Texas rat vs. Black rat . . .>

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Posted by Terry Parks on July 04, 2002 at 12:46:53:

In Reply to: How do I tell a texas rat from a black rat? posted by abell82 on July 03, 2002 at 23:16:30:

Hi Abell82 - I live in Bakersfield, CA, which does not have any listed native Guttatta or Obsoleta. I'll wing it a little and give an answer to your post. Maybe someone will add to mine. I have both Texas rats and black rats in my collection. There is variability in each to color and pattern so both Texas and Black rats can be similar in appearance. The blotches or pattern in black rats wiil go away or fade as it gets older. Actually as the black rat gets older, the lighter sections darken. Some, like my Kentucky black rats will not get all black and some are even brownish so to speak. The Texas rat snake may get a little darker or more of the yellow-orange coloration appear, but it will maintain it's pattern. The heads on my Texas rats and morphs do not have any pattern and are a greyish color. The ground color on my Texas rats is light with yellow-orange. I'm not good yet at describing the pattern or blotch variances, but maybe someone will take this lead from me. Of course, if the snake in the pet store is a corn x rat cross, there's lots of ways it can look. I hate it when a pet store says the snake they have is a cross. It's a perfect out for them. A corn x black rat cross can vary all over the place with regard to pattern and color depending which parental genes it looks more like. Good luck and I hope I've ansered your post a little.

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: Hi Abell82 - I live in Bakersfield, CA, which does not have any listed native Guttatta or Obsoleta. I'll wing it a little and give an answer to your post. Maybe someone will add to mine. I have both Texas rats and black rats in my collection. There is variability in each to color and pattern so both Texas and Black rats can be similar in appearance. The blotches or pattern in black rats wiil go away or fade as it gets older. Actually as the black rat gets older, the lighter sections darken. Some, like my Kentucky black rats will not get all black and some are even brownish so to speak. The Texas rat snake may get a little darker or more of the yellow-orange coloration appear, but it will maintain it's pattern. The heads on my Texas rats and morphs do not have any pattern and are a greyish color. The ground color on my Texas rats is light with yellow-orange. I'm not good yet at describing the pattern or blotch variances, but maybe someone will take this lead from me. Of course, if the snake in the pet store is a corn x rat cross, there's lots of ways it can look. I hate it when a pet store says the snake they have is a cross. It's a perfect out for them. A corn x black rat cross can vary all over the place with regard to pattern and color depending which parental genes it looks more like. Good luck and I hope I've ansered your post a little. :

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