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Question time - Rat snakes...

lillyorchid

lillyorchid

New member
Question time!


Okay. Who here has or has had a rat snake before? What is their temperament like? How big/long do they get? Are they easy keepers, need any specific things - heating, humidity, lights? I'm fighting over if I want to get a Ball Python or a Leucistic Texas Rat Snake.
 
Leucys can be quite temperamental. If you are comfortable being bitten, then get the leucy! LOL

Actually, I love my rat snakes (even my leucy). They are really great snakes. I also like BP'S though. I say go with whichever one you want more...or get BOTH! ;)
 
I've heard good and bad things about BP's and LTR's. I've heard that it really depends on that one LTR and how much you handle he/she. Am I correct?

I've always heard that if you don't have your BP's tank temps and such perfect that you are just going to have trouble. Also i've heard they are very picky eaters and bad sheders.

So right now I'm hearing more bad things about BP's then LTR's. I've only heard LTR's are nippy.
 
Both can be problems.

I breed both and my favorite is the rat snakes. Again, though, I don't have an texas rats.....I am working with everglades, SC pure black, black rats, and leucistic black rats (supposedly true black rats from Joliff lines). I LOVE my black rats and glades...they are great. I also don't have a problem with my ball pythons. I only have a colony of 1.4 adults and then I'm raising up 4 baby balls from last year. I can tell you one thing...this time of year watch out for baby ball pythons because this is when the african shipments come in and they are all CR and many of them will never eat. Sure, they will be cheap and look cute but I'd watch out buying one. Personally, if I was to buy a ball python this time of year I'd find a breeder that had a 50% het something male or plain normal that was nice and cheap but CB and established eating. With the ball pythons, you get what you pay for....cheap means more headaches. Granted this is not the entire case, but I see it a lot. I used to wholesale ball pythons and would get 50 at a time. Some fed, some didn't and some died. My conscience got to me I sell almost entirely CB everything now. Just do not like seeing sick WC animals anymore....just not worth it for my sake or the animal.
 
Thanks for the info!

If I were to get a BP, it would be from 8 Ball Pythons =)
Do you breed leucistic black rats? I've heard they are a more tame and smaller then texas leucys.....
 
My Deckert's rat snake is definately harder to handle than my corns, he's much more temperamental and drew blood a couplle of times. With persistence he started to bluff strike instead, and now he hasn't even bluffed for about a month. I find he needs a lot of cues that I'm going to pick him up, likes to sniff my hands for some time first too. I don't know if anyone here has a mellow Deckert's, but I'm hoping he will carry on improving.
 
The bottom line

Go with what you want. Every snake is an individual and there exceptions to every rule. I wouldn't choose snake B because everything I heard about snake A was negative. Granted, leucy's are generally a nervous species, but I've seen some that were completely docile. I have a Grey Rat that is usually easy to handle, he has his moments, but is nothing like the "bad tempered reptile" that Bill Haast describes in "Snakes of Florida". My point being, get what you really WANT and work with it :cheers:
 
mbdorfer said:
Go with what you want. Every snake is an individual and there exceptions to every rule. My point being, get what you really WANT and work with it :cheers:
Click to expand...



You know what, you are right! THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
That's what I said...go with what you want! :D I have BP's and a leucy (and several other rat snakes including black rats, yellow rats, gray rats, etc). I love all of them. Some are mellow and some are fussy. They are all wonderful, though!
 
Mohr has a good

point. I bought a Ball right off the boat once. It ate. But it only ate gerbils. I had a pair of Leu Texas. The male was just as nice as could be.
I never held the female. She always was out to ruin your day.
 
If you decide to get a normal ball python, no fancy morphs or hets, then reptile rescue is a great place to look--inexpensive, you're giving an unwanted snake a good home, and the rescue volunteers can usually tell you what kind of temperament/eating habits/health status your adoptee has. Just thought I'd suggest it! :)
 
I have 2 ball pythons, a variety of corns, milks and a king. I also have a Russian rat snake and she is definitely one of my favorites. I've had no real problems with any of my snakes but i'm kinda old school too. I don't stress over them when they don't eat or shed properly. If they didn't do it right this time, they will the next, or the next. As for the russian though, she's got so much personality and can't wait to get out of the cage at the end of the day and just roam. She acts like she loves to be held and has never even considered biting. She eats like a champ too. To tell the truth, all of my snakes are very calm and don't mind handling but she seems to love it more than any of them. Get what looks good to you. Most likely whichever one you choose, you will end up getting the other one eventually anyway! Good luck!
 
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