Southern Plains Rat Snake/female 1

hey, nice photo, can you tell me what the difference between a great plains rat snake and a southern plains rat snake is? if there is a difference

Thanks, this is my favorite snake. She has the best head pattern I have seen on a Southern Plains Rat. She is also a great breeder, hasn't laid a bad egg yet. As for the difference between Great Plains and Southern Plains, I am not an expert or a taxonomist but there are a few things that are different that I know of. The Southerns are generally larger than the northern variety, some growing to 5 feet long or more. They usually have fewer and larger dorsal saddles than the northern Great Plains rats. Many Southerns have greatly reduced ventral checking, some have almost plain white or sometimes pinkish bellies. I don't have any northern Great Plains yet, but I have read that their egg clutches are usually small, around 6 eggs. This female laid a clutch of 11 good eggs for her first clutch and 14 good eggs for her second clutch. Taxonomists seem to mostly agree that the Great Plains Rat snake which used to be considered a subspecies, is a seperate species from the Corn Snake (Elaphe/Pantherophis guttata guttata). Formerly the Great Plains was Elaphe guttata emoryi now Elaphe emoryi. The Southern Plains (E.e.meahllmorum) is a subspecies of the Great Plains, but it seems that this is not completely agreed on by taxonomists. You can check out the taxonomic names at The Center for North American Herpetology (www.cnah.org) under Standard Common and Current Scientific Names.

Thanks, she is my favorite snake. She has the best head pattern I have seen on a Southern Plains, and she is a great breeder. She hasn't laid a bad egg yet. I am not an expert or a taxonomist, but here are some things that I have read and some personal observations. The Southern Plains Rat(Elaphe/Pantherophis emoryi meahllmorum) is a subspecies of the Great Plains rat (E. emoryi), which was formerly considered to be a subspecies of the Corn Snake (E. guttata). Taxonomists don't seem to completely agree that it should be considered a seperate subspecies, however. You can look at scientific names at www.cnah.org. Differences between Great Plains and Southern Plains include size, pattern and clutch size. Southern Plains are a larger snake,sometimes reaching 5 feet long. They usually have fewer and larger dorsal saddles than the Great Plains, and many have very reduced ventral checking, some have almost solid white or pinkish bellies. Also, Great Plains egg clutches are usually small, around 6, while the Southern Plains (at least mine) lay 10 or more. This female laid 14 good eggs this year in one clutch. - Toby

Thanks, she's my favorite snake. Great breeder, hasn't laid a bad egg yet. Southern Plains Rats are the southern subspecies of Great Plains rats. They get larger, have larger and fewer dorsal saddles and some have reduced ventral checking with pinkish bellies. Not all taxonomists agree that they should be considered a seperate subspecies. You can see common and scientific names at cnah.org. ... TB