Elaphe obsoleta quadrivittata (Yellow rat snake)

Origin: Eastern North America and northeastern Mexico
Length: Up to 200 centimeters
Age: 12-18 years
The yellow rat snake is easy to recognize by its color. The ground color of its body varies from bright yellow to pale brown and there are four dark stripes running the entire length of the body. The underparts of the adults are white/yellow to grey/brown. Due to mutations, almost yellow specimens can also be found.
Care

Experience: Intermediate/experienced snake keeper
Food: Live or dead prey (young mice, adult mice and baby rats).
Feed adult: Every 7 to 10 days.
Feed young: Every 4 to 6 days
Water bowl: Yes
Water change: 3 times a week

Power supply
The yellow rat snake is a real strangler, so it can also eat prey larger than its head. Be careful not to carry prey that is too large. These are often not accepted and if they are accepted, they can be spit out, after which an animal sometimes does not want to eat for weeks. Therefore, it is best to feed the snake with (several) small prey that is thicker than the thickest part of the snake's body. In the wild, they eat other reptiles and small rodents. In captivity, this diet can easily be imitated with only rodents. It is advisable to offer this death. This is more practical and prevents the feed animals from injuring your snake. We recommend offering the feed animals with feeding tongs and feeding your snake outside the enclosure. This has the advantage that your hand is not associated with food.
If you do go for live food, you must supervise during feeding. If you keep the snake together with other animals, you will have to separate them before feeding, as it sometimes happens that the snakes injure each other during feeding.

Water
It is good to have water available for your hose. This not only for drinking, but also for bathing. To allow this, the water bowl must be large enough for the snake to lie in it with its whole body and preferably even larger.

Cleaning
A hygienic living environment is important to keep your snake healthy. To achieve this, the accommodation will have to be cleaned regularly. Cleaning once a week is regular enough. In addition, to prevent the build-up of bacteria, the entire accommodation must be cleaned and disinfected a few times a year.

Handling
To feed the snake and clean the enclosure it can be useful to handle your snake. Of course, this must be done properly so that the snake and you are safe. Handle the hose with a hose hook or lift it with two hands. Do not hang your hose around your neck, because if the hose falls it will clamp itself around your neck. In addition, there are some important things to pay attention to when handling a snake. First, make sure that your snake understands that you are going to handle it and move slowly when handling it. Also make sure your hands are washed and do not smell like food. Finally, do not handle your snake when it is shedding and do not handle it in the dark.

Housing
Minimum size enclosure for 1 snake: 150 x 50 x 60 cm
Lying area: 1m2.
Day temperature: 20-30oC
Night temperature: 15-20oC
Hours of light: 12 hours
Ground cover: Newspapers, coco peat, bark or peat litter

Design
The Yellow rat snake does not need a huge enclosure. The water bowl should be large enough for the snake to bathe in. Also make sure that this water bowl is stable so that they cannot knock it over. Finally, the hose must be given the opportunity to pull away. You can achieve this by offering the snake hiding places in the form of an upturned flower pot or an artificial cave.
Before your stay, there are some extra things that should be taken into account. For example, the snake is quite good at escaping and care will have to be taken that they cannot just open their door. You can do this by putting a lock on the accommodation. In addition, ventilation is necessary to keep the air fresh and it is advisable to place the accommodation out of the bright sun and as vibration-free as possible.

Behaviour
Hunting method: Strangler snake
Lifestyle: Land inhabiting

Character
The yellow rat snake can be a bit more aggressive than the common rat snake but with patience and regular handling this should not be a problem.

Points of attention
The snake is capable of eating prey larger than its head. For a large snake, this could even be other pets (e.g. guinea pigs). Therefore, never leave your snake alone with other pets. Always separate young animals, as they can often show cannibalistic behavior.

Cost and Purchase
Legislation: You do not need CITES or transfer papers to own this snake.
One-off costs: This includes the costs for accommodation, lighting, heating, water bowl and decoration. This can cost a few hundred euros to a few thousand euros in total. The final amount depends on the quality and size of the products.
Fixed costs: Fixed costs include the costs for the feed, which is a few tens of euros per year.
Unexpected costs: Costs are incurred when your snake happens to get sick or your equipment breaks down.