ELAPHE GUTTATA WHEAT SNAKE

The Elaphe guttata was one of the first snake species to be regularly bred and bred in captivity.

The ease with which it can be maintained and its particular beauty make this snake one of the favorites among enthusiasts and not.

Its popularity can be attributed to several factors: Particular appearance.

Many people consider this snake to be among the most attractive species due to its particular coloring and sinuous designs.

Moreover, there are different varieties of colors, the normal variations present in nature and the "combinations" obtained in captivity; it's easy then,

out of a dozen specimens, do not find two alike.

Good temper. The character of most adult individuals is to be considered very good. General information

Its scientific name, Elaphe guttata, derives from the Greek word "elaphe" which means "buckskin" and from the Latin word "guttatus" which means "spotted" or "mottled".

Also known as the "grain snake", due to the ease in meeting it in the wheat fields, hunting for prey, or as "red rat snake" due to the red color of some specimens and their preference to prey on rats.

The body has beautiful designs formed by large and prominent spots that run through it and the skin, smooth and scaly, recalls the softness of leather.

Dimensions and colors

Newborn babies usually measure 25-35 cm. in length, while adults can vary from 80 to 150 cm. with some exceptions of 180cm.

 The body, as already mentioned, is characterized by a series of spots, often underlined in black, which "run" along the back of the animal and by smaller spots on the sides. The first spot on the back of the neck divides forming two strips which, joining at the base of the head, form a characteristic "spearhead". Other stripes run along the sides of the head and end in the part in front of the eyes.

The base color varies between orange, gray and brown while the spots are almost always darker than the body.

Babies usually have more color contrasts but less orange pigmentation.

The belly of most of the specimens is marked by bold checkered designs on a white or light orange background; the designs tend to merge near the end of the tail in a stripe.

The scales are present in 25-35 rows in the middle of the body.

Subspecies

There are two or three subspecies of Elaphe guttata so far recognized.

Elaphe guttata guttata is the standard and subspecies to which most of the captive-born “grain snakes” belong.

Elaphe guttata emoryi is the subspecies native to the eastern areas, with dark spots and hardly orange-red coloring but more tending to gray-brown. In several of these specimens there are not even the characteristic checkered designs and their dimensions reach a maximum of 150cm.

Elaphe guttata rosacea is considered to be a separate subspecies, originating from Florida. These specimens have a minimal amount of black pigment especially on the sides of the back and belly.

Easy maintenance. The Elaphe guttata does not require particular conditions to be well maintained.

Normally in captivity it does not show problems in eating, it is not predisposed to get sick easily and is able to reproduce with extreme normality.

Its moderate size means that it can be easily kept indoors in a terrarium that does not take up much space.

Market availability. The large number of Elaphe guttata bred in captivity ensured their constant presence on the market at very reasonable costs.

In short, the Elaphe guttata turns out to be the ideal animal even for those who want to approach the fascinating world of reptiles without having a particular experience.