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  1. #1
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    What morph is this? (Rat snake)

    Hi all!

    I bought my first rat snake maybe 3-4 months ago when he was about 7 months old, so he’s just a baby still.

    He eats well, loves his terrarium, all is well. I just have no idea what morph he is!

    Here are some pictures, if anyone can help me figure it out, that would be great.



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  3. #2
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    That appears to be a normal Baird's rat snake. I used to keep a family of them for many years...some have yellow between the scales as yours does, & some
    have orange (as most of mine did) between the scales. They are ALL wonderful pets, IMO...they tend to be very docile & easily handled. Mine lived as long as
    26 years, & the largest (males) ended up being 6-7' in length. Thanks for sharing your photos, makes me miss the ones I had (but I still keep a number of other
    wonderful rat snakes too). Incidentally, they love branches in their cage.

    Unless something has changed in recent years, they are not considered to be "morphs"- there is & always has been a lot of variation that occurs naturally
    in Baird's rat snakes: some can be dark gray in color too, as opposed to lighter shades, & some have quite a lot of yellow & orange between their scales,
    while others have very little.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 09-30-2018 at 03:39 PM.

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  5. #3
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    Re: What morph is this? (Rat snake)

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    That appears to be a normal Baird's rat snake. I used to keep a family of them for many years...some have yellow between the scales as yours does, & some
    have orange (as most of mine did) between the scales. They are ALL wonderful pets, IMO...they tend to be very docile & easily handled. Mine lived as long as
    26 years, & the largest (males) ended up being 6-7' in length. Thanks for sharing your photos, makes me miss the ones I had (but I still keep a number of other
    wonderful rat snakes too). Incidentally, they love branches in their cage.

    Unless something has changed in recent years, they are not considered to be "morphs"- there is & always has been a lot of variation that occurs naturally
    in Baird's rat snakes: some can be dark gray in color too, as opposed to lighter shades, & some have quite a lot of yellow & orange between their scales,
    while others have very little.
    Thank you so much for the help!

    Do you think he’s going to change colors has he gets older?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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    Pantherophis bairdi (formerly Elaphe bairdi) usually get more colorful as they age, but it's very gradual...wonderful pets!
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 09-30-2018 at 06:32 PM.

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    Some variations: (mine were mostly like this first photo- all borrowed from www.sunshineserpents.com by the way)





    But the hatchlings start off like this:
    They gradually add color between the scales as they mature...very unique-looking snakes & under-appreciated, like my other favorite from the same area
    of Texas & Mexico, the Trans Pecos rat snakes (Bogertophis subocularis).

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    Well I guess they have albino Baird's now too, but I really love the normal ones anyway...they remind me of a pointilist painting, with their dots of yellows
    & oranges between their scales, and watching them evolve from when they're hatchlings* is really cool. (*most of our other native rat snakes, like corn snakes
    & Pantherophis obsoleta group change patterns too, btw) And there's nothing wrong with that "silvery" look either, one of mine was like the 2nd one above.

    With the albinos, you mostly just get a plain yellow snake...I prefer the normal ones- what nature did...they rock!
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 10-01-2018 at 12:05 PM.

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