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What ratsnakes (and other colubrids) do you wish were easier to find?

L

LittleGrayTiger

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I'm evaluating what I want to do in the very long term with herptoculture and have decided that all the craziness about "morphs" isn't really my thing. They're beautiful in any reptile, but the whole thing seems to be more of a business when you visit expos and the like. I have a much greater interest in conservation, preserving bloodlines/genetic diversity, and working with species that can do very well in captivity but have very small US populations. There are hundreds if not thousands of breeders covering ball pythons, corn snakes, black ratsnakes, boa constrictor species, western hognoses, etc...

So the title is the question up for discussion: what ratsnakes (or general colubrids) do you wish were easier to find? What species do you think needs more love and breeding efforts from the reptile hobby? Old world and new world!
 
Rhino rat snakes would be nice to find on a regular basis..
a verry cool snake that will enjoy a natural vivarium. only a few of them are available
once in a while..

that would be my rat snake choice :)
 
I would like to see captive breeding success in the United States with some of the ratsnake species that have a reputation for high mortality rates when imported.
My top 3 examples would be:
1. Gonyosoma oxycephalum
2. Gonyosoma janseni
3. Gonyosoma frenatum
I would also love to see more CB success with Spilotes in the U.S.

In my wildest dreams I'd love to see Gonyosoma margaritatus available but it will probably never happen.
 
I would have to agree Gonyosoma are a good choice. Some very cool snakes. E. frenata should be high priority, when you get the right genetics these are breathtaking snakes. Royal Diadems are nearly gone from the hobby and I believe down to only 1 person producing them on a regular basis.
 
Yellow Rats

Gunna sound funny but I think these are THE MOst UNDERRATED SNAKE IN NORTH AMERICA.

But I want to see someone line breeding the Brightest Yellow rat snakes available. The only reason this snake goes unappreciated is because they are right in our backyard. If these were a foreign species they would be just as in demand as some of the wanted boiga spp. When I lived in Starke, Florida I saw no joke an almost 7 foot yellow/gold beauty almost completely absent of any brown and it was just the most impressive snake in the wild I had ever seen. And like I said if it was from africa or asia I know we'd be paying hundreds of dollars for them.
 
marker1 said:
Gunna sound funny but I think these are THE MOst UNDERRATED SNAKE IN NORTH AMERICA.

But I want to see someone line breeding the Brightest Yellow rat snakes available. The only reason this snake goes unappreciated is because they are right in our backyard. If these were a foreign species they would be just as in demand as some of the wanted boiga spp. When I lived in Starke, Florida I saw no joke an almost 7 foot yellow/gold beauty almost completely absent of any brown and it was just the most impressive snake in the wild I had ever seen. And like I said if it was from africa or asia I know we'd be paying hundreds of dollars for them.
Click to expand...

I'm not breeding them, but fyi, I have 2.2 c/b "Florida" rat snakes that I took in from a guy in Florida that couldn't keep them (due to loss of job & home)- that was back in 2009, & they were about 1.5 years old att. They're mostly Yellow rat snakes, but I think he also crossed in Gulf Hammock & Everglades- so they're not pure Yellow. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that indeed, my 2 males are about 7' long! :yesnod: The females aren't as long, more like 5', because every year they insist on laying double clutches of infertile* eggs- a LOT of eggs! And I say infertile, because I've never bred them & to the best of my knowledge, they weren't bred before they came to me at 1.5 years old- BUT, some of the eggs they've laid appeared to be good eggs, & finally 2 years ago, I incubated those that looked good, & THREE of them did hatch! I'm no longer breeding ANY snakes & haven't for some years, but I do agree these are great serpents & deserve some attention with respect to breeding as pets. In the past I've bred Everglades, Bairds, Trans Pecos, amelanistic Black rat snakes, & various others, btw. I think in general that all the U.S. rat snakes are vastly under-rated as pets- while everywhere you look, we're knee deep in ball pythons. :rolleyes:
 
The fox snake (Pantherophis vulpinus) is one of my favorite snakes to catch -- they're very common here. I once caught a very large one (over 5 feet anyway) just outside of the twin cities in MN that was the most calm wild snake I've ever handled -- I guess that would have been Pantherophis ramspotti.

They'd make a fine captive -- better than most of the MX and CA milksnakes I've ever kept, that's for sure. Not very flashy, though.
 
Green Snakes (Opheodrys; rough and smooth species) are, IMO, one of the most beautiful snakes in North America, and I suspect that if captive bred ones that were free from parasites and disease were regularly available, they would be much more popular. They have great temperaments, are active, and some people like that they feed on insects instead of rodents. If I were not terrified I'd introduce some parasite or disease to my colony, I'd have a couple :)
 
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