# Anybody Here Keep Ptyas sp.?



## pitbulllady (Apr 6, 2009)

I recently bought a young snake labeled "Indo-Chinese Rat Snake" at a reptile show, one of about a dozen or so juvenile imported specimens.  This was the largest and had the best weight of the whole lot, a very clean little snake, no scars or nicks.  From what I can gather, it's a _Ptyas korros_, or possibly _P. mucosus_, since both are called "Indo-Chinese Rat Snakes", and I can't find enough information on identification to pinpoint it.  It's a _Ptyas sp._, in any case.  Not a lot of these are imported, and I don't know of anyone working with these in captivity in the US, so I'm disappointed I didn't pick up a couple more(they were cheap), but I wasn't sure as to the luck I'd have with this one, and no one at the show had any experience with them at all, other than to feed them straight to their King Cobras.

It's a nice little snake, rather active, but very docile.  It's made no attempt to bite or musk at all.  What it lacks in bright colors and patterns it more than makes up for in personality, and in tactile properties.  I've felt some soft, silky snakes before-Savu Pythons, baby Boa Constrictors, Retics, White-Lipped Pythons-they all feel like Bril-Lo pads compared to this snake!  It has the most unbelievably soft, smooth skin; you cannot feel scales at all, even though they are large and prominent, like those of a Coachwhip.  I had some problems getting it to eat at first(this snake is not sexed yet, hence the "it"), having tried both live and f/t mouse fuzzies and hoppers, with no luck.  What limited info I found on care of these suggested that they like a hot basking spot, so I added that in the form of an under-tank heater, still no luck.  Yesterday I scented a small f/t mouse with a f/t rat I was thawing for one of my large snakes, and the little guy/gal snarfed it right down! I guess I'll have to get a bag of frozen rat pinks or fuzzies the next time I make a "rodent run" up to the breeder's place to get snake food!  It's probably a good thing it prefers rats, since these get to a pretty impressive size, and it's been my experience with Colubrids and some Boids(especially _Morelia_)that they can be aggravating to switch over to rats once they outgrow mice.

If there is anyone out there who keeps these, and you can offer any advice, I'd appreciate it.  I want to know that I'm doing things right, since there's really no care sheets or any captive-keeping information on these on the 'net.  I don't know why, if they have the disposition of my snake.  It would seem that this species has a lot of potential for captive propagation.  It's sad that so many little-known and seldom-kept species like this might be kept out of the country forever by pending legislation, before people get a chance to find out what great captives they are.

pitbulllady


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## Memento (Apr 9, 2009)

We had one of these snakes come into our collection a very long time ago as a Humane Society rescue, and it was a joy to keep and fairly undemanding.  This was back before widespread use of the web, so information on husbandry was even harder to come by.

Since we had virtually no info on them, we kept ours in conditions similar to those needed by Elaphe sp., mid-high 70s to low 80s with a warmer basking spot.  Though it got a little more ornery with age, it lived happily for several years before dying to an unfortunate technical failure of the heating system.


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## davidbarber1 (Apr 10, 2009)

Pitbulllady, I hope this helps. I own the "huge" The Atlas Of Snakes Of The World by John Coborn. According to it - 
_Pytyas_ Fitzinger, 1843: *Asiatic Ratsnakes*. A genus containing three species from central, eastern, and S.E. Asia. Usually in more humid areas close to rivers and lakes or in rain-forest areas. Length to 360 cm (144 in), making them the largest colubrids. Distinct head, robust body. Mostly uniformly brown to blackish. Diurnal and crepuscular. Terrestrial but climb well. Feed on a variety of vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles (including other snakes), birds, and mammals to the size of a rabbit. Popular in the terrarium, soon taming and long-lived given the right conditions. Require a large, semi-humid terrarium with facilities to climb and bathe. Oviparous, laying 6-20 eggs.
_P. korros_ (Schlegel, 1837): *Chinese Ratsnake*. Burma, Indo-China, and S. China, into Malaysian Archipelago. Three Subspecies.
_P. mucosus_ (Linnaeus, 1758): *Dhaman, Oriental Ratsnake*. Southern USSR through Afghanistan and Pakistan and across India and Burma to S. China and the Malaysian Archipelago. Two subspecies.
The only info it does not give are temps. But that is pretty easy to look up on line. I hope this helps you out. I guess these guys get pretty massive. Post some pics if you can.

David


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## pitbulllady (Apr 10, 2009)

davidbarber1 said:


> Pitbulllady, I hope this helps. I own the "huge" The Atlas Of Snakes Of The World by John Coborn. According to it -
> _Pytyas_ Fitzinger, 1843: *Asiatic Ratsnakes*. A genus containing three species from central, eastern, and S.E. Asia. Usually in more humid areas close to rivers and lakes or in rain-forest areas. Length to 360 cm (144 in), making them the largest colubrids. Distinct head, robust body. Mostly uniformly brown to blackish. Diurnal and crepuscular. Terrestrial but climb well. Feed on a variety of vertebrates, including amphibians, reptiles (including other snakes), birds, and mammals to the size of a rabbit. Popular in the terrarium, soon taming and long-lived given the right conditions. Require a large, semi-humid terrarium with facilities to climb and bathe. Oviparous, laying 6-20 eggs.
> _P. korros_ (Schlegel, 1837): *Chinese Ratsnake*. Burma, Indo-China, and S. China, into Malaysian Archipelago. Three Subspecies.
> _P. mucosus_ (Linnaeus, 1758): *Dhaman, Oriental Ratsnake*. Southern USSR through Afghanistan and Pakistan and across India and Burma to S. China and the Malaysian Archipelago. Two subspecies.
> ...


Thanks, David.  Right now I'm keeping him pretty much like I kept my Asian Beauty Snakes, even those these aren't related, with the exception of adding an under-tank heat mat(Beauty Snakes prefer it cool).  It's a very gentle little snake, active, but not hyper or nervous.  I mainly want to get it eating consistently now.  I'm not sure which species this is, as the guy didn't have any locale infor for me, though based on scalation I'm leaning towards _P. mucosa_ rather than _P. korros_.  I know this importer often gets stuff from Pakistan, so that's most likely where these snakes came from.  I'm surprised that these have not caught on here in the States, if they have the same disposition as this one, though I also know that when it comes to snakes, people love gaudy colors, and these are more subdued, color-wise.  I'll try to get some pics up later.

pitbulllady


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