Royal diadem rat snake

Recently picked up a pair if these as juveniles. I know they are WC and were exported from Egypt. The more I read however, I realize that there are several subspecies. Am I correct in concluding that these would be cliffords royal diadems due to their locality? I read that cliffords only reach 3 to 4 feet and these are already that big. They are about 38" and 43" long, have not started to thicken in the body at all yet and have not started a color change of any kind. Does this mean they will not get the orange coloring as they mature? I can find very little information online. Or is it possible that they were exported from Egypt but that may not be their actual locality?
Any info would be helpful. At this point I know they hiss as well as a bull snake and they are as fast as a coachwhip!
Will post a pic as soon as I manage to take one without a blurry snake!

They were not very cooperative. They have white bellies. They hiss loudly with their mouths closed.

The only thing I could find on distinguishing the subspecies was here http://www.herper.com/snakearticles/diadems.html where they claim that S.d cliffordi has less subcaudal scales than S.d diadema (S.d atriceps) but I'm not personally familiar, so I can't say for sure whether that's true or not. The ratsnakefoundation page on S.d cliffordi gives more information on the species, so maybe something there can help you. http://www.ratsnakefoundation.org/in...iadem-ratsnake

Info on these fascinating guys is hard to come by, so please share what you learn by keeping them! I'm especially curious about the timeline of their color change. I seem to only see them as one or another, never in a transitional phase, so maybe I'm missing something... The only adults I ever saw were at an expo. The pair was a gorgeous orange with sharp contrasting blotches and they blew me right away! They're definitely on my wish list, but I'm going to wait until I see more captive bred for sale. ~Someday~

Best of luck with your pair! It's nice hearing they're so spunky, I hope they thrive for you!

BTW Whatever they may be, they're very nice looking. I love the dorsal patterns!

Those are cliffordi (Egyptian or Clifford's Diadem), not atriceps (Royal Diadem). They will likely thicken up a bit with age - I have a female which is over 10 years old, which is close to 4 ft and has some girth to her. I like this subspecies, but you are correct that info is scarce on them and they are often mislabeled. Not all diadems are "Royal"...

Toby

The Camel Snake (S.d. cliffordi) of the Sahara and Middle East deserts; the diadem is from farther east and develops the pretty coloration. These are shy and require a hide box. My 10yr male lives in a 10gl slide top tank on newsprint; eats f/t mice, and hibernates. Their big head has large Duvernoy's glands, so don,t let one chew a finger.