Black rats really aren't too picky...

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Posted by CulebraOnna on July 22, 2002 at 19:49:10:

Just yesterday I was complaining about how there were hardly any herps in Maryland... :)

My mom comes for me and yells "Black rat by the hose!" So being me, I run out and pick it up. And realize that, look at that, he's trying to breed the hose. Given it's black, and approximately the same sized girth as a 4-5' black rat. He left his hemipenes out for a bit, dragging over my wrist (ewwwww).

This guy is about 4', very tame. I'm not quite sure if he's a true Howard Co. locality, the ones I've caught here retain a fair amount of pattern, while this snake is pretty much black, although he is two-toned-- you can see where his saddles are. I'm vaguely hoping to keep this one, especially if he will eat f/t, but as my parents won't even let the poor thing into the house (last one, 6', pushed the lid off the tank), that's fairly doubtful. What I need are a couple good Rubbermaids. There *is* a good black rat population around here, and this is a male, so while it would detract from the genetic pool a bit, it wouldn't hurt egg production. It is legal to keep wild black rats, and of course I would take it to a good vet, and quarantine him from my ball python. This isn't a serious consideration, though, so you need not worry much.

Pictures possibly later. I have them, but they're not much good-- manuvering cameras and cage tops and hides and such aren't easy with a black rat who still isn't too certain about where he is. He's not head shy or tail shy, but he will thrash a bit at times. Overall though he's a great snake.

Follow Ups:

Re: Black rats really aren't too picky... serplover 07/23/02 (1)
- Central Maryland... np CulebraOnna 07/24/02 (0)
Re: Black rats really aren't too picky... serplover 07/23/02 (0)
are you going to sell the hybrids? meretseger 07/23/02 (1)
- We'll have to see... CulebraOnna 07/25/02 (0)

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: Just yesterday I was complaining about how there were hardly any herps in Maryland... :) : My mom comes for me and yells "Black rat by the hose!" So being me, I run out and pick it up. And realize that, look at that, he's trying to breed the hose. Given it's black, and approximately the same sized girth as a 4-5' black rat. He left his hemipenes out for a bit, dragging over my wrist (ewwwww). : This guy is about 4', very tame. I'm not quite sure if he's a true Howard Co. locality, the ones I've caught here retain a fair amount of pattern, while this snake is pretty much black, although he is two-toned-- you can see where his saddles are. I'm vaguely hoping to keep this one, especially if he will eat f/t, but as my parents won't even let the poor thing into the house (last one, 6', pushed the lid off the tank), that's fairly doubtful. What I need are a couple good Rubbermaids. There *is* a good black rat population around here, and this is a male, so while it would detract from the genetic pool a bit, it wouldn't hurt egg production. It is legal to keep wild black rats, and of course I would take it to a good vet, and quarantine him from my ball python. This isn't a serious consideration, though, so you need not worry much. : Pictures possibly later. I have them, but they're not much good-- manuvering cameras and cage tops and hides and such aren't easy with a black rat who still isn't too certain about where he is. He's not head shy or tail shy, but he will thrash a bit at times. Overall though he's a great snake.

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