Trans-pecos ratsnake care?

[Ditto]

For those of you who didn't see my thread the other day, I'm currently in the process of deciding what species of snake to get next (as my second one).
I received so many great recommendations and I'm still pretty far from actually choosing a snake, but someone mentioned trans-pecos ratsnakes (I can't quite remember who, sorry!) and I found them really interesting. Trouble is, unlike the other species I'm interested in, I can't really find much about their care online.
So to anyone here who keeps them or has in the past, would you be able to outline their care for me here? Or just give some general husbandry tips?
Thanks for reading! <3

[Bogertophis]

Probably me -Bogertophis subocularis ...I just typed a long response & then lost power, right as I was finishing it.
Storms coming thru now, I'll try again tomorrow.

[Ditto]

Probably me -Bogertophis subocularis ...I just typed a long response & then lost power, right as I was finishing it.
Storms coming thru now, I'll try again tomorrow.

Oh right, of course it was you lol! Agghhh power outages are the worst, hoping it gets better where you are!

[Bogertophis]

OK, starting over... I've known quite a few Trans Pecos rat snakes over the years...my first (likely w/c adult) came from an abusive pet store. In time,
I found her a mate & bred them (very hard not to keep them all), & now many years later I have 2.1 unrelated & un-bred c/b pets. They are my favorite
snakes. Why? Easy to care for (easy to feed f/t, easy requirements to maintain, & mellow- easy to handle), plus a big personality & pleasing appearance.


They also stay right about 4', a perfect pet size. They are not shy & in fact enjoy using branches in their cage openly & obviously like to snooze in shallow
baskets wired onto their branches, so you get to SEE them even without holding them. People who are afraid of snakes (I have done programs & "meet &
greets" with my snakes for many years) pick up on their peaceful & curious demeanor, so they are excellent snake "ambassadors" as well. While they can
move fast to grab prey, they tend to move slowly (cautiously?) and they make friends easily. They come in some color variants, but if all you want are
screaming colors, look elsewhere. If you want a sweet snake that's fun to interact with, they don't get any better. And those darn bug eyes are so cute!
Lifespan is somewhere in the teens, like most rat snakes. They're primarily nocturnal (those big eyes = good vision) but they are not at all cranky by day.

These are native to the desert southwest (U.S.), specifically areas of New Mexico & Texas (as well as Mexico) & obviously named for the Trans Pecos river.
They need good ventilation in cage...NOT a tub or plastic enclosure! Best for adults is a 40 gal. breeder glass tank (or larger) with screen top, and a UTH
(about 11" x 11" at upper 80's), with cool & warm side hides (like most all snakes) & a small water bowl. Humidity is not an issue, do NOT add any! I lived
in the desert S/W for many years & now live in a humid state with these, they are fine, as long as they have good ventilation & the appropriate substrate.


I use & recommend Carefresh 'natural' mixed with clean paper shreds (free from my bill shredder): Carefresh is more compacted than it used to be & the
paper shreds add fluff & air spaces. Actually, I line their tanks first with 1 layer of paper towels, then a layer of paper shreds, then sprinkle Carefresh over
that. This allows UTH warmth to rise thru, gives traction & looks fairly natural. I cannot recall a Trans Pecos ever burrowing & messing up this arrange-
ment either...they're easy to live with. In the wild, they'd be using rocky crevices. They climb branches well & seem to tiptoe on them. Not cage wreckers!
In the cooler months I spoil mine by adding a very dimmed black incandescent bulb in a reflector overhead for warmth, which they enjoy laying under...and
that way, we can watch each other too. They're curious, nosy snakes.

Trans Pecos rat snakes are constrictors & active hunters at night. Wild hatchlings start off on small lizards, then consume rodents & as adults even catch a
few bats. If you get a hatchling, be sure it has a good feeding record on f/t pinkie mice, though honestly I've had little trouble with raising them- and
my current ones were shipped right out of the egg with no issues. It was either that or wait for spring temperatures for safe shipping...these usually hatch
in later fall & mine came from a breeder in Maine. Like most snakes, they prefer live first but generally switch to f/t with ease; you should offer at night &
give them privacy. Using tongs, show it to them with a little motion, they may take it off tongs but it not, just leave it & go away. Bright lights hurt their
eyes, so dim lights or none at all will help. They normally catch on quick that we bring dinner.


As they grow, increase the size of mice up to slender adults, not the fat or huge breeder mice. Adult snakes usually love rat pinks thru mouse-sized rat pups
also, but that's a fattier diet so don't feed those exclusively. If I still bred rats, I'd probably mix it up (mice & baby rats) but since I don't, mine get only mice
now. Most rat snakes aren't fussy about this & I think some variety is probably good for them. When I got my very first Trans Pecos, the wild caught from
the pet store, she only took live fuzzy mice at first...and you could almost see the smirk on her face as she gulped them down. (sorry mice) There's no way
I'd have given live mice with eyes open though, and she caught on quickly to fresh killed & then f/t rodents, so thereafter she ate small adult mice.


A funny side note about Reilly (my first TP): so carefully would she take food that I could leave a live fuzzy on the palm of my hand, which she dearly wanted,
but (apparently?) because she smelled my hand as much as she smelled the mouse, she would not take it! Only if I offered it between my thumb & forefinger
with the nose sticking out would she carefully eat from my hand. Knowing that our scent tends to confuse snakes when it comes to feeding, I've opted not to
continue doing that, but I think it tells you something about their personality. Many of them tend to be "polite" about eating: when I offer a f/t mouse with tongs,
they may approach & come close, with a barely perceptible quiver of excitement....yet they pause, wanting to "know" it's safe before they eat from my tongs
gently & without grabbing. They're just a little 'different' when it comes to snakes and they clearly learn.

These are not snakes known for refusing food: my house thermostat is set to 70* (winter) and 80* (summer) and those are the ambient temperatures my
snakes do well in also. They eat all winter as if it wasn't there. Bear in mind that the desert gets cold in winter (these would brumate in the wild), and even
in summer, the nights can be quite chilly. These are adaptable snakes that thrive in our home environments. (Even if your home is in upper 60's at night,
you'd probably still not have a problem with these refusing food & wanting to brumate.)

Let me know if I forgot anything?

[Bogertophis]

Speaking of them "learning", when I first received the Trans Pecos hatchlings (they're now my 9 year old adults), I did something special for them before they
arrived, knowing that shipping can be unnerving. I cut up some cardboard shoe-box lids & turned them into miniature mazes, with about 3 little doorways out,
and lots of inner passageways. As hatchlings, they were kept temporarily in ventilated hard plastic "critter cottages" and these mazes were their hides. They
LOVED them...in & out they went, every which way, peeking out & then satisfied they could safely hide from me. Hatchlings aren't much bigger than a well-
started pencil, and it was a sad day when they outgrew these custom hides...watching their enjoyment was hilarious, but on to bigger cages & cage toys.

FYI: those hatchlings fed the next day after arrival for me (as soon as they were offered), and for the first 3 feedings, took live pinkie mice. The first was
taken in their hide boxes, but after that, they ate pinkies offered from tongs, about 4-5 days apart. As I said, after the first 3 pinkies, they switched without
question to f/t pinkies. If you don't have tongs (12" tweezers), get some.

[Jus1More]

Let me just say that when it comes to any questions about Trans Pecos rat snakes "Bogertophis" is the one to ask. She is very knowledgeable and helped me with my Trans Pecos. I fell in love with these rat snakes because of their beauty and charm. Their big google eyes makes me smile everytime and I admire their gentle nature towards humans. My search to find one of these snakes was hard, because they are a rare find in Canada, but I soon found a breeder and had my little guy shipped to me and I am so glad I found him. I dont think you will be disappointed if you made the decision to get one of these snakes and guarantee if you have any other questions there will be someone on here to help out!! Good luck

[Jus1More]

Here is a picture of "Lazar" when i first got him. He is such a cutie!!!

Sent from my SM-P550 using Tapatalk

[Bogertophis]

Here is a picture of "Lazar" when i first got him. He is such a cutie!!!

Sent from my SM-P550 using Tapatalk

If we keep this up, pretty soon we'll have a "club"...

[Ditto]

Wow thank you so much for all the information!! They honestly sound incredible haha, I love their little bug eyes and I have to admit having a snake I could actually see is VERY appealing (not that I don't love my bp lol)
I actually have recycled paper rodent bedding on hand (not carefresh but an offbrand, it's the same stuff) because I have pet rats, too. You mentioned using a UTH with them, would I be able to use a CHE instead or do they need belly heat? What's a good temp range for their tank?

[Bogertophis]

Wow thank you so much for all the information!! They honestly sound incredible haha, I love their little bug eyes and I have to admit having a snake I could actually see is VERY appealing (not that I don't love my bp lol)
I actually have recycled paper rodent bedding on hand (not carefresh but an offbrand, it's the same stuff) because I have pet rats, too. You mentioned using a UTH with them, would I be able to use a CHE instead or do they need belly heat? What's a good temp range for their tank?

I didn't mean to write a "book" -last night's answer was shorter but when I was forced to start over (due to power blip) more things just came to mind, lol.

Comparable substrate (to Carefresh) sounds fine, & while I'm not an aspen "fan", I think that's another option, as several have mentioned it's "drying" effect. The main
thing is to stay away from anything that holds humidity (the opposite of what BPs like).

Remember that any new snake, especially young ones, will be shy and need to hide initially...in other words, "be a snake first" & to gain confidence. As with all snakes,
you don't want to handle them until they've fed easily AT LEAST 3 times & then take it slow while they figure things out. Eating is always "job #1" -esp. for hatchlings.

I would think that a CHE would be OK for an adult, as mine do like to snooze in their branches under warming lights (in the cooler seasons), but if you start with a young
one, they need to hide while digesting & it's unlikely that they'd be brave enough to bask on branches for warmth. They do all use "belly heat" under a hide, & it's also
easier to control where the UTH heats- you don't want to heat the whole cage & especially with a hatchling (assuming you start small?) in a smaller cage, it could be too
much. Also consider how cold your house may be (?) if in winter & that the floor of a cage is that much closer to a potentially-chilly floor, making UTH more useful to the
snake. A CHE might be OK- I must admit I'm partial to UTH though, & use over-head heat only as a supplement in winter. The ambient temperatures in my Trans Pecos'
cages are the same as my house, about 70* in winter & up to 80* in summer when my A/C kicks on (except for right over their UTH...that's mid to upper 80's*).

Deserts are a land of extremes, both hot & cold, & snakes that evolve there are hardy & adapt by going deeper underground as needed. Other rat snakes including corn
snakes are likewise comfortable with our typical "room temperatures"...they are far easier to keep healthy than BPs or other snakes needing constant tropical warmth.
Most of the time, my Trans Pecos rat snakes (& corn snakes) spend the bulk of their time in the un-heated parts of their glass tanks, only using the heat on & off to digest.
My large Florida rat snakes also live in large glass tanks with UTH & overhead warmth, but they'll spend a good part of the time using the overhead heat (basking in the
branches etc) both day & night. Our main goal is to give them the options that most closely mimic their choices in the wild, & since my snakes stay healthy (and even
reproductive on occasions in the past) I feel confident that I've got them figured correctly.