Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought this guy at a local pet store as a "corn snake". I know that he is not a corn, and am pretty sure that he is a rat snake. Does anyone know what kind of rat snake he is???

Sure do. The sellers are 100% correct. That is a corn snake, also known as a red ratsnake. The yellow ratsnake is also known as a chicken snake. Curious has to how you are certain it is not a corn.

~~Greg~~

The reason I'm not sure he is a corn is just in his looks. He has no pattern on his head and very little black in his pattern. He is not amelanistic, his eyes are black. I've thought that he may be hypomelanistic, or maybe a hybrid, or a local that isn't very popular (let's face it, he isn't a pretty corn). I have just never seen a corn like him. This pic doesn't do the bright yellow that is his whole head justice (I am not a photographer, sorry). At any rate, thank you to everyone that responded, and I hope that his "homely" features aren't genetic (should know for sure in about a month).

Keep in mind that the Red ratsnake has been bred into more color and pattern morphs and been hybridised as well more than any other snake. An anomaly like a missing head pattern is no big surprise.

It is one of my arguements against "Poodle breeding" that so many snakes are bred and then released on the market where the truth of their 'altered genetics' becomes lost.

It is a corn snake-just an abberant one.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

It kind of looks like the southern morph of the cornsnake from the FL Keys that used to be known as a Rosy Ratsnake. They showed less black edging around the blotches. But of course, so many morphs of cornsnake are produced now I wouldn't be brave enough to guess which this really is.
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Chris Harrison

Its a corn alright the pet store was right

zach

Actually the lack of black suggests the probability of it being an albino. Are the eyes black? (I would guess not).

Chris, Keys rats do have reduced black as is especially evidenced by the greenish rather than black belly markings. However, the dorsum on those tends to be greenish gray or greenish orange.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

>>Chris, Keys rats do have reduced black as is especially evidenced by the greenish rather than black belly markings. However, the dorsum on those tends to be greenish gray or greenish orange.

Frank,

Are you talking about Key's Rats (P.o."deckerti" or are you talking about Rosy Rats (P.g. rosacea)? I have never seen a pic of a Rosy Rat that looked in any way greenish? They just looked like Corns with reduced black.

Chris
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Chris Harrison

I am refering to Roseys. The w/c specimens I have seen (and there have been plenty) in the flesh tend to the greenish under a grey-orange ground color. It is a subtle shading, but rather obvious when you see it on a live animal. I have seen c/b animals that were claimed to be Roseys but weren't-much like SOME of the so called Brooks that are marketed out there that aren't.

Another thing is that the Rosey's are more delicate in build. Again a subtle-but recogniseable difference.

That snake pictured looks like an Albino Okeetee phase.

Deckerd's are a whole different ball game...

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

There are some very good photos of Rosey (key Rats) in Bartlett's FLORIDA'S SNAKES.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

n/p