Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all

I've been checking out the Kunisar Island rats for a while and am pretty close to pulling the trigger on a pair to add to my collection (boas, rats, kings etc...).

My questions are regarding their coloration. I've seen some that are a gorgeous green and teal color... almost blueish from certian angles. While i've seen others that are a pretty drab olive green and brown.

Are the really nice animals just older specimens that have developed more color, or are they selectively bred to look better than the average examples? Or do some animals just randomly get better looking than others?

I really want a pair of animals that will develop into that amazing green and teal color and not the drab olive color.

also, does anyone know of any quality breeders of this species.

Kunasir Island ratsnakes are awesome snakes, you will be very happy with them. I have a pair myself, and have seen a number of others around. Hatchlings ARE fairly drab, and as you speculated, they develop the nice green/blue/turquoise colors as they grow.

That being said, there are also main island Japanese ratsnakes out there (ironically less common here in the US than the Kunasirs) that are colored with more drab browns and greys. I strongly suspect that there has been some crossing going on to get the albino gene into the Kunasir Island form. To my knowledge the only albino Japanese ratsnakes are from the main islands, so any albino Kunasirs you see are probably locality crosses. I have also seen striped "Kunasir" animals, but I believe the striped form is another main island trait, so striped Kunasirs are probably also crosses (though I am less sure of this than with the albinos).

Kunisir Island Japanese ratsnakes have not, to my knowledge, been described as a separate subspecies, but they are a very distinctive form and should not be crossed with the main island type. I don't know how widespread any crossing may be occurring is, but you should try to be sure you are buying pure Kunasir Island animals, or at least look at the parents and see if they have the colors you are looking for.

Yes, I think both mainland and island forms hatch rather drab and as adults the mainland form is brown and gray whilst the true Kunasir Island forms have blue or green coloration as adults. I'm not 100% sure but I think the Kunasir's are sexually dimorphic with one sex being more greenish and the other sex being more bluish.

I also agree that many presented as Kunasir's are actually mainland or mainland X Kunasir mixes.
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