Ratsnake VS Cornsake VS Kingsnake?

Im looking for more information and comparison of the Ratsnake (Texas), Cornsnake and Kingsnake. After viewing a good amount (except Texas Ratsnakes) of these snakes at the local convention and from the information i gather online, I may be looking to own some of them in the future. I'd like to ask everyone's personal opinions and experiences with each species of snake to help myself understand if I would handle these snakes well or not.

One of the biggest questions is how each snake handles in comparison to one another. If one is very skittish or so one. I've read the basic care for each snake, is there anything important or you hink will help the snake thrive that I should know? Thanks everyone. I just don't want to make a commitment to a pet a realize I can't handle them.

Depends on the species of kingsnake, since some are more flighty than others. Some are very fast and don't seem to calm down, while others can get "cornsnake tame".

Texas rats have a reputation for biting, but mine are no different than any other North American ratsnake. They are fairly alert but if you take the time to handle them when they are young they can get "cornsnake tame".

Corns are the easiest of the three to handle (Notice I used the phrase "cornsnake tame" to describe easily handlable specimens of the other two). If handling is going to be a deciding factor on which snake you want I would go with the cornsnake.

I have kept and breed a variety of North American colubrids for over 20 years and corns are without a doubt the easiest to handle of the three.

I agree with Matt said. Kings are flighty and musk a great deal more than rats and corn. The rats and kings are more apt to bite you. The corns are the mellowest of the three. Of course you could have a nice rat or king and an ornery corn.

Thanks for the feedback guys. The Kings available here are Calis.
With A Texas, should you handle them with really slow motion and avoid touching the head like a BP?

Yeah I would like to agree with Matt as well. My personal experience has been as follows. I have been bitten by every king I have ever owned except a mountain king (she did make a sort of small hiss sound though). The rat snakes I have seen (never owned one) have been very intimidating they just seem like they are ready for a fight. The corn snake I had was a very nice fellow. Nice attitude and a pleasure to handle so of the three Corns are definitely the one that would make the best pet.

The corn I had was beautiful he was a albino and was absolutely beautiful. I traded someone for 4 snakes for him. The snakes were kings and milks and talk about snakes with an attitude. Except the milk she is just flighty she absolutely will not bite. Milks can be fast but they are generally docile and you should give them some consideration. Like if you have ever seen a honduran snow they will definately make you like them.

Ive been hearing 50/50 with Texas Rats. Some have been bitten and some have never been bitten or aggressive. However Im hearing Kings are hard to handle all over and Corns are very easy. Snows and Blizzards are very elegant.

thanks for your input! It helps me out tons.

I only have experience with corns but my 2 adults are super-tame & seem to ~like~ to be handled. Icabod will come to my hand in the viv to be picked up! Humphrey won't, but will seem very content once I have him out, and will ride around on my shoulders while I surf the Internet or watch TV. My hatchling is a little hateling right now but hopefully will outgrow it. In the meantime, I tolerate the threat displays, strikes & occasional very trivial bites. It's not a big deal. I wouldn't want to put up with this sort of nonsense from an adult though.

I have heard that Cali Kings can be pretty tame & easy to handle. I am thinking about one of those next!

From the babes I handled at the show, it must take a lot of work. Even though I handled Calis from different breeder they all reacted the same and flipped out. Maybe they just weren't handled at all...But yeah they stunk like hell though. XD

lol yeah calis smell like sulfur to me.

the main thing about which one is what kind of adult it grows up to be and how easy it tames down. If they all flipped out it was due to the owner not handling them so they go on defense. Corns tame down really easy.

Did you decide on which one yet?

Well no not yet. I always buy cages and supplies, plus do the math for the mice/rats. Haha.