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rat snakes and stess
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by bush_viper17 on April 6, 2005
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I noticed that black rat snakes seem to stess out alot during capture. Most do okay and it is just like catching any other snake but on two occasions I have noticed black rats getting very stressed out while being captured. The first time my friend caught one, he wasnt rough at all with it and he captured it like any other snake. A few minutes later the snake bit him. We noticed blood after that in the rat snakes mouth and we just thought that it was my friends blood. The snake was crawling around on the ground and all of a sudden it started bleeding alot from the nose and mouth and then it just rolled over dead. The second time was last summer. I was with another friend and we caught a black rat snake. I picked the snake up and it struck out at me. I set the snake down and it started crawling away and then it opened up its mouth and then turned over on its side. It was acting similar to the last one that died so I put the snake back under the wood where I found it and left it alone. I checked on it a few minutes later and it was okay so i just left it there. Has anyone else noticed this behaviour?
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RE: rat snakes and stess
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by Joy on April 6, 2005
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I haven’t seen THAT level of stress in a black rat. I instantly wondered if it was a feigned death routine like a hognose? But the blood in the mouth seems like more than a show. I imagine it’s possible. I would like to know.
I know my CB black rats are way more high strung than any other snakes I’ve owned. The shake their tails and will hold their striking poses long after I have cleaned their cages and changed their water.
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RE: rat snakes and stess
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by bush_viper17 on April 6, 2005
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No the snake died. It was sad to witness. I hate to put stress on any animal and we didnt stress this animal at all. My friend came down to the house with it. We laid it on the ground and it started bleeding from the mouth and rolled over dead in an instant. The other one lived. I have caught many rat snakes(including black) after both of these encounters and have never seen anything like it. These two were found nowhere near eachother so It couldnt have been a local "trend". I dont know what happened. Maybe suicide? Ive heard of rat snakes eating themselves. A process called autophagy I think.
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RE: rat snakes and stess
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by AquaHerp on April 6, 2005
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I've caught many many balck rats over the years and have never had one act that way. Are you catching by hand?
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RE: rat snakes and stess
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by bush_viper17 on April 7, 2005
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Yes, Im catching by hand. We dont use any stress or tools at all on nonvenomous. It probably already had something wrong with it.
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RE: rat snakes and stess
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by AquaHerp on April 7, 2005
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I'm guessing it did. Weird. I've never had one do that before, but animals do strange things sometimes, that's always a given.
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