White-sided shed :)

"So this is a white-sided Black Rat snake, right?" Yes.

"There are also white-sided bull snakes and texas rat snakes." As well as white-sided Brooksi Kings. ;)

"I'm curious to know where you got yours and anything you've gathered in terms of temperament and handling."

I got mine in Daytona from a smaller company that had only three of them. The other two were TINY and not very pretty. This one was seemingly healthy, nice body shape (rounded and plump) and had a perfect pattern. The woman I spoke to said they were going to be phasing them out of their collection because no one had been showing any interest in them. Apparently they were "created"? "designed"? a while back, but the general public showed no enthusiasm. The project then became known only to people with a personal interest in them - those who "just liked them". At least, that's how she explained it to me. I saw three vendors that had white-sided rats at Daytona. All three were small, private businesses. I'd rather not say how much I paid for mine (it was a good deal) but I have never seen them for less than $75. I believe that white-sided rats are the cheapest of all white-sided snakes. The kings and bull snakes at Daytona were priced at upwards of $150.

As for crossing them with corns, I read somewhere that "all rat snakes are corn snakes, but not all corn snakes are rat snakes." (I'm pretty sure that's how it went. Maybe I have it reversed.) Anyway, the thinking is that corn snakes are a wider group than most people give them credit for. "Rat snakes" and "king snakes" are arguably part of that group (depending on whom you talk to) but we've kind of "split hairs" about it and gotten more groups. Again, this is just something I read a while back. I can't even cite it, so don't take it too seriously.

I thought the ones at sewerfest were only like $40-$50 but I could be wrong!

Huh, I'm definitely gonna have to keep my eyes open for some of them at the shows around here. I can't believe they're not more popular they're really beautiful! So is the husbandry fairly similar to a regular rat/corn snake?

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

As for crossing them with corns, I read somewhere that "all rat snakes are corn snakes, but not all corn snakes are rat snakes." (I'm pretty sure that's how it went. Maybe I have it reversed.) Anyway, the thinking is that corn snakes are a wider group than most people give them credit for. "Rat snakes" and "king snakes" are arguably part of that group (depending on whom you talk to) but we've kind of "split hairs" about it and gotten more groups. Again, this is just something I read a while back. I can't even cite it, so don't take it too seriously.

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Right on the money.
However, I don't know how well a hybrid would survive. I haven't seen or heard of many, so I assume there are issues.
Rat snakes are a grouping of tons of different snakes.
Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_snake it explains many of the different branches and 'types' of rat snakes out there, one of them includes corn snakes. ;]

Edit: Also fantastic looking white sided! Others that I have seen pictures of are not nearly as beautiful as that!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fishmommy

so this is a white-sided Black Rat snake, right?
There are also white-sided bull snakes and texas rat snakes.

I'm curious to know where you got yours and anything you've gathered in terms of temperament and handling. I've done some web searches but want much more first-hand info :gj:

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http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/000rwqqd
http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/000rxc6t
http://pics.livejournal.com/mooingtricycle/pic/000rtcse
This is My Whitesided Bullsnake :) Courtesy of Harald Moore

I LOVE Whitesided Black Rats! The really reduced speckly ones are my FAVORITES!

Yours has a gorgeous face, but I have to admit - I like the pixellated look of mine better. :P

Though, since yours is a bull and mine is a rat, I suppose that's like comparing apples to oranges, huh? ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mindibun

Yours has a gorgeous face, but I have to admit - I like the pixellated look of mine better. :P

Though, since yours is a bull and mine is a rat, I suppose that's like comparing apples to oranges, huh? ;)

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LOL

Hey, cant knock a person for liking their snake better!:rofl:
Were all horribly biased to our own snakes, whether or not some like to actually admit it or not!

For a W/S Bull, I think hes definitely one of the BEST looking ones out there.

There are Salt n' Pepper Whiteside bulls too, that are more spotty, and have less clear sides. Theyre pretty, but too... dirty looking to me. The clean white is what really grabs my attention:gj:

As far as I know, there are no white-sided Texas rats.
There are however WS black rats, WS yellow rats, WS bullsnakes, WS "brooksi" kings, and WS speckled kings known as Whitewalls.
Their care is typical of most North American colubrids. I found this sheet on Google, http://www.marshall.edu/herp/Snakes/Black_Ratsnake.htm .
I house my pair in Sterilite boxes and house them on aspen shavings. They are fed rodents and my adults eat up to 2 small rats per feeding.

I also have some babies available.

When looking for info on them, you might also try "licorice stick" as this was the name they were coined with years ago.