Description:
Scientific name: Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri
Life span: 10-15 years
A medium-sized to giant snake, the Texas rat snake. They come in a broad variety of hues and patterns throughout their habitat, but are often yellow or tan with erratic, brown to olive-green blotching from head to tail. The southern portion of their distribution typically has more yellow-colored specimens, while the northern portion typically has darker specimens. These are the only rat snakes with a solid gray head, which helps to distinguish them from other rat snake species. Some examples feature spots that are red or orange. Usually, the belly is a uniform shade of gray or white.
Native Region/Habitat
The rat snake can be found in southern Louisiana and the eastern part of Texas.
Behavior:
Texas rat snakes are quite shy for such a huge snake, yet they can have a wide range of personalities. Adults can have a calm disposition while gaping and biting when confronted. Under-one-year-old babies may be fairly peaceful or bite when startled. Their ability to “rattle,” or quickly whip the end of their tails against anything nearby to generate a rattling sound, is one of their defensive strategies. Compared to other snakes, they also have a horrible musk odour. In captivity, they will consume frozen mice and rats that have been thawed. In captivity, wild-caught species typically gradually grow calm.
Care As a pet/In captivity:
- For a few months to settle in, newly hatched animals can be housed in a five-gallon reptile terrarium or a six-quart tub, but they will soon need to be moved to a larger home. A sub adult may be comfortable in a 20-gallon terrarium or a 28-quart tub, but ultimately you’ll need a 41 quart tub or something comparable that is at least three feet long. Adults will be happiest with at least a 55-gallon glass terrarium.
- As your snake is cold-blooded and must physically go to cooler or warmer regions in order to regulate its body temperature, it’s critical that you give it a variety of environments to choose from. Longer enclosures with a single heat source on one side make creating such a gradient easier. Texas rat snakes enjoy weather on the warm side in the mid-80s, and on the cold side in the mid-70s. To avoid overheating and to change the temperatures as needed, reptiles should have access to a lighting controller.
- Texas rat snakes like to eat frequently since they expend a lot of energy searching for food. The ideal frequency of meals is every five or seven days, however adults can go longer between meals than growing snakes. You can only feed them rodents while they are in captivity. Mice are given to hatchlings until they are big enough for rats. Optimal prey is roughly the same width as your snake’s widest point or slightly wider.
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