Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey, I found a great deal on a manderin rat. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of them? pretty easy to take care of or hell on earth?
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

Weird.... it posted it twice.....
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

I keep them. They can be a little delicate compared to your typical North American rat snake. They eat smaller meals, prefer cooler temps and higher humidity than N.A. rats. Mine have varied in temperament from somewhat defensive (tail rattling and occasional strikes or musking) to timid. They tend to hide most of the time, which is fine with me. I don't handle mine very often because it can disrupt their feeding if they're disturbed too much. I keep them in a quiet area in my room, in the coolest tubs in the rack.

You can google care sheets for them, and search for some of the previous posts on the Rat Snakes and Asian/European Rat Snakes forums as there have been some good discussions about them in the past.

As a previous poster said- wild caught have a high mortality rate and are very difficult to acclimate. Captive bred are definitely the way to go if you want to have a Mandarin for years to come.

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Lora

If you found a great deal on a Mandarin rat, it's probably a wild caught import, which probably no one on this board will recommend buying. They have a ridiculously high mortality rate - or so I've read.

If it's captive bred, and you can afford it, I can tell you a few things: they stress easily, they like cooler temps, and they prefer smaller meals than north American rat snakes do. If I could afford a c/b Mandarin, I'd get one.

I am going to agree and say, "DO NOT BUY A WILD-CAUGHT MANDARIN RATSNAKE!!!" Not only is it not good for you (since your good deal will likely die), but you would be supporting a market which slaughters snakes for profit.

Captive bred mandarins are pricey, but if you got a relatively good deal on one of those...GREAT! Duffy

E-mailed the guy, said they WERE imports and that is also why they are only $99 (including s h) Also got him to admitt that they are NOT eating. So.....definately a no go on the good deal? Gorgeous snakes though...
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

They ARE beautiful snakes, and I truly feel that the "importers" are virtually slaughtering them. Glad you asked, and glad you won't buy one. Tons of awesome captive bred snakes out there.
Duffy

I think they're a pretty easy snake if you get a CB that has been started well. In my experience the CBs are just about as easy as any rat snake I keep...about 50 species. I tried the imports once to see if I could do any better than anyone else has, and managed to lose every one of them within a year. Don't go the import route. The CBs should come down a little this year, so if you're patient, you ought to be able to get a good deal in a few months on one. Good luck! They're awesome snakes.
Also, I've had some success breeding the CBs. Here is a pic of a pair of them copulating this year. Thought I'd share.

Bryan

>>E-mailed the guy, said they WERE imports and that is also why they are only $99 (including s h) Also got him to admitt that they are NOT eating. So.....definately a no go on the good deal? Gorgeous snakes though...
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>>0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
>>1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
>>1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"

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Last night I was laying in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, "Where the hell is my ceiling?"

Nice pair of mandarins. I agree, stay away from the imports. I got one in at a place I was working at back in the late 80s/early 90s from Crutchfields(if they are even still around). Anyhow, it basically died in place over a 3-4 month period. It refused all food, and stomach tube feeding just stressed it out even more. At that time getting a c.b. was not really an option $$$$$$, they are alot more reasonable nowdays.