Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found this little beauty on the first floor of my dorm last night when i going to the vending machine, lol. I'm not sure what kind of snake it is, and i think it might be some sort of colubrid, most likely a king or a rat...i dk. Its definetely a baby so i dont know if the colors will change as it matures. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

ok, the pic didnt work...heres a link

http://www.msnusers.com/TherandomstuffofBrian/shoebox.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=2

Thats a red rat or corn snake. Likely a wild snake and not a pet unless you are on the west coast. They are all over the east coast. The make good pets but it would be better in the long run to buy one and let that one go. It should only cost you $20-$30 depending where you are. If it is a wild caught than it is likely carring a parasite load and will cost more than the $20 for a CB one to treat it.
Thanks Jason

It is a corn snake indeed.

However I have to disagree with it probably carrying a parasite load and making a worse pet than a cbh animal. I have dealt with wc rats and kings for several years, and never have I had one that carried a load of parasites warranting a vet visit.

That may not be the case everywhere, but I have never had that problem. I've actually carried several of my wc snakes to the vet and had fecal cultures done and they came back negative for everything. So there are plenty of healthy wild snakes.

I agree with Matt. Wild caught snakes are not always loaded with parasites and they can be easily treated at a low cost. I spent $10 on some Panacur and Flagyll and it has dosed many of my w/c colubrids......
Oh yeah....It is definitely a red rat (cornsnake).
John Lassiter

OK you are right in that there should be very little problem with this snake but this is being asked by a obvious newbie. No offense to the original poster but if he/she can't ID a corn how much do you think this person knows about snakes. A wc with the problems they bring can turn a person off to snakes for the rest of their lives. By problems I mean parasites which neonites are full of from the lizards they eat. Also stubborn feeders and attitudes from a snake that was wild for the first 6 months of its life. All of these are very easy to deal with if you know what you are doing but if you don't then they can be harder than you care to deal with. So my response was in light of the fact that it was asked from the perspective of a new herper. I find scarlet kings easy to deal with because I took the time to figure them out. Most people don't or can't. In other words we are all on different levels and if that level of experence is obvious than I try to post a response that would fit the situation best. My first snake wa a WC red rat. Actually my first ten or so where but I never had good long term luck at that point in my life. What made the difference was the first snake I bought, a real Okeetee, and I haven't stopped buying since then. I still think that a CB is the better choice.
Thanks Jason

Jason
You are absolutely right.

Sometimes we get carried way with our own level of expertise without taking into account the posters experience level.

Jason, the only reason I stated what I did is because it is a very common misconception that all wc snakes are loaded with parasites and hard to acclimate to captivity. I have found that to be very far from the truth in my experience. I do understand your concern and I admitt, sometimes I do forget that this is something I really enjoy, therefore am quite knowledgable about it. And I forget that others, such as this poster, are not as knowledgable as myself and others that have dealt with these creatures for so long. With that said, I am sorry if I sounded errogant.

Matt

Just out of curiousity what kind of wild caught snakes do you keep? any pics? thanks in advance.

Jetzen, currently I have a male red milk from Yazoo City, a male corn snake from Fayette, a speckled king from Fayette(just posted pics below this thread), and a female speckled king from Oktibehha.

In that post I was mainly refering to the fact that I have dealt with mostly wc in the years past. That's the only way I could have snakes. Sounds kinda funny, but when I first started keeping them we didn't have internet and all the advances in buying herps. I kept what I could catch for a time and then released most of them come fall. Now I am more selective and release about 90% of what I catch. I'll try to get some pics up later, but I'm almost certain if you did a search most of the snakes I have mentioned above have already been posted somewhere on this forum.

that i prefer c.b. to w.c., to each their own anyway.

REDMILK

SPECKLEDS


thanks for looking

Those are very fine specimens!

Are you somehow under the impression that I prefer wc to cb? I'm far from it. The only reason I have those particular wc animals is because it is a locality I personally desire to work with that no one I am aware of produces in captivity. Is that not how all cb snakes came to be anyway?

Thanks for complimenting my snakes, and yes i did have that impression. But as i stated before to each their own, and here is one of my absolute favs "MUTTLY" hypo-fla X eastern

Since it is a neonate and a corn, chances are it will not carry any parasites like many w/c kings.

...it's a corn snake. I didn't get what state you are in and it could be important. For example, if you live in GA, I believe it would be illegal to keep the little guy. (I don't know of anyone personally whhas been cited however)
Just be sure that if you decide you may want to try and keep the snake that you read up on its needs and be sure you are not breaking any laws by doing so. Just a heads up.
Many here and on the cornsnake forum would offer help as needed.
:Mark

Better way of saying what I fealt.
Thanks Jason

I think that is why i had trouble identifying it...i am origianlly from new jersey where normal corns are state endangered and therefore never sold in stores. I've only ever come in cantact with the various color morphs. As i am now in pennsylvania, its no problem keeping the normal kind. Thanx for the info.

But what type, I don't know.

Bars near the eyes look very much like gopher. It might even be a Plains Gopher.

Next time, tell what state you live in, easier to identify that way.