Original post by MTKarthik — 2020-06-16 23:33:52 GMT
Caught a young great plains rat snake just minutes after it had eaten a mouse on my patio. It is about 18-20 inches long, and maybe two fingers thick at its fattest point. My guess would be it's two or three years old.
Set it up in a tank where it has been for 72 hours. It defecated the mouse. I removed the scat and refreshed the water. It seems content, active. has dug a hole beneath a rock and moves about easily, not anxiously.
The mouse it ate was very young - the tail in the scat was shriveled, but really only maybe an inch and a half long.
This snake has never been domesticated, presumably has always hunted live mice. But it seems docile and chill in its new home.
Should I only feed it live mice? pinkies? full grown? Can I feed it frozen mice? What's the best way to start feeding and domesticating this rat snake?
Reply by terrence_cox — 2021-01-23 20:54:13 GMT
Can you give me a general location for your snake, like state and county I would feed it frozen/thawed mice.
Original post by Ameron — 2020-01-24 16:08:33 GMT
(Don't you love it when we assign species names based on ever-changing political boundaries? I might have been tempted to call them Saharan or Arabian Diadems, or something else relevant...)
Recently, I got a sub adult recently that is 30 inches long. My guess is that he's a 2018 hatchling, and will be age two by late summer of this year. This is my hypothesis:
They hatch at 14-16 inches, then about double their size their first year.
It's also possible that he is a 2017 hatchling, but not well fed. He has not fed lately.
Who has experience with Diadems? Please share your comments & insight. Photos are nice!
]]>Original post by Ameron — 2020-01-04 14:42:14 GMT
I just got a male from a Cleveland dealer who works with DM Exotics, the likely supplier. This specimen was imported from Java, very likely from the suburbs of Jakarta itself.
At home in his 75-gallon, naturalistic terrarium, the snake is doing very well, slowly learning my predictable behavior and to trust me more. I'm pleased with the success so far, especially for a wild-caught specimen.
Currently, there is very little information about these on the Internet. Even the Ratsnakes book from 1997 has little about them.
If anyone else keeps these, please share your insights.
]]>Original post by Shocknaweleos — 2018-09-22 02:06:40 GMT
My first Triapsis hatchling. She ate a fuzzy 2 days after her first shed. She wass the only good egg out of three.
My female just dropped her second clutch of 3 huge eggs!
Reply by JKDcane — 2019-03-06 04:58:24 GMT
Would love to have a CB green rat! Is there a source for them?Good looking baby by the way. How is it fairing?
Original post by pgcc0912 — 2018-07-18 12:06:05 GMT
Big momma...
-med.jpg)
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1.2 Chihuahua's
0.1 Cockatiel
1.0 BCI Colombian
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
1.0 Woma Python
1.0 Jungle Carpet Python
0.1 Leucistic Texas Rat Snake
1.1 Hypo Everglades Rat Snake
0.1 Mexican Black King snake
1.0 Sunglow Motley Corn Snake
1.0 Coral Snow Corn Snake
1.0 Bearded Dragon
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula
0.0.2 Emporer Scorpion
0.0.2 Gold Fish
0.0.1 Pleco
Original post by theMAC — 2017-09-19 01:34:37 GMT
When I registered on this site, 15 years ago, I had just started working with Texas Rat Snakes (they still called them Elaphe back then) 
Anyway, here's what I've done.
http://www.cadmiumtxratsnakes.com/
If anyone wants some Het's this winter or babies next spring please let me know.
Original post by lateralis — 2017-09-13 05:15:49 GMT
An incredibly interesting bogertophid, who is working with them? I rarely see them in collections or in the classifieds.
cheers
mom and yearling daughter suboc project
Reply by mingdurga — 2017-12-07 21:42:33 GMT
Still have 1.2 ranging from 5 years to 9. Been working with them since the mid 70's. Concentrating on some asian red rats and western hogs. Bred them multiple times at natural room temps. Only use incubator for my BP's.
Mike
Reply by lateralis — 2017-09-20 21:11:14 GMT
Geez did this forum die or what lol
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Cheers
Lateralis
"I would rather be precisely wrong than approximately right"
Marion "Doc" Ford
Original post by Garrett906 — 2017-08-21 17:21:55 GMT
I'm interested in discussing elaphe Obsoletus Obsoletus genetics. I currently have a rusty, albino black rat female, a Whiteside het hypo black rat female and a Whiteside, hypo, shater male black rat. Which rat snake genes are recessive or dominant. What genes work well together, ect. Any info on the black rat genetics would be appreciated.
Reply by elaphefan — 2017-10-04 22:52:10 GMT
First, the the scientific name of a Black Rat Snake was Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. The current scientific name is Pantherophis alleghaniensis. At this time, Black, Yellow, and Everglades Rat Snakes all fall under the same species.
As far as genes and your color morphs, the wild type, in this case black, is dominant. That is to say, that if you were to breed one of your morphs with a normal black rat snake, all of its offsprings should look like the wild type parent. The offspring should all be het for the gene, but it will not be expressed. If you crossbreed two of the offspring, 1/4 of their offspring should express the recessive trait.
If you are asking what you would get if you crossed to of your morphs, I have no idea of what the offspring will look like, except that none of them should come out expressing normal coloring
Original post by jtgator — 2017-06-17 19:36:48 GMT
I recently purchased about a 4 foot field collected Gonyosoma oxycephala, (Red tailed green rat snake)
The snake was sick when I received it with RI and internal parasites. The vet wanted $300 to treat which I don't want to spend on this particular animal. He gave me an RX for ceftazidime to inject myself but I could not find a legitimate source for the drug.
I treated the RI with F10 nebulizer twice daily for 2 weeks and it seemed much improved. I force fed it a hopper 5 days ago and 3 days ago I gave it a oral Panacur dose. I did not have Panacur when I fed him or I would have injected the mouse.
Today I noticed the room he is in smelled like snake feces but no mess in cage. He is keeping his mouth open more than just a yawn, and occasional having a fit, flopping and twisting around his enclosure with mouth open.
Is it possible the RI is returning or is there something else I maybe missing? Any advice is appreciated.
Reply by jtgator — 2017-06-17 20:20:56 GMT
Snake died.
Original post by BobS — 2016-11-17 14:42:02 GMT
Anyone working with or know if anyone working with hypo or Amel Bairds?
Anyone know what happened with these?
Thanks,
Bob
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=2015428,2015428
]]>Original post by sakamoto_boy — 2016-10-03 09:38:56 GMT
I know these "Albino,Hypo,Chocolate,Golden(Albino Chocolate),Snow,Axantic(Anery),Reverse Stripe".
Do you know any other morphs of Emory Ratsnake?
]]>Original post by JonMiller — 2016-07-31 18:36:45 GMT
Anyone know if these are pure yellow or not, any info would be great.
Thanks ~ jon
]]>Original post by elaphefan — 2016-02-29 03:23:06 GMT
Is anyone out there planning to breed wild type Pantherophis alleghaniensis this year? I am talking about normal, het for nothing animals. I have looked in the Classifieds, and all that are being offered are Pantherophis spiloides.
Reply by Wisema2297 — 2017-04-03 05:35:50 GMT
Jason Tapp I believe does. He also has SC locality. You can find him on the facebook group Black Ratsnake Keepers and Breeders.
Reply by elaphefan — 2016-03-26 16:21:17 GMT
Keep me posted, I might get a pair from you. That collor are their eyes in that area. I had one found in PA that had red eyes, and parts of Va and NC, their eyes are silver. Can you post pictures of the parents?
I have a female from VA at this point that has black eyes with almost no pattern on the sides showing.
If you can't tell, I like natural coloring in my animals. I don't want one that is het for anything. ☺
Reply by Mstancil1975 — 2016-03-26 03:21:46 GMT
I plan to produce South Carolina locale het for nothing this year .
Micah
Original post by RichardHurtz — 2016-01-30 10:29:23 GMT
Here is my 2003 LTR taken back in 2010. This sweet female is now 6ft, 1700 grams.
Reply by markg — 2016-02-03 18:58:29 GMT
Wow, very nice!
After all this time, I finally got a ratsnake - a whitesided black rat. Such neat snakes.
Original post by sslithr1219 — 2015-07-09 04:05:56 GMT
My white sided, black liquorice Rat Snake has a thick, white, Elmer's glue-like substance coming out of his mouth, but not often. He is eating and drinking normally however, his bowel movements ABNORMALLY STINK TO HIGH HELL. Any idea what may be going on with him?
]]>Original post by Ameron — 2015-06-13 18:06:31 GMT
Just over a year ago, I rescued a Black Ratsnake from a state-sponsored reptile rescue south of Seattle. The rescue owner recalled little about the snake's original donor, except that he lived near Kelso, Washington.
However, my snake is NOT black. He is very chestnut or chocolate brown. The upper third of his sides have high white speckling, and his belly has a salmon color like an Emory Ratsnake.
At first, I thought that he is a naturally occurring hypomelanistic specimen. Later, I learned more about George Miskimmons and his line of morphs. I now wonder if my snake is the result of a bad attempt to breed an Albino, or a High-white "Licorice" snake.
Main clues:
1) We are on the West Coast, nowhere near his home range.
2) Black Ratsnakes are uncommon in the pet trade, seldom sold online unless as an Albino or Licorice variety
Experienced herpers please reply and let me know which of these scenarios YOU vote for:
A) Wild-caught hypomelanistic snake that was later moved to the West Coast?
B) Captive-bred morph with Albino or Brindle genes?
Thanks for voting and sharing your opinions!
Desert Don
Vancouver, WA
1.0 Pantherophis obsoleta obsoleta
1.0 Lampropeltis getula splendida
1.0 Terrapene carolina carolina
(Photobucket link photos include some of when he temporarily got loose and raided local bird nests. My housemate got distracted and lost my snake in our yard, but he was later found. Long story, please don't ask. You have probably lost at least one snake yourself.)
Link
Reply by elaphefan — 2016-02-05 08:01:32 GMT
I am very familiar with Eastern Black Rat Snakes. The ones I have seen in Virginia are for the most part always black with a white underbelly that contains grayish rectangular blotches starting a little way past the chin. They run about 1/3of the way down its body. At that point what you see is by then is just a gray color. I put up a link that will show you the typical pattern.
By the new classification system, there are Eastern Rat Snakes, Pantherophis alleghaniensis, Central Rat Snakes, Pantherophis spiloides, and Western Rat Snakes, Pantherophis obsoleta. On the East Coast, The Black, Yellow, and Everglades Rats are now considered one species.
Here are the Taxonomic Notes
Burbrink et al. (2000) and Burbrink (2001) examined genetic and morphological variation in Elaphe obsoleta and determined that the nominal subspecies do not represent evolutionary lineages and should no longer be recognized. Further, these authors identified three clades within E. obsoleta, corresponding to populations (1) west of the Mississippi River (western clade), (2) east of the Mississippi River and west of the Appalachian Mountains and Apalachicola River (central clade), and (3) east of the Appalachians and the Apalachicola River (eastern clade). Burbrink (2000) recognized the three clades as distinct species: E. obsoleta (western clade), E. spiloides (central clade), and E. alleghaniensis (eastern clade). In mapping the distribution of the species, Burbrink indicated a very large area of "taxonomic uncertainty" extending from New England to northern Georgia. In this region the distribution of E. alleghaniensis was deemed "somewhat questionable with regard to hybridization with members of Elaphe spiloides."
Va Black Rat
Reply by markg — 2015-12-18 17:53:04 GMT
I didn't see pics of the black rat either, just the nice rosy. In any case, black rats are often in the classifieds. Maybe not every week, but they do show up. Some white patterning on the first 1/3rd of the snakes is not uncommon. Also, there is a "rusty" morph which is a hypo.
A number of morphs in black rats exists actually. There is a large pet store in so cal that had some black rat adults of some different morphs. Really neat snakes. Get big.
Reply by herpExpert — 2015-11-17 02:17:48 GMT
All I saw in the given link were seven pics of a Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata)and terrarium, not a Black Ratsnake of any kind??
Reply by snakemancarter — 2015-09-04 20:14:21 GMT
I vote rusty black rat
Original post by hampton26 — 2015-05-19 16:23:05 GMT
Dad caught a leucistic gray rat snake last week. However, it has patterns on back. Talked with Terry Huering, who has a leucistic gray rat, and he shared that a true leucistic shouldn't have the patterns. Anyone have any info on what kind of morph this would be. I've posted pictures under the rat snake photo section.
Reply by elaphefan — 2016-09-10 05:26:23 GMT
Your map is out of date.You ignore the more accepted system.
There are now only three species of the old Elaphe obsoleta subspecies system. First there are no subspecies, and only three species recognized. They are:
alleghaniensis (Eastern)
spiloides (Central)
obsoletus (Western)
baird (Western Texas and Mexico) Bairdie was not considered a subspecies of Elaphe obsoleta.For that reason, I think that it with Elaphe obsoleta ssp might confuse the the issue. This system uses mtDNA to distinguish relationships. Coloring is not the defining issue.
An Alternative Classification of the New World Rat Snakes (Genus Pantherophis (Reptilia: Squamata: C
Reply by HerpExpert — 2015-11-19 20:03:43 GMT
.....on Will's calico bloodline. will be interesting if your particular hatchling only has and develops the other underlying pigment(s), unlike the other captive ratsnake lines do.
Will's calico hatchlings
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irony - "that one person's trash (captive-produced hybrids) could ever be another person's treasure"..........
Reply by HerpExpert — 2015-11-19 19:50:30 GMT
Glad it's doing well for you. also interesting that it came from the same area of Kentucky as Will's did. If it originated from the Jefferson County area, then it's definitely a mutant Black Ratsnake, not a Gray Ratsnake. Is there ANY hint of dark pigmentation (melanin) on this animal's body whatsoever (aside from its pupils that is)? Anyway,....I would expect to see at least SOME vague hints of melanin on the body to deem it a 'calico' Black rat. However, it's possible that there is some other odd genetics involved where it also prevents the production of melanin on the body itself, yet could intensify with other shades such as the other underlying reddish and/or yellow hues that are in these snakes' natural genetics. It'll be very interesting to see how it colors-up later on as it matures. compared to the other known 'calico' Black and Texas ratsnakes already established in the hobby.
Anyway, enjoy raising that cool little juvenile up to adulthood. 
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irony - "that one person's trash (hybrid snakes) could ever be another person's treasure"..........
Reply by hampton26 — 2015-11-18 23:49:17 GMT
Funny you posted this. I found Will's site a couple of months ago. Talked to him via email. Found out that his wild caught calico and my wild caught calico are from the same area, same county. Mine is doing well, shedding, eating and growing. Must be something in the water here I guess....
Reply by HerpExpert — 2015-11-18 16:59:47 GMT
Sorry, it wouldn't paste correctly in my earlier post.
Link
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irony - "that one person's trash (hybrid snakes) could ever be another person's treasure"..........
Reply by HerpExpert — 2015-11-18 16:57:33 GMT
Awesome find!,....
Well, as Terry already mentioned, it's definitely not a true leucistic snake, even though it displays black pupils and is extremely pale. As mentioned, truly leucistic snakes are COMPLETELY patternless, white to beige with absolutely no other visible body pigmentation, yet have normally-pigmented black pupils. it doesn't seem to display ANY hints of tiny flecks of dark pigment (melanin) either like the so-called 'calico' Black ratsnakes do. I'd bet that your snake will later develop more yellowish pigmentation (xanthin), and even possibly a bit of pinkish tone as well as it matures more. Do you know if this juvenile was actually captured in pure 'spiloides' range? If not, it could easily be a natural intergrade of the other NA rat subspecies. The county were it was captured will likely determine its subspecific origin. it will be a bit easier to determine what is going on genetically as it matures more though. VERY COOL snake regardless!
BtW, this is a pic of a hatchling 'calico' BLACK ratsnake which is very similar to the gray rat. Both ratsnake ssp. look virtually identical as neonates anyway until they mature more.
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irony - "that one person's trash (hybrid snakes) could ever be another person's treasure"..........
Reply by snakemancarter — 2015-09-04 20:09:17 GMT
looks like a calico black rat. I just picked up a trio this year and they look the same as yours
Original post by MichaelH — 2015-04-12 14:53:42 GMT
Can anyone tell me where the first amel Bairds came from, and who started this strain? They look pure but I'd like to find out their history before getting into them. On another note, I got some of the moonshine rat snakes from Doug Mong, and I love these things you can't get any better than a locality specific morph. I plan on keeping mine pure, not breeding them into anything else
Link
Original post by darkrose714 — 2015-03-23 14:41:19 GMT
Hi, in around January, I acquired a "Moonshine" yellow x black intergrade rat snake. A friend thought he was an emerald, but the original breeder and owner had the parents, both caught locally in horry county, south carolina. I am not sure how to post a pic, but another kingsnake user, DMong, has posted pics of theirs, and mine looks identical. Just kind of want to get an idea of what I have, as in is it rare? Good or bad idea to breed? Just curious, thanks! I also have a very large dark yellow rat snake, but he's just wild caught, run of the mill. Love him, but extremely curious about the moonshine.
Reply by wisema2297 — 2015-07-12 23:36:30 GMT
Scroll down 9 posts and you will see my moonshine post. Here is an updated pic of one.
Original post by imjustheather — 2015-03-06 00:11:15 GMT
Does anyone know who produced the first ones? I read that it was Dr. H. Bernard Bechtel in 1985, but I can only find two sources that say that and neither of those have references. Just wondering if anyone knows and has a source I can check out.
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