Red Tailed Green Rats

[UwabamiReptiles]

Well ding ding beat me to it by posting his first, so now I'll post mine. I've wanted to get into Gonyosoma for awhile now and this weekend at the show, I stumbled across a dealer with some CH babies. I knew right then that I'd be coming home with them. They only had two males with them so I had to go to their facility today and pick up the female. I'm pretty happy with the whole situation. And I'm even more happy I get to start with CH babies that already feed on f/t. I apologize for the bad pics, I didn't want to stress these little guys out too much.

Here's my male, he's a big guy clocking in at 50 grams.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2037.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2044.jpg

And here is my female, she is 40 grams. I think she'll be the fun one to play with because she got defensive right off the bat. It was cool seeing the inflated throat display in person.

Here she is soaking.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2038.jpg

Here she is in her hide.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2042.jpg

[jarich]

Beautiful snake!

[exwizard]

Oh yes, *drool drool* Very nice! :)

[marvelfreak]

Wow what a stunning snake.

[alessia55]

They are gorgeous... :yes:
I'd be interested in seeing what their set up looks like if you don't mind.

[Gungirl]

^ what she said :)

[Trent]

Stunning!!
I used to have one for years...she was..shall we say cheeky:laugh:
Awesome snakes!

[UwabamiReptiles]

Thanks everyone! Alessia and Kat, I just have them in simple 6qt setups with some vines, humid hide, and water dish. I can post pics tomorrow if you want.

[CDN_Blood]

They're such beautiful snakes, I've always thought they were very sexy and those are really healthy looking.

If only they were Pythons <insert large sigh of disappointment here> LOL :D

[jaleely]

cute! i like these snakes too. Ah, my list of wants grows ever longer...lol

[ding ding]

hehe, sorry for stealing your thunder but hey its not all bad, we just got more green goodness lol. those guys look really well mate, good luck with them! the throat display is pretty cool but its the bright blue tongue that really gets me, its mad lookin!

[millertime89]

these guys are gorgeous! Why CH and not CBB? Nobody having much success breeding them?

[UwabamiReptiles]

They get imported a lot and will be loaded with parasites and full of problems. So even when people do get them, they don't last long in captivity. So CBB is the way to go but finding someone that is working with them is next to impossible. So the best you can hope for is someone to import a gravid female and incubate her eggs. To top it off, they aren't the easiest eggs to incubate. The eggs are hard and thick so you have to work a little harder to get them to hatch. Here's a great site with a lot of info on these guys: Gonyosoma (http://www.oxyjansen.com/)

[UwabamiReptiles]

hehe, sorry for stealing your thunder but hey its not all bad, we just got more green goodness lol. those guys look really well mate, good luck with them! the throat display is pretty cool but its the bright blue tongue that really gets me, its mad lookin!


More green goodness is right. I really like how different these guys act compared to any other snake I've had. I've always had pythons so its usually straight forward when it comes to behavior. These guys have the throat display and you're right, their blue tongues are like neon blue. And how they flick their tongues all the way out but they go super slow and go from the top of their head to underneath their chin. Just totally different from anything I've ever had.

[ding ding]

More green goodness is right. I really like how different these guys act compared to any other snake I've had. I've always had pythons so its usually straight forward when it comes to behavior. These guys have the throat display and you're right, their blue tongues are like neon blue. And how they flick their tongues all the way out but they go super slow and go from the top of their head to underneath their chin. Just totally different from anything I've ever had.

yea man, i think were gona have fun working with this species and yea the colours are just immense, never seen anything quite like it in the flesh.

I have been told that the slow tongue flicking is a sign of stress and that a bite is on its way. i dont know how much truth there is in that tho as mine was doing that when i was taking the pics, i think thats the main reason i got a few tongue shots lol, but mine didnt strike tho she did nearly get away from me a couple of times, can be like lightening when they want to be.

mine seems to be very shy, i caught her having a mosey around her viv last night but every time i got close to look in she went and hid again then back out 5 mins after i went away but i watched her from just outside her eye line and she seems quite active and inquisitive so good signs so far!

[andybe18]

Stunning snakes - they seem a little similar to radiated rats in behaviour?

[a153fish]

I love these and have tried to keep them 2 different times with no success. Your right about the imported ones, which is what I had. They do well, for a short time, and then they just start going south. I think stress eventually does them in, along with the parasite loads they may be harboring. I know they can be bred, cause I met a guy in Winter Haven years ago who was doing it. He offered me some babies, but I didn't feel comfortable at the time to take them on, and I had other interests. If you get them to breed, and I have any space, I may be interested in a pair of babies. Good luck with them!

Oh P.S. they may benifit from a taller cage, with climbing branches. I believe they are very arboreal, and in the wild most likely feed mostly on small birds, and lizards. Mice shouldn't be a problem, but I had one take a live mouse, and the mouse bit him in his mouth. My mistake! The bite became infected, and he spiraled out of control health wise.

[UwabamiReptiles]

Stunning snakes - they seem a little similar to radiated rats in behaviour?


I've never personally kept radiated rats but from what I've heard and what I've researched on them, yes they behave similar to how radiated rats would. These little guys are fast and full of attitude!

[UwabamiReptiles]

I love these and have tried to keep them 2 different times with no success. Your right about the imported ones, which is what I had. They do well, for a short time, and then they just start going south. I think stress eventually does them in, along with the parasite loads they may be harboring. I know they can be bred, cause I met a guy in Winter Haven years ago who was doing it. He offered me some babies, but I didn't feel comfortable at the time to take them on, and I had other interests. If you get them to breed, and I have any space, I may be interested in a pair of babies. Good luck with them!

Oh P.S. they may benifit from a taller cage, with climbing branches. I believe they are very arboreal, and in the wild most likely feed mostly on small birds, and lizards. Mice shouldn't be a problem, but I had one take a live mouse, and the mouse bit him in his mouth. My mistake! The bite became infected, and he spiraled out of control health wise.


Sorry to hear about your two bad experiences, thats the main reason I jumped on these when I saw they were CH. I did have these guys in 6qt with some plastic rods and vines but after a fiasco(I won't even get into it lol) I decided to set them up in 66qts with lots of perches covered in vines and plants. It took me about 2 days to find out these guys are a lot easier to deal with if they have a lot of space. I plan to build a tall cage for these guys when they get bigger. You are right, they are almost strictly arboreal so a tall cage with lots of branches with dense foliage is the way to house Gonyosoma. As far as feeding, the other reason I jumped on these was because they are f/t rodent feeders. Both have already eaten for me so I'm happy that that shouldn't be problem(knock on wood).

[a153fish]

Sorry to hear about your two bad experiences, thats the main reason I jumped on these when I saw they were CH. I did have these guys in 6qt with some plastic rods and vines but after a fiasco(I won't even get into it lol) I decided to set them up in 66qts with lots of perches covered in vines and plants. It took me about 2 days to find out these guys are a lot easier to deal with if they have a lot of space. I plan to build a tall cage for these guys when they get bigger. You are right, they are almost strictly arboreal so a tall cage with lots of branches with dense foliage is the way to house Gonyosoma. As far as feeding, the other reason I jumped on these was because they are f/t rodent feeders. Both have already eaten for me so I'm happy that that shouldn't be problem(knock on wood).

I'm sure you will do better than I did! Starting with Captive Hatched is the way to go! I also noticed they prefer smaller meals. I am so used to dealing with King snakes, that I tend to want to feed everything heavily. These guys do better with smaller meals. Even if let's say, you give them more than one item, just don't give them large ones. Good Luck, and keep us posted!

[UwabamiReptiles]

Finally got around to taking some pics of the setups I have for these guys and sorry it took so long Alessia and Kat, I wasn't trying to just ignore your request. Just been busy. These are 66qts, they have a humid hide and a dry hide, pvc perches, and lots of foliage. Here they are:



http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2085.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2087.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2089.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2091.jpg

Here's a quick pic I got of the female, they don't stay visible long.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/IMG_2093.jpg

[millertime89]

very cool snakes.

[UwabamiReptiles]

Just a couple of updated pics on my female red tailed racer "Mrs. Walton". My male "PITA" isn't a huge fan of the camera so no updated pics on him. But here's my female pre shed.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/2012CHfemalegonyopreshed5-13-121.jpg

Post shed

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/2012CHfemalegonyopostshed5-23-123.jpg

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/2012CHfemalegonyopostshed5-23-122.jpg

Then a decent shot of her getting a little defensive the other day when I was weighing her. Both of my guys have been gaining weight very steadily and seem to be thriving from everything I'm seeing. Great snakes to work with, completely different from the slower moving pythons I'm used to :D.

http://i1126.photobucket.com/albums/l615/Uwabami/Old%20World%20Rats/Femalegonyo6-12.jpg

[Snakefood]

I almost bought a breeding pair myself at our last show, but apparently, I DO have willpower!!

they are gorgeouss though aren't they!!

[Coffee Black]

Loving that green!

[alessia55]

Amazing. Love the setups too... all that faux foliage :yes:
The post-shed pics are great; so bright. Glad they're doing well with you!!

[UwabamiReptiles]

Thanks all! I've changed their setups a little bit since those pics. I took the flowers out, it was too cramped in there for them. I also added an elevated hide box in there that they really like, thats where my male is most of the time.

[leper65]

Those guys are beautiful...love the blue tongue!

[Frozenflame]

wow... very beautiful.. i have always been fascinated by the green rat snakes but ive always heard they are very aggressive. is this true?

[UwabamiReptiles]

Aggressive? I'd personally say no. Very, very defensive though. When you go to pick them up, you have to just go and do it with out hesitation. Once they get into defensive mode, its really a battle to get them without them freaking out.

I synopsis so far on these guys is that they are hands down the fastest and most defensive snakes I've ever come across. I've only dealt with pythons before these guys so its a completely different experience. That last pic I posted with the snake kind of perched up is what I'm talking about when I'm saying they are defensive and not aggressive. The aggressive behavior in gonyosoma is displayed when they inflate their throats and perch up and gape their mouths wide open.

Now I've only had these guys about three months now so I have very limited experience and I'm by no means an expert on them. 99% of the red tailed green rats you see are wild caught adults. Now these adults are aggressive and intimidating. I think bladeblaster on here has a thread with a pic of him holding an adult with its mouth gaping.

Frozenflame, sorry for the long winded response, I just really like talking about the gonyos. To answer your question again, WC ones are known to be aggressive. I think my guys are more defensive than aggressive. They do bite and they aren't a snake to hold while you watch tv or anything like that.

[Frozenflame]

ahhh ok, actually thanks for the long response, i have looked up on them before and haven't heard many statements about their behavior except one who said they don't make good pets. also when i went to purchase my corn snake the lady who worked there was showing me all the snakes and she went t fetch a red tailed rat snake and as she opened the enclosure she struck 3 times to her head.. clearly it was under alot of stress though, had no hide and was on plane newspaper.

good to know though! i have plans for an arboreal snake and was aiming for something smaller than a boa so i was wondering.

thanks! they are beautiful :)

[UwabamiReptiles]

No problem. These snakes without a hide or plants will make them extremely nervous. Then the snake was most likely an import. If you ever get some time, look up what snakes go through when they get imported. It will make a lot of sense why these guys are so "aggressive" when they get to whatever shop they get to.

Arboreal snakes are really cool, I plan to get more. The gonyos are a challenge though, I think they are something you should tackle once you have a few years of snake keeping under your belt.

[Frozenflame]

Its terrible... i personally don't find it very fair. and they become traumatized for the rest of their lives.
yea i think i will steer away from those for now and maybe get one in the future.
for now im hoping to adopt something in the next few months, hopefully i find something arboreal if not its definitely next after that. so far i have one corn hehe
=]