? odd behavior of corn/rat snake

[dance2water]

I have a snake recently sold to me as an albino rat snake but someone else said it is a corn snake. It is between 3 and 4 feet(Closer to 4 ft).

A couple days ago I observed it to drink a lot of water, more than I had seen it drink on previous occasions. I came back shortlly and it had defecated and also apparently passed a lot water as the newspaper was soaked around the stool. The stool itself looked normal and was formed with the dark and light parts. I think the snake has done this before, but it defecated next to the water dish and I thought it had just somehow spilled some water.

The snake appears normal in other ways. It is calm when handled , it is alert, an eager feeder, and crawls and climbs about its cage.


I have not seen this behavior in the boa or black rat snake I have owned.

I would like to know if this is cause for alarm or within the realm of 'acceptable" behavior.(He did after all wait for privacy before defecating o> )

thanks in advance for any advice.

Jean

[thunder]

If the stool looked normal, I don't think it is a problem, but if this happens often, he is probably trying to tell either that he needs a high humidity than you are providing. Also, in rare instances, an animal has a problem retaining water. If he seems dehydrated (wrinkles in the skin are a good indicator), then he may need to see a vet. I doubt this is the case though, because a dehydrated animal would not be as alert and active as you say your snake is.

As for his identity, corn snakes are in fact a type of ratsnake, and if you post a pic of him, I would be glad to identify him.

[mikeydadog]

Lol, I'm not laughing at you ! But my yellow ratsnake can literally drink half of his water bowl in one sitting this is usually right after he eats. I never have seen a snake drink so much, then he's good until the next feeding. As well he usually deficates shortly after and always by his water bowl. ( my bullsnake does this too)
I have had him to the vet right after I got him, and he checked out fine , but he does seem to have a higher moisture content in his feces than any of my other snakes.

[jungle_man86]

why did u own black rats anyways?

[Invictus]

Thunder, corns are not a type of ratsnake. That is why they have been reclassified under Pantherophis, not Elaphe. Corns don't require high humidity either, and excessive drinking would likely be more due to the fact that it was about to defecate. I've always noticed my corns drink more around that time, it really does drain them of fluids. As for identifying the snake, it could be a hybrid. Looks alone can't diagnose what it is.

[thunder]

Actually, corns are a type of ratsnake. Pantherophis is the genus of North American ratsnakes. The splitting up of Elaphe was splitting up a genus in which not all the animals were particularly closely related. Even though there are now several genus(es?), they are all still considered ratsnakes. Obsoleta are in Pantherophis, are you going to argue that they are not ratsnakes? If not, then what are they? Common names don't really mean much. There are still folks who call corns red rats. I know that corns do not require high humidity; I've worked with them for many years. I have not noticed any of my corns or other snakes doing the drinking thing, but if you have I'm perfectly happy to believe you. Perhaps mine do also and I just don't notice. I only mentioned the less healthy possibilities in case the animal is truly sick, which I doubt. I have seen the disorder which I mentioned (inability to retain water) in person, and I thought it was worth mentioning. As for the identification, yes, it is perfectly possible that I will not be able to identify the snake, but it is also perfectly reasonable that I may be able to. I see no reason why I should not offer to identify it if I can. If I wasn't sure what it was, I would say so and offer my thoughts. I generally preface such an identification with "It looks to me" or "IMO."

[Invictus]

Ok, I have to eat my hat on this one (not the first time, lol), it means my reading was incorrect, or I read wrong when I did some reading on why corns and beauty snakes were removed from Elaphe.

[gonesnakee]

In the reguards to the drinking of lots of water no one has asked about the husbandry of the snake. What are the temps at for hotside/coldside? If the snake is being kept too warm it will definitely be drinking & passing a lot more water than a snake that is being kept at proper temps. Mark

[dance2water]

With regard to the husbandry of my snake. I do not use my air conditioner much so I keep my house at 80 degrees.Therefore I do not have a heater set up for my snake. The house only gets down to 75 at the lowest.

My snake does not drink a lot of water overall. He just tanked up and then about a half to one hour later I found that it had defecated and passed a lot of water.

He seems healthy, he is alert and active and eats eagerly.

thanks

Jean