Are all rat snakes aggressive?

[Jus1More]

Ta da



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GEE THANKS ZIN! Now I am super jealous!

[Jus1More]

I own a mandarin rat snake myself and while very different, more active and a quick mover she isn’t aggressive at all. I’ve been tagged by her once and it was the first time I handled her after a few meals and she was and stillis a wee baby and it was totally my fault.

I’ve had her going on 6 months I think and not only is she gorgeous but very mellow every time I handle her. Hasn’t struck at me since that first time when I learned from my mistake and that was that. This species in my experience is a very shy species and she does spend a lot of her time hiding but I do catch her out and about at times. They are a cooler temp snake I don’t even run any heat source on the tank. I’ve heard they can be picky eaters and she went on one 4 week fast during her first shed with me since then she’s been packing away the mice and growing fast. She’s nearly tripled in size since I acquired her.

Thanks Philly for sharing! I always thought that Mardarins were on the nippy side being a Asian species. They too are very beautiful, although their head share reminds me of a king snake some what... I will have to do a search here on thoses as well.

[Jus1More]

Would you be able to find someone that breeds them in the US that could ship to Canada? I know some people can, though my personal experience is limited to just one sale and it wasn't an experience I'm in a hurry to repeat. My Canadian buyer found the person for me to ship to, who could then get them across and handled all communication with the middleman, so I'm still not sure how hard/easy it is. It was pretty pricey for my buyer, I know that. Conversion wasn't kind to them and they paid shipping twice but might be worth it if that's the only way to get one of what you really want.

Thank you Charis! I know that shipping from U.S. to Canada would be pricey. But I was thinking if I found someone in New York that had them, then that might be doable and I could drive. The border in Niagra Falls is only 1 hour from me. I also put in a call to one of my breeders here who travels to the U.S. alot for expo's (especially @ Tinley) so just maybe he can hook me up..fingers crossed!

[Zincubus]

As regards the actual thread ..
the Trans Peco Rat snake is a shy , gentle soul but fast moving ..




My Rnino-nosed Rat snake is perfect ... slow moving and calm , great to handle plus he's alert 24/7 never seems to switch off . Fabulous looking of course .


My Thai Bamboo Ratsnake is an absolute psycho, pure display snake




Finally the two LTRs . Luicistic Texas tat snake are also very nippy but gorgeous display snakes . Maybe they will calm down as they get older .




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[Bogertophis]

As regards the actual thread ..
the Trans Peco Rat snake is a shy , gentle soul but fast moving ..



...............

"Shy & gentle souls" yes...but I have to disagree about the "fast-moving" part. Maybe only as babies, but you do expect that, I hope? I've kept Trans Pecos for
many years, the first was a w/c (sadly from a pet store). I later bred them & still currently have 3 just as unrelated pets. They CAN move fast to catch food, but
when handled by humans, they are slow, docile & curious. I've used them in "meet & greets" and even those fearful of snakes get a friendly vibe from them.
They are not the slightest bit nippy...more than many snakes, they seem able to distinguish humans from prey.

Zincubus, is yours still young? Give it time, you'll see. BTW, they are very nocturnal*....their large pupils expand to give them good night vision, but if you handle
them in sunny outdoor daylight (as in Charis' video clip), you may find them to be antsy, because it is thought that the bright sunlight hurts their eyes. So keep
that in mind. (*that doesn't mean you can't interact with them during the day though...mine always want to know what's going on. I find them to be adorable
but I generally handle them indoors.

[Zincubus]

Yep mine IS a baby and obviously very skittish ... I can't speak for adults as I've never had one ..


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[Bogertophis]

Yep mine IS a baby and obviously very skittish ... I can't speak for adults as I've never had one ..


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Ah, that explains it. When they get past the defensive hatchling stage, they become some of the most "deliberate" adult snakes with regard to motion. I've yet to
know one that isn't like that. You'll see.

[Phillydubs]

Thank you Charis! I know that shipping from U.S. to Canada would be pricey. But I was thinking if I found someone in New York that had them, then that might be doable and I could drive. The border in Niagra Falls is only 1 hour from me. I also put in a call to one of my breeders here who travels to the U.S. alot for expo's (especially @ Tinley) so just maybe he can hook me up..fingers crossed!

I dont know how ot works crosisng the border with an animal.

My thought is have he animal shipped to the nearest fed ex over the border drive to get it and drive back...?

[Bogertophis]

I dont know how ot works crosisng the border with an animal....

Regs- I'd sure find out ahead of time. Also, if you find yourself driving to pick-up, ALWAYS use a styrofoam box (or ice chest) to minimize temperature fluctuations
that can harm your little passenger, whether it's from cold or from heat- even sun streaming thru car windows or heat from vehicle floor can & have killed snakes
in transit.
But I suspect it's very do-able.

[Charis]

Agreed, check first. It's been a few years since I saw several people talking about it but at that time, driving across and back was very easy, for most pet snake species and seemed to be the way to go if one was close to the border.