• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

getting a black ratsnake

H

hjkagarise

Kaga's Kritters
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
43
Location
New Enterprise, PA
I am sooooo excited!!!! I was going to have to wait till the 23rd to get this snake, but things changed and now I should be getting him either sometime this week or next week...im waiting to hear back from the guy on when he can meet up with me. I am getting a baby black ratsnake with 20 gal tank and supplies for $20. Pretty good deal I think considering the tank is worth more than that itself. I have owned ball pythons, cornsnakes, and kingsnakes before, so I do have some experience with snakes. I can't wait to get my new little baby. :) Now I gotta think of a name for it.
 
Congrats Heidi, black rat care is as "user friendly" as a corn snakes is :*)

022206ratsnakes001.jpg
 
well i got him today. (assuming its a him, lol) He is very small and tries to bite all the time. I of course have never been bit by a snake and am alittle jumpy, lol. He cant get ahold of me to hurt me though, so I just have to keep reminding myself of that and work with him now to calm him down, before he can get ahold of me. He's a cute and very active. My son has named him Trex.
 
thanks, i'll try that....i have an old shirt im getting ready to throw away, so maybe i'll wear it for a day or two so it smells like me then give it to him....then he can get used to my smell.
 
I would set him up and leave him alone for a week. Then offer him food on the 7th or 8th day. If he eats then leave him alone for another 3 days, then start handling. If he doesn't eat leave him alone for another week then offer food again. You really want him to settle in and start to eat before you get carried away with handling.

Black rats tend to be very easy snakes to acclimate so you shouldn't have a problem. But it is good to get in the habit of leaving a snake alone until it feeds. Once he's feeding he may calm down alot, and with gentle handling they almost always turn into calm, confident, gentle giants....well at least a giant in the world of colubrids. :shrug01:
 
he is doing great so far. he peeks out of his hide a lot and sometimes comes out and investigates the cage. I got his cage with him when I got him, so he didn't have to get used to a whole new setup or anything. The last time he ate was last monday, so he may be starting to get hungry too. I can't wait till he is all settled in and I can start handling him.
 
I love when that happens! Well, is Princess eating yet? Also, I wouldn't rule out the fact that Princess may still Trex just yet!! Some times a pop won't tell you too much depending on the age of the snake - probing is the best way to be 100% sure if you can get it done. As far as the attitude, that will go away with a few good handeling sessions. The most important thing is to ensure that he/she is comfortable in his/her new surroundings - the best indicator will be wether or not it feeds. Provide a hide or two and keep the room it's in trafic free for a few more days to make sure the baby gets settled in. It sounds like your doing good so far.. Just keep us posted! As a note, I have raised about 50 black rats to adult hood and there was only 1 that never settled down and by that I mean she bit me once or twice in her life... Blue
 
Just let her settle in a bit, as long as she doesn't look like she is waisting away - i.e. you can see her spine. Good luck! Blue
 
Heidi,

There is no need to wait until next week. Considering it is still in its original enclosure, it should not be stressed. I would try again this weekend. Make sure the prey is f/t. It would refuse live and sometimes f/k but never refused f/t. Just place it in the container you received it in along with the prey and it should take it within 5-10 minutes. As much as the temptation is to watch it eat, it did not appear to like me standing over it. I often ended up walking away and returning in about 15 minutes.

Bart
 
thanks, i'll try again...i do have f/t but i did have the container where i could see it.

i dont know if you read all the posts but i tried popping it and Im pretty sure its a girl...
 
Also, feed in the late morning / early afternoon. This is the time I always fed it so it would have sufficient heat throughout most of the day to help get the digestion process going. If you are maintaining a similiar heating/light schedule that I was, I would avoid feeding in the late afternoon / early evening.

I agree with Blue in that you should probably probe the animal to verify sex and wouldn't rule out the possibility she may still be a he. Keep in mind this is a native species so I wouldn't bother breeding the animal, which is why I never bothered probing it myself.

Good luck and keep me posted regarding its feeding.

Bart
 
she ate this morning. i am not planning on breeding her, i just like to know if my animals are males or females....just a personal thing really. if i ever find someone near me that knows how to probe a snake i'll have her probed.
 
Awsome! It's good to hear she ate again, that means she it comfortable for the most part. I am sure knowing her feeding time and how she was used to eating ( in the cup ) helped too, I didn't even think of that. Also, when I get back to my house here in a few weeks I can post some pics of the underside of the tails of male and female baby black rats, you can tell most of the time just by looking.. or if you want to try now, look at the relation of her vent to the tip of her tail...
If it stays as thick as the vent for a few belly scales then it is most likely a boy - if it starts to taper off right after the vent then it is a girl.. At any rate it's a Black Rat! And it will be awsome no matter the sex!!! Have fun, Blue (just don't take her to Ohio!!)
 
i had known about her being used to being fed in the container, but didn't know what time of day she was used to being fed. I checked her tail and it starts to taper right away after the vent, so she is a girl. I would still like to see the pics so i can see what the males look like for sure and compare it to the female. thanks for your help.
 
Back
Top