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Posted by hotshot on January 06, 2003 at 10:56:44:
In Reply to: Black rat color change..... posted by Alan Garry on January 05, 2003 at 18:35:49:
Alan
I am originally from southeastern Missouri, and the black rats we have down there are just like the ones you mentioned from your neck of the woods. I have caught lots of black rats of all sizes in Missouri. The majority of them as subadults/adults were all jet black. However I have seen them almost black, but a faint pattern still visible, 4 or 5' specimens. I had never seen a black rat like the ones here in KY until I had gotten here. Seen pictures, but never had the opportunity to catch one. I have seen a vast difference in colors in black rats in the last 2 years here in KY!! I have found some that were almost an olive drab color, and lots of color variations of my black rat. I havent seen any however that are as jet black as those I had seen in southeastern Missouri and northern Arkansas. But I would have to say from my experience, that at 3-4', the snake may not change much. Im sure they will get a little darker with age, but I dont believe the ones that retain color and pattern would ever get jet black. I caught one here on Ft Knox last summer that was pretty close to 5' range. It was one of the olive drab colored snakes I have seen here. It looks like my black snake will probably stay the color he is now, he hasnt changed coloration much in the last 4 or 5 months. I try to take pics of him monthly so I can document his changes. It is pretty cool to look at some pictures of him as a hatchling and compare them to the latest pics.
Brian
:For starters, I want to state that I'm well aware that adult black rats vary greatly in color and how much juvenile pattern is retained throughout life. With that said, I'm wondering if anyone has known black rats to retain noticeable pattern well into adulthood ( 4'to 5'+), and still later get a lot blacker. I've been working with black rats for about 17 years, and it's been my experience that once they ( all obsoleta ssp.s ) reach roughly 3' they pretty much look how they are going to look.
:Thanks in advance for your comments. Alan,
