Are all rat snakes aggressive?

[Bogertophis]

I know this is an older thread but I wanted to address the OP's question. I have a regular black ratsnake (albino). I got her when she was a hatchling, she's now about 9 months old. She is extremely gentle and docile. She's also very playful and curious. I have seen videos of aggressive ratsnakes, and I'm sure there is an inborn personality factor .. but the key is to hold them daily, and especially get them used to lifting up the hide and taking them out so they don't feel threatened by this. My snake has never snapped at me, "rattled' her tail, or musked at me.

Always nice to hear from another happy rat snake owner! They do learn & are very responsive snakes. It helps to have them when they are growing up, but that's true of nearly everything...it's always harder to change old habits, so even a captive-bred rat snake can be feisty if it has grown up not being handled properly, or being fed live rodents that it must do battle with...that too can make snakes more defensive. Snakes seem to generalize, whether it's human handlers & calmly accepting those they don't know, or just staying defensive because they are fed live rodents...pre-killed, either frozen/thawed or fresh, makes the best pets, not just safer & healthier but calmer.I do agree though that snakes have some individual "inborn" tendencies to either be feisty or calm...so some we might have to work a little harder with than others. I know this because of having raised numerous clutches of rat snakes...in each group, some may be feistier than others & take longer to calm down. Perfectly normal.

I hope you'll keep us updated on your albino black rat snake, FollowTheSun...maybe start a thread to share? Rat snakes as a group need more owners to
speak up for them...they are still over-coming the negative stereotype from years past when many were sold in pet stores that were wild caught.

[Jbabycsx]

Here are some pics I took of him today. He’s 47g. Putting on a solid 15-20g a month. His prey size is soon to be upped. He can be cage defensive. Once he’s moving he’s easy to pick up and once out he’s fine.










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Man that’s a beautiful snake!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[distaff]

I'll chime in as another fan of the Trans Pecos. My Franklin is friendly, and easy going even with me. I am a nervous, jumpy snake handler, which some of my animals pick up on, but he stays chill. Besides, how could anything with a face that cute ever bite? He is closely related to Bogertophis rosaliae, the Baja ratsnake, but I haven't ever seen one for sale even on line. I would like to acquire one, eventually.

The Glossy snake and the Baird's rat snake are also supposed to be mellow, but I don't have either...yet (short list). Emily of Snake Discovery channel likes the fox snake. I am assuming the fox is classed with the ratties, as it has the same brown morph cornsnake look to it, but not sure. "Rat snake" seems to be a somewhat casual catch-all term anyway.

[Bogertophis]

I'll chime in as another fan of the Trans Pecos. My Franklin is friendly, and easy going even with me. I am a nervous, jumpy snake handler, which some of my animals pick up on, but he stays chill. Besides, how could anything with a face that cute ever bite? He is closely related to Bogertophis rosaliae, the Baja ratsnake, but I haven't ever seen one for sale even on line. I would like to acquire one, eventually.

The Glossy snake and the Baird's rat snake are also supposed to be mellow, but I don't have either...yet (short list). Emily of Snake Discovery channel likes the fox snake. I am assuming the fox is classed with the ratties, as it has the same brown morph cornsnake look to it, but not sure. "Rat snake" seems to be a somewhat casual catch-all term anyway.

Trans Pecos & Baird's are both my favorites for being super-mellow & adorable, but really I think that most rat snakes are NOT "aggressive" anyway. You need a Bairds!

Not many have worked with the Baja rat snakes, as far as I know...they're hard to come by & last I heard were considered "difficult" but who knows what that even
means? Maybe because the only ones available were wild-caught & came with parasites?

Glossy snakes are adorable & stay small, but they aren't "rat snakes"...they're closer to longnose, kings, & milks. I've had a few, they were native to where I lived in
the SW desert. They have a narrow face so they cannot eat adult mice, they need fuzzy or small hoppers at most. First food is not pinkie mice so they are harder to c/b.
which is why you don't see people breeding them for sale. Really under-rated though, they make good docile pets that are easy to feed & care for.

A 'late' friend of mine spoke highly of fox snakes, but I've never crossed paths with them so I can't say from my own experience; I do know they get their name from
their odor (musk when or if they object to handling) but they look interesting...you don't see them around much either. (yes, they're Pantherophis family)

I'm really happy to see your interest expressed in some of the less common species. We need a lot more of that, or some species are going to disappear.

[Zincubus]

LTRs can be very feisty as youngsters and don't even get me started on my Thai Red Bamboo Ratsnake !!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro