Japanese Rat Snake

Were can I get one of these beautiful snakes?

There are three ratsnakes that are endemic to Japan only.

Elaphe quadrivirgata, E. climacophora and Euprepiophis conspicillatus. The first two are available pretty often. But conspicillatus is extremely scarce in the US hobby. Which one are you looking for?

This site has some good photos of each.

http://www.ratsnakes.com/index.html


Regards
John

Elaphe Climacophora!! Good luck finding any, i have had an ad placed here looking for a female off and on for two years LOL!! These guys are way cool, and are real nice snakes, not to mention the cool color of bluish green they are.. If you find somebody selling these, let me know.. Thanks Mike

One like this:
http://tinypythons.com/gallery/displ...?album=8&pos=3

I'm not sure what it is!

this one

Oh, the really hard one to get...
Why aren't they more popular?

They aren't unpopular. They are hard to get and hard to keep. Only a couple of breeders exist in the country. They're a montane species that likes cool temperatures and like small prey items and only feed for a few months a year.

Regards
John

Is an easy one to keep and feed!! This guy eats anything, he usually eats any of the leftovers from my corns.. As far as keeping, i have not had any problems with this guy, same as most ratsnakes!! I still want to get a female for this guy, he has been brumated and now is up to full steam LOL!!

I first saw an E. climacaphora at the Midwest Reptile Show in Indy. It was an adult female and an absolute stunning snake. The pics you can find of them on the internet dont do them justice. I think many probably get passed over at shows because the hatchlings are so drab. They are a mottled greenish brown.

I got my first female from Brian at BHB, and she is by far my favorite snake in my collection. She is docile, and extremely inquisitive. She is always out in the front of her cage watching the world go by. When I come in the room she starts going back and forth along the front of her enclosure almost like she wants out. She gets held alot because of this and seems to enjoy being handled. She will just curl around my hand and arm and hang out while I do my work.

As far as being hard to keep, I have found that to be untrue. She is in a 20L with no heat source and does just fine. They like to be in the 72-76 degree range. She eats frozen thawed, and at 8 mos of age is taking 1 or 2 fuzzies a week and has never missed a meal. She is already over 22 inches long. This snake has absolutely captivated me with her personality and antics. Also, watching her transition has been cool, she gets more green each shed.

I like her so much, I got 2 more females (siblings) from another breeder with the intent of keeping one and trading the other for a male. The two I got are proving to be just as docile as my first. They already hang out in my hand when I hold them and are not skittish at all. The couple who had the adult I first saw are trying for their first clutch this spring. I will choose a male from them and have a diverse gene pool from three different stocks. I am a big advocate of genetic diversity, and refuse to inbreed.

I hope to be able to help these cool snakes become more popular in the hobby. I am going to breed them out of my love for the species, and plan to produce quality snakes in small numbers. My eventual target is 2.4 adults of diverse bloodlines producing one clutch per female per season.

I'm glad to hear they are not troublesome. There are a few asian rats that go against the stereotype of being difficult, delicate and hard to handle. Schrencki is another species that is easy, hardy and fun. I've always thought that anyone who likes the colors on a bairdi would also like the looks of a climacophora.

Regards
John