Are ratsnakes as easy to handle as corns?
I thought they are in the same family!?!
Got to check them out on the websites.

Rat snakes are just like corns, in fact corns are also known as the red rat snake, they are cared for in exactly same way as a corn, they just grow slightly bigger, can reach up to 8' in length.

Really? Red rat snake is actually a synonym for corns? There's a red rat snake at our local museum, but I thought it looked a little different than my corns. I'll have to go back and look again. I'll be very embarrassed if I didn't recognize a corn snake as being a corn snake!

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~Juliane~

A corn is a "red ratsnake". However not all ratsnakes are quite as docile as corns. Some of them can be a bit nippy. And there are ratsnakes that are not from North America and some of them can be downright aggressive.


With all the natural variations in cornsnakes there are quite a few different appearances. That is what has led to the ability to produce all the different morphs!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

They used to be (north american rat snakes that is) but corns got re-classified from Elphae guttata guttata(sp) to Pantherophis guttatus(sp), so they are not in the same family so to speak.

North american rat snakes can get bigger than corns and will be more 'fun' to handle They are not as docile as a corn but at the same time are not aggressive.

As Merlin has said already both the North American rat and the corn are completley different altogether to the Asian/European/African Rats, some of which can obtain lengths of 12ft+ and can be nasty, I believe the largest to be the Stinking Godess (please correct me if I'm wrong). The veriaty of the asian rat snakes, or more precisly, colubrids (not all of which are rat snakes) is huge!!

Hope this helps

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I'll think of something to put here soon.......

Small grey fox,

I have heard "red rat snake" go for and everglades rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta rossalleni) as well. If the snake is orange/red, maybe with vauge stripes, it is an everglades rat.

Thanks a lot guys!

In Kansas we have great plains rat snakes, Pantherophis emoryi. Very similar to corn snakes. Here is a pic of one I found wild last week. He wasnt in a very good mood and did bite me a couple of times. They calm down in captivity.

I have a Russian rat snake. Can't find much info on him, but what I did find suggested it to be a docile species, and he really is friendly. Pretty good looking too. I'd love to read more about the Asian species.

I love theTexas ratsnake leucistic ; all white with blue eyes:Anyone got one?