Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'd like to find out who's producing Mandarin ratsnakes. I did a search of recent months and there aren't too many posts featuring Mandarins. I'm thinking about getting back into keeping this great species. Anyone care to add some info to this strand?

I kept Mandarins until about 5 or 6 years ago. I mostly got out of them, because I knew I'd be retiring and moving from MI to AZ and didn't know if they could stand the conditions here. But now I know that I could probably do well with them again in this new climate and home we have. This is a great species that gave us a lot of pleasure once upon a time. Any photos would be welcome on this thread, as well as info on who's breeding, and/or what the different forms are.

Thanks much...Terry Cox/Green Valley, AZ

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Conserving reptiles by helping to protect habitat...
www.ratsnakehaven.com
www.scenicsantaritas.org

Hi Terry,....

Glad to hear that you are going to be getting back into these interesting snakes. I wish I could remember more sources, but I know Randy Whittington and Tim Gebhard (Vivid) still work with them. There are a few Mandarins in the KS classifieds right now. There was a couple on "FC" as well.

I have always liked them myself, and I had a few back in the early and mid 90's. The male I had was a China import from the late 1980's.

Best of luck getting your new Mandarin acquisitions!...

~Doug
LINK

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks for the response, Doug.

I've been living in s. AZ for the last 4.5 yrs, and the winters here are good for Mandarins. We get cool temps from about Thanksgiving to April Fool's Day, which is nice for brumations. I've been fixing up the Back Porch (AZ Room) to be good for my snakes and last summer added a heating/cooling unit. I can keep exact temps year 'round now.

I don't remember the exact years I kept Mandarins in MI, somewhere bt. 1998 and 2008 I'm sure. The Sichuan form was one of my favorites though. I'll see if I can find a pic.

Terry

>>Hi Terry,....
>>
>>Glad to hear that you are going to be getting back into these interesting snakes. I wish I could remember more sources, but I know Randy Whittington and Tim Gebhard (Vivid) still work with them. There are a few Mandarins in the KS classifieds right now. There was a couple on "FC" as well.
>>
>> I have always liked them myself, and I had a few back in the early and mid 90's. The male I had was a China import from the late 1980's.
>>
>>Best of luck getting your new Mandarin acquisitions!...
>>
>>
>> ~Doug
>>LINK
>>
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>>"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"
>>
>>serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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Conserving reptiles by helping to protect habitat...
www.ratsnakehaven.com
www.scenicsantaritas.org

Very cool Terry,......it sounds like you will be able to do a good job with your Mandarin husbandry where you now live. I bet you will have to tweak your humidity some there to support those guys..LOL!

Yeah, Sichuan Province was definitely one of the locales Randy works with too. Best of luck with snagging some great animals and propagating them again as you did before.

Nice juvie pic!

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

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks, Doug.

Yea, the humidity was something I worried about the first year or two, but it is much better on the back porch than in the main part of the house. I usually get 30 to 40% in the winter (Dec-Mar). We also have a spa on the porch that I run occasionally to spike the humidity. And I use humid hides in cages with sensitive snakes, such as the green rats. I'll do the same with the Mandarins, if I get some.

Happy Holidays....TC
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Ratsnake Haven Webpage
Ratsnake Haven Group

Yeah, I figured you would definitely offer the needed humidity with humid hides and/or occasional mistings with bedding that would retain it well.... The spa sounds like a great idea too. Do you do the loose mulch tunnel tube thing with them like Bill Gilligham did many years ago to get them to breed? My imports were really seclusive like that. Captive-raised individuals will certainly be far better and easy-going, and not have quite the wild instict those guys did though.

My male only ever constricted and ate ONE adult mouse in all the years I ever owned him, but would scarf down a pile of helpless fuzzies left in the corner of the cage. If I ever moved even slightly and he knew I was there, he wouldn't feed at all. He preferred them to be left overnight in the dark so he could crawl around the cage perimeter and find them.

~Doug

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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

This is one of the set-ups I used....

Mandarins loved for me to leave live fuzzies or hoppers overnight in a feeding jug, that normally held water. They also loved to have the cage bedding misted before feeding. Sometimes they at f/t, but not always.

I remember reading an article by Gillingham just before getting into Mandarins in the early days. He was the first to breed them, if I remember correctly. I did get a clutch myself eventually. Very secretive snakes. They did like lots of props, bedding, and some tubing.

Terry

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Ratsnake Haven Webpage
Ratsnake Haven Group

Awesome Mandarin, Doug...

Here's one of mine in the cage setup for overnight feedings...

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Ratsnake Haven Webpage
Ratsnake Haven Group

Thanks Terry,

Yes, very secretive indeed. Looks like yours had lots of great nooks and secretive hiding places for sure!..

Yep, you are correct. Bill Gillingham was the first to breed them and produce captive-hatched offspring back in July of 1989. I remember his feature magazine article on Mandarins in the early 90's, and was about the same time I acquired mine.

I thought back then, and still do that they are one of the most beautiful looking snakes there are!

And MERRY CHRISTMAS to you and everyone else!

~Doug

-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com