My first snake! Not what I expected ...

Well I am in preparation for my first ball python which lead me here a few weeks ago and I have been loving this site and the hobby so far.

I have a lot going on in my life and I am trying to get settled into a new place, just started a new job and the weather has been all over the place so my foray into ball pythons has sort of been on hold. Although I have purchased a cinnamon banana morph from a reputable breeder. He has been amazing in educating me answering questions and just getting me ready. He’s also caring for and keeping my new guy warm safe and well fed as we hone in on a delivery date.

In the interim, I’ve been cruising the local shops and making friends with hobbyist to see their operations and set ups and learn learn.

Anyway I came across a guy who hadn’t some young mandarin rat snakes. Needless to say the big bit me hard. Thinking about waiting maybe another few weeks even a month for my ball has had me antsy as ever.

After handling a few and finding one I really liked and being told what seems to be very simple husbandry as I understand these snakes are rather unique and don’t require the same parameters as most snakes. I ended up leaving with one ! I’m stoked to say the least.

Any current or or former keepers of these gorgeous snakes please feel free to help me, share some words of advice or just drop some knowledge I appreciate it.

So you have yourself a baby Mandarin snake or young adult or an actual adult ??

This size maybe ??

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Maybe post details of your Mandarin setup and even a few photos .....The free TapaTalk app is fabulous for uploading photos free and easily


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Oddly enough , being a sucker for gorgeous colourful snakes I've been tempted to get one myself over the years .
Sadly they aren't very common in England plus I read that they weren't ideal snakes for novices ...

From memory they're nocturnal but even in the evenings they're regarded as being very shy and retiring even more than Royals ... so not brilliant display snakes ( my preference ) and they don't really enjoy being held as I recall.. maybe totally wrong of course - I'm sure you'll be fine ..


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Mandarin Rats are gorgeous!! They're somewhere on my maybe someday list, but have a few to add ahead of them. Congrats on a beautiful pickup, good luck.

Here are some pictures of Bumble... I won’t lie, tad of an impulse buy which I swore I wasn’t going to do. Again coming from the aquarium hobby I learned quick what research and buying from reputable sources was and I said I’d bring that to this hobby as well. I guess I struck out early on... that being said the guy I got him from was insanely knowledgeable and keeps all types of rare and nutty species and he was high on these. It’s eating well according to him, I’m going to give it a few days to feed. He just had a beautiful shed when I met him it was in the tub and full and intact.

I do read that they like to burrow and are shy but he has taken to my handling so far and one of the reasons why I liked him and took him was that he was very mellow when I handled him both at the place and once I got him home. He roamed the tank a bit at first but I haven’t seen him this am and will leave him alone and give him time to settle I don’t want to stress him.

The other thing I liked was that these are cooler temp snakes and don’t require a ton of heat and a lot of conditioning, or so I was told and read. I’ll continue my research and getting to know my new little buddy.

Here he/she is... BUMBLE

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Beautiful! (Not very helpful but it's true :D )

Wow, that is a gorgeous snake. Congrats!!!:):)

Congratulations! They’re beautiful snakes!

My husband has a Vietnamese Blue Beauty, which is a related old-world rat snake, and a Stinking Goddess/Keeled ratsnake. They do better with lower ambient temps than a lot of snakes, but do still need their hot spot. When the VBB was little he spent a lot of time burrowed and/or in his hides, but once he got some growth he started coming out a lot more. Now he uses all of his 2’ x 4’ x 3’ tall enclosure. It’s decorated with artificial vines and has some quiet corners created by his PVC jungle gym and the vines, so he doesn’t bother with hides. And he’s become quite the busybody, often at the door watching what’s going on in the room. I expect much the same from your Mandarin rat.

The old-world rats can be feisty, but with regular steady handling they’re better. My husband’s VBB has not gotten as much handling as we’d like (changes in work/life, alas), and when he was out last night he was doing quite the threat display - open mouth, rattling tail, lateral compression, but wasn’t really aggressive.




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Thank you all for the kind words about Bumble! Only time will tell I’m just going to do my absolute best to care for it and see where it goes.

I’m hoping to get my first ball in a few weeks when the weather cools down and I have the enclosure set and the temp all worked out. This will be good practice and a lot of fun as well and it will be fun having two different snakes two types and needs and personalities and all so I am excited.

The guy had 2 of them in separate tubs. One acted as you described fiesty as all heck and tried to bite him and was all coiled I was like ummm... then bumble was opened and he was just a sweet explorer. Didn’t even S up or anything no musking just liked to slip and slither through fingers. He’s quite tiny and I hope that I can give him all he needs and handle him often so that he keeps this disposition. It seems the younger ones are the feisty ones so maybe if he’s this way now it’s just a sign of a cool mellow snake. As I said before he also just shed and had been eating for the guy so even as a newbie snake keeper those were all signs I knew were good.

I’ll keep posting about him as time goes on !

Anyone else with experience or insight please lay it on me.


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hell of a first snake! congrats, stunning animal.