black rat?

[vwsrcool]

does anyone know they sceintific name for a black rat snake?

[Stefan-A]

Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus, I think. Formerly Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta.

[flakgunner]

Pantherophis obsoletus obsoletus, I think. Formerly Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta.

hey,
I believe it's still Elaphe,I was reading some info on the net on Rat Snakes,it's been suggested that the name be changed to Pantherophis,but the high up powers to be,haven't approved it yet,unless i was reading a old article.

Joe

[enigma200316]

every place I checked it still comes up as Elaphe obsoleta...:confused:

[GarterGuy]

It has officially changed from Elaphe to Pantherophis, but many hobbyist still use Elaphe, kind of how they still call Florida kings "Brooksi phase" florida kings when they are actually the nominate subspecies and what used to be Florida kings are now Peninsular Integrade Kings. Names are really fun!!!!:D Oh and to make things more confusing, Black rats don't exist anymore either....they're now called Eastern Rat snakes. Just a little bit more confusion for you.:cool:

Roy

[enigma200316]

I did see that when I was searching that they did infact call them Eastern Rats, but didn't see the name change anywhere.......:(

[vwsrcool]

ok well i guess i wil go with ELAPHE, the reason i ask is i just caught a 2 footer this weekend, i havent had one of these snakes for years, pictures coming soon

[enigma200316]

great I can't wait to see them.........:)

[vwsrcool]

well here is a picture of the black snake and a big eastern female we got this weekendhttp://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/Picture315.jpg



http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/Picture314.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/Picture308.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k285/vwsrcool/Picture312.jpg

[Elliot]

Nice snakes Ben!!:)

[Josh]

wow! awsome!

[enigma200316]

very nice Ben.................:)

[GarterGuy]

Ummm....hate to break it to you Ben, but that's not a rat snake, that's a racer....Norther Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor) to be exact. They're really cool snakes......a lot more active then rat snakes and will eat pretty much anything....including other snakes. I've found one once chowing down on a garter, and I've heard they'll even take stuff like copperheads and such. Very nice, they're one of my favorite natives.

Roy

[drache]

both of them are beautiful
nice pics too
thanks

[Thamnophis]

Black Ratsnakes (indeed Pantherophis obsoletus) are fantastic snakes. i have kept them for years. And I take care of the yellow subspecies P. obsoletus quadrivittata in the zoo. Also very great animals. And we also keep P. obsoletus spiloides.
Recently we got a P. obsoletus lindheimeri and a P. obsoletus rossaleni in our shelter.

[vwsrcool]

ROY, thank you for clearing that up for me, i wasnt 100% sure because this snake is pure black, and all the black rats i have had before had a faint pattern on them, i guess i should stick with garters huh?

[GarterGuy]

LOL.....no worries.:D A lot of people mix up eatern rats with northern racers. I have to ask though....how is its temperment? Everyone I've talked to has said how aggressive racers are, but from the three wild snakes I've encountered, I've found them to be really mellow, to the point that they don't even mind being picked up and handled. I even have pics of my mother-in-law holding a wild 4ft. Northern racer that I had caught in DE..and she's NOT really a snake person.

[vwsrcool]

well ROY this one has quite a temper, i had to wipe a good amount of blood from my finger yesterday! it moves a little faster than me!

[GarterGuy]

LOL.......maybe they just like me or something??!!??:cool:

[adamanteus]

Bit late, but I agree....it's a Racer!!

[Stefan-A]

hey,
I believe it's still Elaphe,I was reading some info on the net on Rat Snakes,it's been suggested that the name be changed to Pantherophis,but the high up powers to be,haven't approved it yet,unless i was reading a old article.

Joe
Last time I heard, somebody suggested moving the Pantherophis species to Pituophis. :D

[flakgunner]

hey,
Nice looking snake!IN my 35+ years of collecting,I've never had a Racer.always heard that their quite skittish,poor eaters in captivity,closest I've come to these was a Coachwhip,way back in my much younger days,didn't do good at all,but these was when all snakes being sold at shops where wild caught,and I know that one was,whew!it was one mean,grumpy snake.

Joe

[GarterGuy]

Hmmm interesting.......when I managed the pet store we got in a racer, not sure of the subspecies, and it was mellow, well tempered and hell ate everything! We even kind of experimented with it to see what it would eat! Mice, rats, hamsters, anoles, fish, frogs, even ate crickets.....and it was over 3ft. long!

[Deadlyvenom]

I bought a 2 months old black rat female few weeks ago. She is my first snake and absolutely fantastic. Not aggressive but has some temperament, eats well and is very active. I just can't wait her to grow up and change the colour, her parents are very deep black with very little pattern (at least according to the pictures I've seen, I never saw them live because they were sold just before I bought mine) Here is one little bit fuzzy picture, I tried to shot better one but it is quite difficult since she is always moving and both the camera and the person behind it are quite crappy too...
http://image52.webshots.com/52/1/25/71/2893125710097726067jDSLtT_ph.jpg

[Thamnophis]

We kept a pair of Coluber constrictor constrictor in the early eighties.To our surprise the mice they grabbed died within 15 to 45 seconds just by biting them.Is this also the experience of you?

[GarterGuy]

We kept a pair of Coluber constrictor constrictor in the early eighties.To our surprise the mice they grabbed died within 15 to 45 seconds just by biting them.Is this also the experience of you?


Yes, I was amazed at how quickly they killed them with just jaw pressure and smashing them into the ground and walls. The mice looked just like they had been constricted, eyes all bugging out and all. I think they take them out by putting a HUGE bite on them and the critter going into shock or something. Awesome snakes!

[Thamnophis]

Like a lot of other colubridae Coluber constrictor has an active Duvernoy´s gland. This produces (mild) venemous mucus. Duvernoy's Glands and "Warm" Herping (http://www.anapsid.org/duvernoygland.html) This is the reason why the mice die that quick.You would aspect something else from a snake which second name is "constrictor".