# my new snake!! *NOW WITH PICS**



## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

so today i bought my first snake. He was labeled as a white sided rat snake, but i havent been able to find anything on a snake with that name. From looking at pictures he seems to be a Elaphe obsoleta , the man at the store told be this snake gets to be as big as an average cornsnake, but online it says they get to be about 8 ft, but im not sure if it really is that species. hes about a year old. Hes so cool, i currently have him in a 20g, but he will be moving up to a 29g (20L footprint but higher), the guy at the store sold me a nighttime heat lamp for him and told me to keep it on all day, is this advisable? also whats the deal with the undertank heaters, are they good? because where i want to put his tank (on an entertainment center, next to a tv) the hieght clearence isnt enough for the tank and the heat lamp fixture on top. I took pics but i left my camera in my car, will post some pics up soon.


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## KINGofKINGS (Jul 24, 2006)

dude- sounds like you went into this with a blind fold on???! oh well, you dont need the nighttime light the guy at the store suckered you into buying... for snakes an under the tank heater does best! get the heater so its covering half the tank, giving the snake a hot and cold side--- any pics of this guy?


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

Seriously though it sounds like you need to put some pics of your new addition up so we can get a 100% positive ID on it, which Im sure one of the herp experts on here can do. With that information you will be able to get more accurate info on how to care for him and what to expect out of him.


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## KINGofKINGS (Jul 24, 2006)

my guess is its a kingsnake.... just my guess


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

i did not go into this blind at all, i did a bunch of research but i was going for a corn snake, and i ended up buying this ratsnake, so now im not exactly sure what it is


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

mikfleye said:


> i did not go into this blind at all, i did a bunch of research but i was going for a corn snake, and i ended up buying this ratsnake, so now im not exactly sure what it is


Post up a pic. Youll get some replies with definate IDs pretty quickly. There are some incredibly knowledgable and talented herp people on here that will point you in the right direction.


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

heres a pic, i know its crappy, but my cam is being screwey, i have school shortly so ill snap some pics after school and post tonight if i can get a better shot


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## kookykay23 (Jul 30, 2006)

hi im the girl in the pic above! we tryed to take pics last night...we tryed with the flash on and with teh flash off but the pics either came out too light or too dark...we also tryed diff lighting like the one in the pic above is in my kitchen because the snake is being held at my house..does any one have any idea what we can do to get better pics??


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## NeXuS (Aug 16, 2006)

looks like a neat snake from what i can see


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

ok i did a bunch more research and came up with this, the white sided ratsnake is a variation of the black ratsnake, but they are both black ratsnakes, they look almost identical as Juvi's (pretty much exactly as my snake does) but as they get older the white sided rat snake looks much better IMO as the black rat snake is basically all black. So i hope mine is indeed the white sided black ratsnake

**NOTE ALL OF THESE PICS ARE GOOGLED, I DID NOT TAKE THEM, I AM NOT TAKING OR ASSUMING CREDIT FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHY**

this is the adult white sided rat snake










heres the juvi










now heres the black rat snake










and heres a juvi










i hope mines the white sided, it seems to be, but i doubt its going to mature to look like the one i posted


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Well, you may not know this, but a corn snake is a kind of rat snake. Different species (Elaphe guttata if I remember right), but a rat snake which has a TON of color variations in the hobby (not so much in nature). I'd guess you have one of the 'lavender' type corn snakes but need another shot to get another look. Either way, it looks sharp and it looks healthy


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

acestro said:


> Well, you may not know this, but a corn snake is a kind of rat snake. Different species (Elaphe guttata if I remember right), but a rat snake which has a TON of color variations in the hobby (not so much in nature). I'd guess you have one of the 'lavender' type corn snakes but need another shot to get another look. Either way, it looks sharp and it looks healthy


well i knew the "red ratsnake" was a corn snake, im definitly getting better pics 2morrow and will post up


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

Im not sure if its just the angle of the pictures but the head of your snake looks more consistent with the head on the black rat snake.


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

ok i tried to get some better shots today this is what i got


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## KINGofKINGS (Jul 24, 2006)

def looks rat to me!!! you might in fact have what you think you have, thatd be my guess- cool lookin snake!


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

yea that white adult rat looks sweet as hell, i hope he looks like that, but hes biting







(see other post)


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## Alexraptor (Jan 30, 2003)

mikfleye said:


> heres a pic, i know its crappy, but my cam is being screwey, i have school shortly so ill snap some pics after school and post tonight if i can get a better shot


mmmmmmm microwaved snake, sounds delicious









as Steve would say.... what a beeeeuutiful snake.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yeah, agreed with ESPLMNOPMike and KoK, it does look like what you were guessing and not a variant of a 'red rat' snake. Enjoy!!!!


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

Definately _Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus_ (Black Ratsnake)
Yours is a captively produced variant, and as such is not a naturally occuring color phase...

(The genus _Elaphe_ is now used only for the old world ratsnakes)

Hey Ace..LOL...we seem to be racing through tonight! LOL


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## mikfleye (Jul 27, 2006)

CrocKeeper said:


> Definately _Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus_ (Black Ratsnake)
> Yours is a captively produced variant, and as such is not a naturally occuring color phase...
> 
> (The genus _Elaphe_ is now used only for the old world ratsnakes)
> ...


thanks croc, so how big does this snake get? the store owner told me it would be the same size as an a corn, but the internet says 8ft


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