Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How many different color patterns, etc do Texas Rat snakes have over the range of their habitat in the wild? I'm seeing photos of snakes id'd as Tx rat snakes that look nothing like my TX rat snake and I'm wondering if I need to look at different ID now.
thanks,
e

Ditto. I have just received a WC snake that has been identified online as a Texas Rat Snake. So I searched online to find others pics of this snake. What I found was nothing like the snake that I have. I found an assortment of colors and patterns all identified as Texas Rat. Would keepers of this species be so kind as to post their pictures of these snakes for comparison? Thanks a bunch.

Besides normal and leucistic phases, Texas Rats come in lavender, high-orange, axanthic, and amelanistic phases. There may even be additional morphs. Dwight is the person that really specializes in keeping/breeding uncommon lindheimeri. Perhaps he may be able to post a few pics, to show what is possible. Also, if you post a picture of your snake here, he may be able to identify it.

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tricia

Im asumeing your talking about Elaphe Obsoleta. Thats what everyone calls a Texas rat snake around here, DFW area. Around here the wild ones are dark colored, irodescent blue/black blotches down back with red coloration between the scales. Dont know about your captive animals but in the wild, these things are all attitude. Deffinatly stand there ground. Skinner

I posted a pic post below concerning the newly caught snake which has been identified as a Texas Rat Snake. This animal has the calmest demeanor and attitude that is amazing. I'm hoping that this is not temporary. I have not witnessed any defensive actions so far in the few days that I have observed it. It is about 3 ft long. I'm guessing maybe two years old? How large do these grow? Is it possible that it will attain 6ft?

Here's a picture of WC TX Rat. To answer your question, yes they can easily attain a length of 6 feet. I found one the other day that was a little over 5. In Dixon's and Werler's Texas Snakes they state that the record is 86 inches, but I have heard of them growing longer.

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Scott Guilbeaux

Looks a lot like the young one that just came into my possession. The one in your pic looks like it has an attitude. I have never seen this 3ft one of mine ever even assume the S shape. It is in shed right now but I want to keep it long enough to see if it really is as docile as it appears. Do you think that they make good pets?

Most wild TX Rats that I've come across will not hesitate to bite repeatedly. Aside from that I think they make good captives due to the fact that they are very hardy, low maintenance, and eat readily. All of the wild caught ones that I've kept have taken frozen rodents right of the bat.
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Scott Guilbeaux

of the Texas Rat Snake is:

Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri

>>Im asumeing your talking about Elaphe Obsoleta.

The genus of North American rat snakes is now Pantherophis, Elaphe being reserved for Old World rat snakes. There are several subspecies, although you'll probably not get any authority to agree on exactly how many. The most commonly accepted are:

P. o. obsoletus - the black rat nominate subspecies, also known as American Rat, Pilot Rat, etc.;
P. o. lindheimeri - the Texas Rat;
P. o. quadrivittata - the Yellow Rat, or Four Lined Rat;
P. o. rossalleni - the Everglades Rat;
P. o. spiloides - the Grey Rat;

>>Dont know about your captive animals but in the wild, these things are all attitude. Deffinatly stand there ground.

I find that most of them are quite feisty babies, but they usually calm down quite nicely as they get older. I've got a couple of older ones that will still tag me once in a while, but they're not big enough to do any real damage, or even cause any real pain.
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tricia

Interesting! The change in classification must be a recent one.

Within the past six months. Actually, the name "Pantherophis" was first applied to some on these animals in the 19th Century, and then was replaced by "Elaphe." Now, the scientists have determined that they never were Elaphe, so they've reverted to the old name that fell by the wayside so many years ago.

>>Interesting! The change in classification must be a recent one.

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tricia

Within the past six months. Actually, the name "Pantherophis" was first applied to some on these animals in the 19th Century, and then was replaced by "Elaphe." Now, the scientists have determined that they never were Elaphe, so they've reverted to the old name that fell by the wayside so many years ago.

>>Interesting! The change in classification must be a recent one.

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tricia

These indeed can be troublesome to identify.

Elaphe obsoleta (Black Rat snake, E. o. obsoleta, and Texas Rat snake, E. o. lindheimeri) are especially difficult to identify when young. To compound the problem, the two subspecies intergrade here in Oklahoma, resulting in an almost bewildering range of variation. They are fairly common in these parts, but because of intergrading I have yet to see a fully black one. They're all patterned to some degree - even large adults, which routinely reach 5-6 feet.

All of the young are strongly patterned, with dark blotches ranging from black to charcoal to medium/dark brown, on a lighter background of white, beige, tan, or gray. The head is patterned on the young, often similar to the "spearpoint" pattern seen on corns, Prairie Kings and Great Plains rat snakes. But the dark stripe on E. obsoletas (Black or Texas Rat) ends at the mouth line. As they mature, the pattern fades and the head becomes dark gray-ish, and eventually black. Strength of pattern and prevailing color will vary considerably from one to the next, especially on juveniles. That probably explains why a Texas Rat in one pic looks so different from another Texas Rat in another pic!

I've had Tanner for over 2 years now. She's a local wc that leans strongly toward the Texas Rat end of the local spectrum. She was 19 inches long and strongly patterned when I first got her; now she's about 3 1/2 feet long now and still quite strongly patterned, although it has faded some and her head is now a solid charcoal-gray. I'll see if I can get a pic of her on here. michaelb

Thanks for your explanation. It probably defines what my trouble is as mine is WC in Oklahoma. At 2 years of age it is still strongly patterned with a beautiful dolphin shape on it's head, however, I've noticed recently that it's light beige background is beginning to darken and turn grey.

Where in OK are you? I'm nearly on the Kansas line.
e

Ahhh, that explains it! I'm in central OK, close to Oklahoma City. It's generally central/southern/western OK where the zone of Black/Texas intergradation lies. As I understand it, our Black Rat snakes actually tend more toward black in northern and eastern OK (as adults). Some of the intergrades around here actually are quite impressive, showing quite a bit of orange and red in the pattern, in addition to brown/tan/white. Nothing like a fiery red corn, but impressive nonetheless.

Then again, maybe it doesn't explain it . . . my texas rat came from the southwest corner of the state near Gould. However, I grew up in extreme NE corner of OK and the black rat is definitely black there. It's good to hear that there are strange variations in color and pattern though. It just makes ID'ing things a pain.

e

Actually, that fits perfectly! Across western, southern, and central OK just about anything is possible in terms of pattern, color, etc. But in northeast OK, adult obsoletas are most likely to tend toward a "true" Black Rat, i.e. with residual pattern, if any, limited mainly to the skin between scales.