If you do plenty of research, can provide the correct care requirements and are confident handling the snake I see no reason why not : victory:

 

Yellow rats are awesome snakes. They can be a little more touchy than a corn, and get a good bit larger, but if you do your research (and you're not bothered by the possibility it may be defensive), then they can make a great first snake.

 

As long as you are prepared to give the snake what it needs to live healthy and aren't afraid of being bitten, then you're good to go When I got my first Tarantula I jumped right in and got a orange baboon, I'm still in one piece too!

 

Go yellow. Mines bring out the colour of my eyes :flrt:

PS they move FASTER than corns :gasp:

 

I've been looking at Yellow Rat Snakes, very pretty indeed :flrt:

 

i say if you've fallen for the snake then go for it, i don't own a yellow but they are very pretty and sound like fun snakes.
rat snakes go way beyond corn snakes and people often forget that, but it doesn't mean they aren't good snakes for beginners :2thumb:

 

Any snake if fine for a beginner if you do your research and can provide the right care :2thumb:

Get a Burm :2thumb:

 

Thanks for the replies all.
As it happens I popped back to the shop this afternoon and he's now settling into his new home :blush:
He's certainly a feisty fella, but hopefully won't be too bitey!

Should I let him settle in for a while before I try to handle him?

 

If the sake doesn't seem too skittish when I get it home, i normally actually feed on the first night then handle 48 ours later. Most people tend to stick with 'leave it a week then feed' but I tend to ignore that and have never had a problem. I do always tend to give a feed before handling, obviously waiting 48 hours to handle.

 

Try feeding and take it from there. :2thumb:

Congrat's on the first snake :2thumb::2thumb:

 

Thanks guys. It's going to be a long few days waiting for him to settle!

Here's a couple of snaps I just took:

Better start thinking up a name for him!

 

Thanks guys. It's going to be a long few days waiting for him to settle!

Here's a couple of snaps I just took:

image

image

Better start thinking up a name for him!

Oh he is a handsome boy :no1:

 

he's lovely, fab patterning.
make sure you keep us updated on how he gets on :2thumb:

 

i've done the "wait a while til they settle in" thing most times, to be fair, but i am starting to agree with the idea that what will make them feel most at home is the fact that food is available in their new territory...so that seems a better idea to me.

he's flipping gorgeous! nice choices for first snakes! Thayers are nice too!

 

my personal favorite rat snake... easy and awesome!

class!:no1:

 

my personal favorite rat snake... easy and awesome!


image

class!:no1:

Wow !

Do they all turn out like that or are there loads of colour / shade variations ?

 

aw gorgeous little dude!!!!!

:flrt:

 

Awesome snake, congratulations : victory:

 

Congratulations on getting your new snake :no1:.

Really pleased he is settling in,he will feed when he is hungry and wants to feed.
With an awesome strike action :2thumb:.

 

...he will feed when he is hungry and wants to feed.
With an awesome strike action :2thumb:.

Well, after 4 weeks of settling in he finally decided to eat something this evening! : victory:

You're not wrong about the strike action :gasp:

 

I rarely wait until I've got home before handling any of my snakes! Having said that, it's probably a good idea to give them a bit of peace and quiet before feeding them.

Ratsnakes are awesome, but another vote here for a burm!

 

Yay,really pleased he's eating and settling in well :2thumb:.


The strike action I find,is scarier than being bitten. All my snakes except 2 will strike feed,but,I'm a meanie and drop feed most of them :whistling2:.

 

Really happy he's finally eaten something. I was starting to get worried!

He went a bit mental afterwards and started striking at me everytime I went near him! It was both terrifying and awsome!!
I think he was still hungry and in full on feeding frenzy mode!

He had been very calm and docile up until then and never showed any signs of aggression.
Had to leave him alone to calm down for a while before I could get him back to bed.
Can't wait till next feeding time

Our little king snake drop feeds, and it's not nearly as exciting.

 

i'm glad he's eating for you, sounds like he's getting on well.

make sure you keep us all updated on him, he's a handsome chap :2thumb:

p.s - you can always feed inside the viv so you dont need to worry about moving him afterwards :2thumb:

 

I have to feed my Ratsnake in its viv. There is no way to be able to get it into anything else at feeding time. It also goes mental after feeding. I guess it is still in feeding mode ! It just looks like it is in some psychotic trance. Striking and flying at anything. I do love my Ratsnake.

 

lol, that sounds exactly like how mine was last night :2thumb:

 

Loe ratsnakes ery easy great temperament,here are mine

 

imageimageLoe ratsnakes ery easy great temperament,here are mineimageimage

That's a lovely grey rat you have there and looks bug too. Is it about 7 foot?

 

The first snake I ever owned was a black rat snake it was awesome and my cousin got a yellow and it too was stunning a little nippy sometimes but a snake with a lot of character

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

7 ft no, she is a big thick girl but only about 5 and half foot

 

Think she is a black/grey cross shes defo all obsoleta her head is to huge and wide for any corn to be in her.Here is Frank my male Black thay have bred for a number of years now he is a good 6 ft ,very athletic!also in my pics are Thomas my everglades and my new pride n joy Kira baby Russian.