Subocs have weakly keeled scales, as do other rat snakes, but subocs' scales are a little stiffer than some snakes' scales, giving subocs a firmer feel than some other species. Most interesting texture. In contrast, for example, indigos and cribos have large scales that are soft and feel almost like human skin. I also think subocs have firmer muscles than some snakes which contributes to their firmer feel.



Your'e right--they do get about the same size as corn snakes. They are more shy than corn snakes for the most part but I can handle mine and they seem to be OK with it. A suboc that was handled regularly would most likely be just as calm as a corn snake.



Some subocs like to eat in private, under their hiding bark. Some will strike a live mouse or dead mouse wiggled in forceps as aggressively as a yellow rat snake. One of mine will attack food like a rattlesnake, another prefers a dead mouse placed under the bark with the snake. Come back in an hour to see if the mouse was eaten. Some subocs will eat several items in one meal, most subocs prefer to eat only one mouse at a time but may eat twice within a week's time. It's also not unusual for subocs to eat only once every several weeks.



I've always liked the ultra-clean look of the neck striping, and I've always liked the look of the fade-out pattern on the rear half where the pattern changes--two lovely snakes in one. My Hueco Canyon animals have a special, indescribable fawn-taupe-golden color, and my male Panther Canyon is one of the orange ones. I got two orange babies out of my locality-matched Panther Canyon pair, which I have decided to keep. That will give me an orange pair and some fawn Hueco babies if I breed the Huecos this year. There is a remarkable quality to the color of the Hueco Canyon animals--they seem to glow against the dark mulch I keep them on--really extraordinary animals.

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