100-Flower Ratsnakes

RobsCornField · 07-15-12, 06:29 PM

I noticed the forum has a significant lack of 100-Flower Rats, aka Othriophis Moellendorffi. So I though I'd remedy that.

Here's Speed, my male:

And Trixie, my female:

Thanks for looking!

UwabamiReptiles · 07-15-12, 07:33 PM

Beautiful 100 flower ratsnakes! These guys aren't seen that often. If you don't mind, could you elaborate on your experiences with these guys. Like husbandry, temperment, and why we don't too many of these around.

RobsCornField · 07-15-12, 07:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UwabamiReptiles

Beautiful 100 flower ratsnakes! These guys aren't seen that often. If you don't mind, could you elaborate on your experiences with these guys. Like husbandry, temperment, and why we don't too many of these around.

Thanks, and I'd be glad to!

Sadly, most of the specimens that were coming in to the US were fresh imports that had gone weeks without water, food, etc, and were incredibly stressed and malnourished. As a result of that, most people received animals that died within a few weeks of arrival. They got a horrible reputation because of this, and people stopped trying.

I purchased mine as a CBB pair about a year ago. They have been some of the most awesome snakes I've ever had! The advice that I received from the breeder was to "keep them like cornsnakes". I was a bit hesitant, and tweaked that formula a bit. I keep my cornsnakes in the mid 80*F range, but these guys seem to thrive at around 75*F. I've also noticed that they can be temperamental, and go off feed if they don't get their way. I had moved my female into a glass tank with a few branches and vines (same setup as my male), and she HATED it. She went off feed for about 6 weeks before I switched her back into the tub. After going back, she ate the next day. These guys are feeding on f/t, and they seem to prefer multiple prey items over larger. They're on 2 hoppers/week at the moment, but are about to get bumped up to 3.

As far as temperament goes, it really depends on the day. Lol. My female tends to be calmer overall (like in the picture of her coiled up in my hand), but if she's not in the mood, there's all kinds of tail rattling going on. When they rattle, it's not like corns where it's just the tip of the tail, it's the WHOLE ORANGE END of the tail, so it sounds more like an old prop plane trying to take off than a little rattlesnake.

alessia55 · 07-15-12, 09:09 PM

Those are amazing. Thanks for sharing those pics... How old are they? How much larger will they get? Have you bred them yet? or do you plan to? How much do they sell for?

RobsCornField · 07-16-12, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alessia55

Those are amazing. Thanks for sharing those pics... How old are they? How much larger will they get? Have you bred them yet? or do you plan to? How much do they sell for?

Thank you! I do plan on breeding when they're of age not this coming year, but the year after. The largest specimens have reached close to, if not just over, 8 feet. These guys are almost two years old. During their first year, they grow VERY slowly due to being incredibly finicky eaters. It's during the second year that their growth really starts taking off.

You can see CBB specimens going for anywhere from $250 for normals to $600 for normals het hypo, and hypos usually start around $1200. My pair is het hypo, so I'm looking forward to proving that out in a couple of years.

StudentoReptile · 07-16-12, 07:41 AM

Thanks for sharing. Always a treat to see pics of obscure Old World colubrids!

marvelfreak · 07-16-12, 08:23 AM

Beautiful snakes. I never seen these before.

UwabamiReptiles · 07-16-12, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobsCornField

Thanks, and I'd be glad to!

Sadly, most of the specimens that were coming in to the US were fresh imports that had gone weeks without water, food, etc, and were incredibly stressed and malnourished. As a result of that, most people received animals that died within a few weeks of arrival. They got a horrible reputation because of this, and people stopped trying.

I purchased mine as a CBB pair about a year ago. They have been some of the most awesome snakes I've ever had! The advice that I received from the breeder was to "keep them like cornsnakes". I was a bit hesitant, and tweaked that formula a bit. I keep my cornsnakes in the mid 80*F range, but these guys seem to thrive at around 75*F. I've also noticed that they can be temperamental, and go off feed if they don't get their way. I had moved my female into a glass tank with a few branches and vines (same setup as my male), and she HATED it. She went off feed for about 6 weeks before I switched her back into the tub. After going back, she ate the next day. These guys are feeding on f/t, and they seem to prefer multiple prey items over larger. They're on 2 hoppers/week at the moment, but are about to get bumped up to 3.

As far as temperament goes, it really depends on the day. Lol. My female tends to be calmer overall (like in the picture of her coiled up in my hand), but if she's not in the mood, there's all kinds of tail rattling going on. When they rattle, it's not like corns where it's just the tip of the tail, it's the WHOLE ORANGE END of the tail, so it sounds more like an old prop plane trying to take off than a little rattlesnake.

Thanks for the info. These guys are really cool. Het hypos, did you get these guys at the Daytona show last year? I remember seeing a table that had het hypos for sale. I really didn't give them a second look though because I thought they were harder to take care of.

Donnie · 07-16-12, 03:25 PM

Very nice

thanks for sharing

RobsCornField · 07-16-12, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UwabamiReptiles

Thanks for the info. These guys are really cool. Het hypos, did you get these guys at the Daytona show last year? I remember seeing a table that had het hypos for sale. I really didn't give them a second look though because I thought they were harder to take care of.

Actually, I did! Lol. CBB anything is going to be a lot easier to keep than WC anything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

Thanks for sharing. Always a treat to see pics of obscure Old World colubrids!

I'm hoping to make them a bit less obscure in the years to come.

Norm66 · 07-17-12, 06:02 AM

Drop dead gorgeous animals. Thanks for sharing.

MoreliAddict · 07-17-12, 07:25 AM

Never seen these, thanks for sharing.

andybe18 · 07-24-12, 03:46 PM

Stunners Rob - yet another asian rat that's on my wish list (bigger house just above on the list though!)

Jlassiter · 07-24-12, 07:05 PM

Rob....
Why not provide a thermal gradient so the moellemdorffi can chose their temps at any given time?
Why force them to a constant 75F and your corns to a constant 80F?

Why not room temp (72F) for the snake room with hot spots of (90F) so the snakes have choices?

Another choice to provide is a humidity gradient..............

**Aaron_S** · 07-24-12, 10:17 PM

I don't know the actual poster but I'm going to suggest that maybe you just read the post wrong. They said they keep it in the "range" of those temperatures. Not necessarily just a constant temperature.

I could very well be wrong too but just food for thought.

Also, spectacular animals. I have not seen those around for quite some time.