What kind of Asian rat should I get?

[mfkelly]

I currently keep corns, hogs, and BP's and of course my 2 corndurans. But I really like the picture of Seru's Thai red mountain rat snake. I want something thats not going to get bigger than a corn, is easy to handle, and easy to keep. So any suggestions? Thanks.
Mike Kelly
P.S. - You can see my collection on iHerp - mfkelly

[Seru1]

Usually ratsnakefoundation.org is up and I would suggest going there. But it's down.

So I will give a few Bullet Points I have learned about asian ratsnakes from talking to breeders and reading articles.

1. They don't play nice with others) Asian Ratsnakes are beautiful but nippy bu nature. Handling can calm them yes but these beautiful snakes have a shy streak and aren't afraid to bite. If your not afraid of a little bite then you cleared a big handling hurdle.


2. Most Asian Ratsnakes stay pretty small, (The blue beauty is a notable exception) And can be keps at low temps that we like aside from a hot spot that ranges from 80-84 and not over. Humidity is key and they need a humid hide in there cage always. I recommend daily misting to.


3. The Price can really smack you. We're talking about $200 to $400 dollar colubrids here. My Dream Colubrid is a Vallianti. A Vietnamese version of the Chinese bamboo snake. A pair retails for $3000. Not thats not the norm granted. But I did pay $235 with shipping for Ting.


I'll leave you a list of some of my favorites and a link.

1. Thai Red Mountain Snake
2. Mandarin Rat Snake
3. Rhino Rat Snake
4. Japanese Forest Rat Snake
5. Trinket Snake
6. Leopard Snake (Okay not a Asian, but old world. Check out some pictures of the striped. Breathtaking)

There's alot more, these are a beautful species, but not anywhere near as docile as corns. They will challenge your keep skills abit, but a little bite never hurt anyone.


EDIT: This is by no means to deter. I only say this because I don't have children, getting bit amuses me though I would never provoke a snake or intentionally make one uncomfortable. I think you might have kids if I remember. My only real suggestion is for you to handle them for a few months until you get a handle on it.

Because a snake bites a kid and sometimes they don't understand that the snake's not mean, thats just his way.

If I were to rate top display snakes Asian Rats would be right alongside Brazilian Rainbow Boas, and Green Tree Pythons.