hello everyone!

[supermanseabee]

Hello there everyone. I have finally gotten a old of my first snake, and it was solely by accident. the baby snake was stuck to a piece of PVC piping on some glue. the guy was just going to dispose of the "critter" so i took it off his hands. i gently removed the snake from the glue and put it in a container untill i could get home. after a couple of days it finally ate, and then also shed its skin. i took it to a big pet store and they probed it, said it was a female and said they thought it was a corn snake. i did some research and checked out a lot of pictures and im not so sure. i actually think she is a mole king snake. this would discribe why she burrows alot in her cage, and shakes her tail, like a rattle snake, some times when i go to pick her up. she is my first snake and my wife does not like it, but she is coming around. ill try and post some pics so everyone can see her, and any help on caring for her will be very much appreciated. thanks and im glad to be here. dont pay attention to the dates, my camera is not set up right. these were taken just 2 days ago, december 4th, 2008.

[Aaron_S]

It looks like a black ratsnake. I am not an expert on species indentification though. Nor am I familiar with your area.

[LadyParvati]

I think the dark markings are too large for a mole king snake, I tend to agree with Aaron--it appears to be a very young black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta). Rat snakes do live in TN. Couple of questions that can help in identification:

1) Are the scales keeled or smooth? (Keeled scales have a longitudinal ridge in the center; smooth don't)
2) Is the anal plate divided or single? (the anal plate is the scale that appears between the belly scales (which go all the way across the belly) and the tail scales (which are paired across the belly) right where the vent is)

Hope this makes sense. It's difficult to describe in words; if you're not sure of what I mean, google the terms and get a look at some diagrams.

Finally, if it is a black rat snake, it will darken as it grows; by the time it's about 3 feet long, it will be pretty much black all over except on its belly.

Hey, Aaron! Finished my last class last night, turned in the paper . . . HOORAY!

[supermanseabee]

thanks guys, yall were right. although very small the scales do have a very small line through them, so yes they are keeled. and she does appear to have a divided anal plate, so it appears she is a rat snake. i have read that alot of the rat snakes look very similar when they are young, so as she gets older and her color changes it will be easier to tell what kind she is. thanks for yalls help.

[Aaron_S]

Hooray for finishing class!

Good to know you got her figured out! We will all look forward to future pictures.

[Chu'Wuti]

Is it just reflection of the light during the photo shoot, or is that snake getting ready to shed? The eyes look pretty blue in that last shot.

[supermanseabee]

yes, she was ready to shed. she sheds about once every 10 to 14 days. i dont no if that is to much or not but she goes through some skin. i only feed her once a week so i dont think im over feeding her. she is starting to get somewhat bigger also.

[Chu'Wuti]

I'm confused . . . I thought you got her at the beginning of this month? Anyway, I'm wondering what & how much you're feeding her?

[supermanseabee]

No, I have had her for a couple of months now. I just recently joined this forum so I could get some good advice on snakes and such, but I had her for a while before I posted my pics and joined. But anyway, I am feeding her frozen fuzzies, and only once a week. She only eats one fuzzie every feeding, but sometimes she looks like she is still hungry. Still just feed her one and only once a week. She eats it with no problems so I dont think it is to much, do you, or am I feeding her to often?

[Chu'Wuti]

You might try offering her two fuzzies and see what happens; she might even want three. I don't think you're feeding her too often at this point--more like maybe not enough in a feeding. These snakes get to a decent size (around 6 feet in length); how long is she now and what's her diameter at the widest part of her body? Is the fuzzy as big around as the snake is at its widest part? If not, you can go up in prey size.