Baird’s Rat Snake

In my opinion the Baird’s rat snake is the most underrated of all the Pantherophis species. This is due to two factors: The drab grey appearance of the offspring; and the rather slow ontogenic color change to the spectacular adult colors. The hypo (or T+ albino if you prefer) form of this secretive snake is stunning.

Adult male Baird’s rat snake, normal coloration with beautiful orange between the silvery scales.

Adult female exhibiting the fabulous metallic colors of the hypo gene. Some believe this to be T+ albino.

One of my hypo youngsters, just beginning to show some color. These rat snakes take a long time to change into the stunning adult coloration

About This Project

My old friend Antoine Burke from Captive Bred Studio has some of the finest line-bred Baird’s rat snakes, with both normal and hypo adults having spectacular colors. Antoine has hooked me up with a little group of this rat snake that is indigenous to the southwest US and northeastern Mexico. I have both visual hypos and hets. I am hoping to play a role in bringing this interesting and visually appealing species to the attention of colubrid keepers. My group is not locality specific but rather have been bred for color.