hey guys new here looking for advise

[Chancesgirl82]

Im new to snakes and all. I got this big beautiful snake and was told he is a corn. Would ylu be able to tell me if he is infact a corn and what color phase he would be or what kind of snake he is thanks in advance.

[TxScarlet15]

Giving this post a bump and at the same time I'm going to guess some type of Bull or Pine snake? Curious to know what others with more experience think.

[Minkness]

Looks like an odd combo of motly stripe, possibly ghost, most likely a corn but I'm no expert and would need to see the face better. Bulls and gophers kind of have a furrowed brow that makes them look kinda mean (if I had a bull, I'd name it Muggsy or capone lol)

[RAD House]

The head does not look like a corn to me and I have never seen a corn with that muddled of pattern. I am thinking the species is P. obsoletus. Maybe a Texas rat snake or a Calico black rat snake.

[prairiepanda]

Some sort of rat snake for sure...maybe even a hybrid but I can't really say what would comprise it. The head shape is wrong for a corn or bull/pine.

You've certainly got a unique and good-looking animal there! I've never seen anything quite like it!

[reptiledude987]

I agree dosent look like a corn to me either. due to the fact that many of our seasoned knowledgable members cant seem to figure out exactly what it is I'm inclined to think its a hybrid of some sort.

A clear closeup of the head may help

[sirtalis]

Not a corn, i would think its a north american colubrid of some kind.

[Killerflash]

I 2nd prairie panda about it being some kind of rat snake, but unsure of what kind and/or morph.

[Bandit]

I'm thinking rat snake as well. The underlying pattern reminds me of a Texas rat.

[dave himself]

Could be a jungle corn, but I'm just guessing to guys

[Chancesgirl82]

Ill post a picture of his head. I have no idea as to what to call him and i have tried for about a week now to figure out exactly what he is. Thankbyou guys for your help, oh and i dont have a name for him yet either. Sorry for the blurriness from the container its what i brought him home in and its the only head on shot i was able to get.

[Chancesgirl82]

Ill get better pictures today before i feed him.

[Chancesgirl82]

Ok so i was looking up black rat snake morphs and im thinking he could be a mix between the rusty morph and the white sided morph? What do you guys think?

[Sylphie]

Can I share these pics on one of the facebook rat snake groups? There are some experienced people than maybe will be able to identify your snake, as it's a rat snake for sure. I once saw similiar snake but don't remember what it was.

[Chancesgirl82]

Ok so i was looking up black rat snake morphs and im thinking he could be a mix between the rusty morph and the white sided morph? What do you guys think?

These are the two morphs i think the he might be

[prairiepanda]

If you can get a clear shot of the head from directly above that would help immensely. It does look like there's some white-sided influence in there for sure. It's hard to say whether rusty is a factor since this may (probably) be a hybrid.

Based on the patterning, eye colour, head shape, and head scales, I'm tempted to say it's a hybrid between a black rat and a texas rat....but hybrids can get some really weird and surprising traits, so I could be completely off. He's gorgeous, though, and I'm certainly jealous!!

[Chancesgirl82]

Yes go ahead and share it. I would love to find out what he is.

[Chancesgirl82]

Im going to feed him tonight, he doesnt like anything being close to his face unless he does it. Im hoping i can get him focused on the mouse and get some good shots.

[Sylphie]

Okay, I'll let you know what they think :D

[Chancesgirl82]

Ok thanks Sylphie

[RAD House]

I have seen rusty white sided black rats for sale by Reptmart so it could very easily be both. Looking at the close up of the head I am pretty certain it is P. obsoletus. Prairiepanda I very much disagree that this is a hybrid, especially as Texas rats and the western black rat snakes are the same species. I really do think what you have here is a rusty white sided Black rat snake.

[dave himself]

He's freakin stunning that's what he is :D

[Chancesgirl82]

I have seen rusty white sided black rats for sale by Reptmart so it could very easily be both. Looking at the close up of the head I am pretty certain it is P. obsoletus. Prairiepanda I very much disagree that this is a hybrid, especially as Texas rats and the western black rat snakes are the same species. I really do think what you have here is a rusty white sided Black rat snake.

Are they common, i mean you guys havent seen very many of them. I love his coloring and i wouldnt mind getting another one.

[Chancesgirl82]

Thank you all very the compliments on him. Thanks for all the help figuring out exactly what he is now that we have him narrowed down to a rat snake. Does anyone have a name suggestion?

[Sylphie]

So I posted your pics, and here are some suggestions: cross between bairdi rat snake and texas rat snake, or some type of weird brooks rat snake, whitesided rat snake or whitesided bull snake (this last one rather sceptical). I'll let you know if there would ba another answers. :)

[RAD House]

They are not as common as say a ball python or a corn snake, but I would not call them rare. The black rat snake is pretty common in the US and it is only a color morph of this animal. They are certainly not worth more then corn snakes and probably less than some corn snake morphs. Neat snakes, I just bought a luecistic black rat and I really like her. They are similar to corns in many ways but can get a bit larger.

[Chancesgirl82]

I dont think hes a bull his head isnt big compared to his i really think he is a white sided rusty cross but i appreciate the thoughts. Hes got motly to him do im not sure exactly where he gets it from.

[Chancesgirl82]

Compared to his body....

[Chancesgirl82]

I was just looking at morphs and i really like the licorice morph. But there is a few others as well.

[Chancesgirl82]

I also know where i can pick up some really nice corns for like $10 cause he is trying to down size. He has this female that looks like a coral snow and a few okatees.

[RAD House]

the licorice morph is the same thing as a white sided. You were probably looking at normal where yours is possibly a rusty version of the same snake.

[Chancesgirl82]

Here is a couple of head shots, he just got done eating two mice so i didnt want to hassle him to much. Although when i tried putting him away and he did almost everything in his power not to go in so i directed his head into one of his hides. I hope these pictures help.

[Chancesgirl82]

What do you guys think would be a could female for him if i decided to go down that road. Im in no hurry to do so just curious of what your guys thoughts would be?

[Chancesgirl82]

Him sitting here watching me

[prairiepanda]

Prairiepanda I very much disagree that this is a hybrid, especially as Texas rats and the western black rat snakes are the same species.
Same species, different subspecies. Some people would consider that a hybrid, others wouldn't. Normally I wouldn't, but in this case I was trying to identify a source of the strange markings which seemed more like those on Texas rats than on black rats. However, now that we have better pictures of the snake I see that the patterning isn't as Texas-like as I originally thought, so you're right that it's probably not a hybrid :)

I really do think what you have here is a rusty white sided Black rat snake.

Agreed. Very nice find!

[jjhill001]

I'm inclined to say Black Rat snake as well. It's really gorgeous. I do see the Texas Rat comparison that prariepanda is mentioning though. I just think that's because of the shade of the color on the back though. I wouldn't breed it if you don't know what it is tbh though. You can look up specific scale counts and stuff on the internet of the various subspecies if you REALLY wanna narrow it down.

[Albert Clark]

I would agree to rat snake but think hybrid is a very good possibility. Unique looking reptile that appears like he's been well fed. Was he a rescue or w/c?

[Albert Clark]

I'm inclined to say Black Rat snake as well. It's really gorgeous. I do see the Texas Rat comparison that prariepanda is mentioning though. I just think that's because of the shade of the color on the back though. I wouldn't breed it if you don't know what it is tbh though. You can look up specific scale counts and stuff on the internet of the various subspecies if you REALLY wanna narrow it down.

Good points jj. Those would be good differentiating factors. Welcome Chances to the forum btw!

[RAD House]

Just to be clear they found the western black rat snake and texas rat snake to be so genetically similar that they are now the same species. Also they did away with all the subspecies. Biologically there is no difference between the two. Black rat snakes are not necessarily black.

[Albert Clark]

Great find MC, thanks.

[Chancesgirl82]

Im not going to breed him for quite some time if i ever do. I got him from some people that didnt have time for him any more, he is very well taken care of. Last night when i fed him (since i havent been able to transition him to f/t yet) he ate the first mouse killing it then he started eating it then spit it out and started rattling his tail. Then finished eating after 10-15 minutes. I let him settle with that for about 20 minutes then gave him the second one.

[Chancesgirl82]

I was thinking he might be a little over weight because he almost looks like he has scale seperation but i dont know if its just because of his coloring. I fed him two mice because he hadnt eaten in almost three weeks when he was used to eating every 10 days.

[Chancesgirl82]

Hopefully he will go into deep shed, so far he eyes are starting to get milky.