it again. The snake's belly is completely white. It's head and most of it's body is a very dark grey/black but I can see some orangeish color overwashed with dark grey in a symetrical pattern down his back. Maybe it is a "chicken snake". Are they docile also? Because at first handling this one sure is. I hope this description helps some.

.

you should go take a look through the photo gallery until you can get a pic to post. Just a thought,
e