Identify this rat snake please! - Page 2

Will0W783 · 02-11-13, 02:16 PM

Nice pictures! Now that I can see the head better, it's not a coachwhip. I looked up oriental rat snake, and it's almost dead-on to your snake. That's a neat species; enjoy him/her!

hackersid · 02-11-13, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will0W783

Nice pictures! Now that I can see the head better, it's not a coachwhip. I looked up oriental rat snake, and it's almost dead-on to your snake. That's a neat species; enjoy him/her!

Woaa...thats a relief!!! Thanks for your replies - much appreciated.

btw how do I sex it? any chance that I can tell by looking at him/her?

UwabamiReptiles · 02-11-13, 04:54 PM

To sex it you would have to probe him. As far as I know you cant sex these just by looking at them. Thats a beautiful snake man.

concinnusman · 02-11-13, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackersid

Quail? won't it be too big for him?

I sometimes feed quail chicks (hatchlings) to garter snakes as small as 2.5 feet. You said this is a 7 foot snake. Should be able to handle adult quail, depending on the type of quail. If not, then newly hatched chickens,ducks,geese, whatever, will due just fine I'm sure.

And I have to agree, that sure looks like a Dhaman , a.k.a. Oriental Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosus) Oriental Rat Snake « Reptiles and Amphibians of Bangkok

The tank looks too small. Needs more floor space. Measure the length of the tank, plus the width. If the snake is longer than that, it's too small. Ideally the enclosure should be at least as long as the snake unless it's a sedentary "sit and wait predator" snake such as a python. I think the tank needs to be about twice as long as it is now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackersid

Well I think I can get adult quail but I think its too big for him. Quail will be larger than his width

That doesn't matter one bit. They can dislocate their jaw and swallow items much bigger than their heads and certainly much wider than their body. If you can't get rodents most rat snakes will take small birds too. Don't underestimate their ability to swallow large prey. Food for a snake like that can be larger than you might think. That snake could easily swallow something as large as your fist. Maybe even a bit bigger than that.

Here's an American yellow rat snake (they can get 6-7 feet) eating a full grown squirrel so I think your snake could handle a quail just fine.

dinosaurdammit · 02-11-13, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by concinnusman

I sometimes feed quail chicks (hatchlings) to garter snakes as small as 2.5 feet. You said this is a 7 foot snake. Should be able to handle adult quail, depending on the type of quail. If not, then newly hatched chickens,ducks,geese, whatever, will due just fine I'm sure.

And I have to agree, that sure looks like a Dhaman , a.k.a. Oriental Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosus) Oriental Rat Snake « Reptiles and Amphibians of Bangkok

The tank looks too small. Needs more floor space. Measure the length of the tank, plus the width. If the snake is longer than that, it's too small. Ideally the enclosure should be at least as long as the snake unless it's a sedentary "sit and wait predator" snake such as a python. I think the tank needs to be about twice as long as it is now.

That doesn't matter one bit. They can dislocate their jaw and swallow items much bigger than their heads and certainly much wider than their body. If you can't get rodents most rat snakes will take small birds too. Don't underestimate their ability to swallow large prey. Food for a snake like that can be larger than you might think. That snake could easily swallow something as large as your fist. Maybe even a bit bigger than that.

Here's an American yellow rat snake (they can get 6-7 feet) eating a full grown squirrel so I think your snake could handle a quail just fine.

my boa is 6 foot something and can eat a large pigeon

Just look at that dislocation

i wouldnt worry about a quail, they are rather small birds and i agree with the user above me, snakes can eat LARGE prey compared to their jaw size

concinnusman · 02-11-13, 07:04 PM

Yeah there's gotta be something he can get at local market that the snake can eat. I think he's underestimating the size of prey the snake can eat. There's also a pretty good chance he might take livestock heart or butchered lamb/poultry/rabbit meat.

dinosaurdammit · 02-11-13, 08:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by concinnusman

Yeah there's gotta be something he can get at local market that the snake can eat. I think he's underestimating the size of prey the snake can eat. There's also a pretty good chance he might take livestock heart or butchered lamb/poultry/rabbit meat.

why would you feed a snake meat by products?

hackersid · 02-12-13, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UwabamiReptiles

To sex it you would have to probe him. As far as I know you cant sex these just by looking at them. Thats a beautiful snake man.

Oh, well I can't probe him as I don't know what am looking for

Thank you for the compliment!

Quote:

Originally Posted by concinnusman

I sometimes feed quail chicks (hatchlings) to garter snakes as small as 2.5 feet. You said this is a 7 foot snake. Should be able to handle adult quail, depending on the type of quail. If not, then newly hatched chickens,ducks,geese, whatever, will due just fine I'm sure.

And I have to agree, that sure looks like a Dhaman , a.k.a. Oriental Ratsnake (Ptyas mucosus) Oriental Rat Snake « Reptiles and Amphibians of Bangkok

The tank looks too small. Needs more floor space. Measure the length of the tank, plus the width. If the snake is longer than that, it's too small. Ideally the enclosure should be at least as long as the snake unless it's a sedentary "sit and wait predator" snake such as a python. I think the tank needs to be about twice as long as it is now.

That doesn't matter one bit. They can dislocate their jaw and swallow items much bigger than their heads and certainly much wider than their body. If you can't get rodents most rat snakes will take small birds too. Don't underestimate their ability to swallow large prey. Food for a snake like that can be larger than you might think. That snake could easily swallow something as large as your fist. Maybe even a bit bigger than that.

Here's an American yellow rat snake (they can get 6-7 feet) eating a full grown squirrel so I think your snake could handle a quail just fine.

Thank you for your detailed reply - much appreciated.
Thanks for the pic reference - now I know he can eat quail just fine. Even if he doesn't - it wont hurt to try...

I know my enclosure suxx atm, making a new one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinosaurdammit

my boa is 6 foot something and can eat a large pigeon

Just look at that dislocation

i wouldnt worry about a quail, they are rather small birds and i agree with the user above me, snakes can eat LARGE prey compared to their jaw size

WoW! your snake is amazing :P

Quote:

Originally Posted by concinnusman

Yeah there's gotta be something he can get at local market that the snake can eat. I think he's underestimating the size of prey the snake can eat. There's also a pretty good chance he might take livestock heart or butchered lamb/poultry/rabbit meat.

Well yeah but I will try to feed him quail first.

Lankyrob · 02-12-13, 11:35 AM

You want to stick with Whole prey items and not bits of meat. Snakes have evolved to digest and use all parts of the prey they eat

concinnusman · 02-12-13, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dinosaurdammit

why would you feed a snake meat by products?

The items I mentioned are not meat by-products. They are meat.

I'm trying to offer alternatives to starving. At this point is sounds like he wants to feed his snake and is looking for suggestions that are readily available to him. I do give my snakes whole prey but I also give them fish fillet, chicken thigh meat, heart, liver, etc. It's food. Nothing wrong with it. In fact, they thrive on it.

Too many people get stuck on the idea that the snake must eat whole prey or live prey only. And just because it's a rat snake doesn't mean it must eat only rodents. The suggestions I made are reasonable alternatives which might be more readily available in markets in Pakistan. If the diet is varied and nutritious, they don't necessarily have to have whole prey. If whole prey of the right size is available it's preferred, but not absolutely necessary.

concinnusman · 02-12-13, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

Snakes have evolved to digest and use all parts of the prey they eat

Actually, they haven't. Keratin (hair, feathers, claws, beaks) is not easily digested. Most of it comes out just as it went in. And if a snake has a blockage, infection, injury to the digestive system, this undigested material can back up and cause problems.

KORBIN5895 · 02-13-13, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by concinnusman

Actually, they haven't. Keratin (hair, feathers, claws, beaks) is not easily digested. Most of it comes out just as it went in. And if a snake has a blockage, infection, injury to the digestive system, this undigested material can back up and cause problems.

Honestly I have never seen any of the aforementioned items in my boas feces. I have fed all of them chicks, chicken and guinea jeans and not once have I seen a feather in the poop.

concinnusman · 02-13-13, 05:34 PM

And I've never seen a rodent eater that didn't regularly have feces consisting almost entirely of rodent hair/feathers which look much like an owl pellet. It's not that keratin is totally indigestible though, it's just not easy to digest. It's a very tough material. I have seen pythons that went years without passing the material, and then ended up having to go to a vet to have feet of the stuff taken out of them. Every time I fed my pueblan milk a mouse, like clockwork, a hair plug would come out a week later. I would worry if it didn't.

Perhaps some snakes are just better at digesting it than others but in any case, it's not easy. It's the kind of material that dissolves easier in a caustic solution but resists acid.