# leucistic rat snakes?



## Devil'sRival (May 27, 2010)

I'm hoping to buy a leucistic rat snake at the upcoming expo. What is the difference between the leucistic texas rat and the leucistic black rat snakes besides the obvious of being different subspecies? Is there a difference in appearance, size, temperment? I've done some research but haven't found a whole lot yet. Anyone have personal experience with these? Any help would be appreciated.


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## pitbulllady (May 27, 2010)

Devil'sRival said:


> I'm hoping to buy a leucistic rat snake at the upcoming expo. What is the difference between the leucistic texas rat and the leucistic black rat snakes besides the obvious of being different subspecies? Is there a difference in appearance, size, temperment? I've done some research but haven't found a whole lot yet. Anyone have personal experience with these? Any help would be appreciated.


Yes, there ARE differences.  TX Rats tend to get larger and more heavy-bodied, and have pink or orange tongues, while the Leucistic Black Rats have black tongues.  Most of the Leucistic Black Rats also have a bit more "cleaner" look, less likely to have flecks of other coloration on them.  While I don't like to generalize about snake personalities, TX Rats, regardless of color phase, regardless of whether cb or wc, DO tend to be very defensive snakes compared to other North American Rat Snakes.  One of the worst biters I have ever owned was a Leucistic TX Rat female, but I've also had a huge wc TX Rat male(normal color phase)and a Lloyd Lemke line red-phase female who were both as gentle as a snake can be.  You're just more likely to wind up with a "high-strung" snake if you get a TX Rat,  IMOAE.

pitbulllady


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## Devil'sRival (May 28, 2010)

Thanks. I have read about the temperment of the texas rat but I'll be getting a baby; do you think it'd tame out with age? Is there a way to tell from a baby if it will have specks of color as an adult? Is there a noticeable difference in their, for lack of a better word, whiteness? ie one more vibrant/dull than the other. I know to stay away from bug eyed ones but what are some things to look for on this? I read its from too much inbreeding done by money hungry breeders and I don't want a snake with ugly guppy eyes.

I'm not sure if I'll have a choice between the two because they could sell out of one before the show. So I'd like to know about both. From what you said though the black rat is the better choice.


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## pitbulllady (May 28, 2010)

Devil'sRival said:


> Thanks. I have read about the temperment of the texas rat but I'll be getting a baby; do you think it'd tame out with age? Is there a way to tell from a baby if it will have specks of color as an adult? Is there a noticeable difference in their, for lack of a better word, whiteness? ie one more vibrant/dull than the other. I know to stay away from bug eyed ones but what are some things to look for on this? I read its from too much inbreeding done by money hungry breeders and I don't want a snake with ugly guppy eyes.
> 
> I'm not sure if I'll have a choice between the two because they could sell out of one before the show. So I'd like to know about both. From what you said though the black rat is the better choice.


If a white snake is going to have flecks of color on it, it will have them when it hatches.  Most TX Rats, and indeed, most Rat Snakes, period, come out of the egg with a full-blown attitude!  They can be funny to watch; the problem is, many of the TX Rats do not settle down.  The female I mentioned had been raised from a hatchling and handled often, but would never pass up an chance to bite.  She'd go into that "S" as soon as someone can in the room.  Now, there is a possibility that the personality issues could have stemmed from the same source as the bug eyes that are often seen in Leucistic TX Rats(never seen a Leucistic Black Rat with them, though)-inbreeding.

pitbulllady


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## the toe cutter (May 28, 2010)

*Tx Leucys*

I have had a trio of adult Texas Leucys for over a year a friend of mine gave me. I have kept all kinds of various ratsnakes from corns to moellendorffs rats and here are a few things I have noticed over the past year with the Leucys;

1) They each have their own temperment, my male for instance, is great! One of the calmest rats I've ever kept, my smaller female is fairly well behaved as well but far more curious, both are very comparible to corn snakes. My large female however will take every oppurtunity to eat my plump little digits any chance she gets. Needless to say, she does not get handled very much!

2) FAST metabolism!! Mine range in size from 4-5ft, but eat more than my 8ft red tail boa! These guys are hungry I have noticed about every 4 days and they do have a quite intimidating feeding response. Mine eat F/T jumbo rats or chicks every 4-5 days and are not at all fat. I used to feed them weekly and observed that they were actually losing a bit of weight and becoming a bit more "nippy" when my hand, instead of food, entered the cage. So I started feeding them more often and found that they prefer to eat about every 4 days and they were not only starting to look better but behaved ALOT better. This I think is a small reason why they get a bad rap sometimes, they are voracious feeders and will attempt to get some fingers if not properly fed.

3) These by far are some of the nastier ratsnakes in way of their feces and urates. For some reason they have abnormally foul smelling urates which is very reminiscent of the regular snake poop smell mixed with cat urine! So their cages get cleaned thoroughly every 5 days. I know alot of people say that feeding chicks will have a similar effect but these were fed strictly rats by the previous owner and myself when I initially got them and it has not changed a bit since I have started occasionally feeding them chicks. Atleast not noticabley!

4) These ratsnakes are extremely intolerant of med to hi humidity. When I got these, my friend told me of the red speckling on the scales and had no explanation for it, so I looked it up didn't find anything helpful either. Well after about a month of keeping them in sterilite bins temporarily with a water dish and dime size holes for ventilation, I noticed that the speckling was becoming more aparent. Soon they were nearly covered in enflamed red patches, similar to boils or heat blisters. This escalated very quickly. I then realised what was going on, too much humidity. they themselves being arid forest/scrub dwellers don't do to well in humid environments! So I put them in glass cages with no water dish and a screen top and after about a month of picking scabs and stuck shed they cleaned up real well and are doing great! I give them a water dish every other day and remove it after about 2 hours. No more red spots.

Overall I enjoy the Leucys and they are more commented on by friends than even my African colubrids!? And this is all my opinion strictly based upon my observations of owning an adult trio for over a year, so don't take it as gospel or any other such assured nonsense. I have had many snakes over the last 16 years and each will occasionally defy the common care guides for their species. Like my company commander always says "you have to adapt and overcome!"


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