Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So, at first glance I think "corn snake". But, the person who is trying to find a home for him describes behavior unlike any corn snake I have ever met---near constant striking if anything moves in the room. Striking the glass if anyone gets near. Completely un-handlable. So, I was wondering, maybe a rat snake?

One more

I have owned certain cornsnakes(especially wild-caught) that were every bit as nasty and defensive as that snake.

That is very much a North American Ratsnake of the obsoletus complex. Without knowing it's exact parental lineage it is really impossible to say if it is a genuinely "pure" subspecies though, but it is either an amelanistic(albino) Black ratsnake, or an amel man-made subspecific cross of the Black ratsnake.....this is certain.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks, Doug. I know I can always get an answer here.

If you get that snake, treat it for worms. That may well change its temperament. ~~Greg~~

your welcome,.....

Well, when I looked at the pics again though, and it really could be a snowcorn(amel x anery) that doesn't have any real head chevron pattern, the little bit of yellow on the sides is very typical for snowcorns as well. But light amel Black rats and certain crosses can display this too, especially if it is a corn x rat cross..LOL! If you can look at the belly to see if there is any vague, clear-ish checkering
on the belly, that would help ID as to being a snowcorn, and if it has none it would be an amel ratsnake. You can get a shed and carefully count the scales too from these scale counts I gave here too. It's tough to make out the head shape with it all agitaded and flaired out like that.

Also, as Greg mentioned, it could have something wrong going on with it that is making it so irritable, or it could have been badly teased from whoever previously owned it also.

Another thing that can make snakes VERY cranky are temps that are too high. It needs one far side ONLY of it's enclosure to be in the mid to upper 80's for proper digestion, and cooler ambient temps of about whatever is comfortable to you,..say low-mid 70's. As long as it can seek a thermogradient on one FAR END of the higher temps, and the other side is cooler, all is good providing it can hide to feel secure.
Black ratsnake scale counts:

Ventrals: 222-246

Subcaudals: 63-90

Dorsal scale rows at mid-body: 25-27

Cornsnake scale counts:

ventrals: 203-245

subcaudals: 47-84

dorsal scale rows at mid-body: 23-29

anyway, if you can get scale counts from a shed, and see if any are too far out of key for their species, as well as look at the belly to see if it has any clearish looking checkering or not, this will be a very good indicator as to what it is for certain.

cheers, ~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I have to say that when I looked at the photos, it looked like a PO'd cornsnake to me as well. Most corns are pretty calm, but I've found some in the wild that were a lot less than "sociable".
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I certainly agree Chris. I have a wild-caught female Miami corn here right now from extreme southern Miami/Dade that is as mean as the devil himself, and strikes repeatedly at absolutely anything within striking distance until the lid is put back on and she is put back up. I had another bizarre looking wild-caught hypermelanistic Miami corn in the mid 90's that was the very same way too.

These two girls are definitely not what you would call "easy-going" lap snakes. They look all cute and innocent here in these photos, but I assure anyone they are anything BUT!!..HAHA!!

Their typical position was usually all up in multiple "S" curves ready to do "business". Out of all the countless hundreds of corns I have owned over the years, these two girls are at the top of the list for being the most memorable strike-happy of all I think.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

This whacky looking extremely aberrant male was captured just about 30 or 40 feet away from the above normal Miami corn a few miles from Everglades National Park in a different palm tree, and he is an absolute pleasure to handle and is as easy-going as can be. Never any rhyme or reason, they just are what they are..

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks for the extra info!

I do not have the snake---I was trying to help out a local shelter who had him come in, so all I know is what they have told me, and all I have seen are the photos I posted. I believe the shelter is going to place him with a small local zoo. Otherwise, I'll take him.

I will pass on everyone's thoughts to the shelter!

Thanks again

Sounds good!,.......hope all works out well with it.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I've caught "corns" from the tip of south FL to northern SC, from GA to New Mexico and from KS south into San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The only "corn" I haven't found in the wild is the old intermontana.

The most consistently unpleasant population of snakes in this species group has to be the big east TX "Kisatchie" Corns (slowinskii). They are downright horrible snakes in my experience and I've found a lot of them. I've never seen one that wasn't just a PITA.

And to make it worse, they get big. They are commonly over 4 feet and I have found several males over 5 feet. The biggest I've measured was 67" and ornery as anything.

This big brute in the photo was over 5 feet, and a "real bundle of joy". Even right off the road, these are massive snakes compared to an eastern corn!

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Interesting that the wild-caught Kisatchie's seemed to be sort of the "Texas Rats" of the guttatus complex...

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com