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Beijing China

Georgia

North East China

Russia

Species Notes based on experiences:

It is hard to overstate just how good a pet snake the Steppes Rat Snake is. Their almost limitless hardiness owing to their regions of origin coupled with boundless patience when being handled makes them one of the very best pet snakes. Some would make the case for them even pipping Corn Snakes to the post. We have never encountered an aggressive example, not even one that was particularly flighty. These snakes are totally laid back.  You could quite rightly ask why not 100% for each interaction score? Well, we simply havent keptthe depth of numbers to state that catagorically. We may have kept 50 Steppes Rat Snakes during our careers where as we have kept maybe 5000 Corn Snakes. The data pool for analysis of behaviours is far larger therefore for Corns.

Detractions could be that certain locales do not exactly pop with colour and to keep them fighting fit long term fairly lengthy brumation periods would be the order of the day. These are down to the keeper’s personal tastes though. Of course as seen here certain localities are truly stunning and there are people working with cultivars such as albino now as well.  The adult size of the Steppes Rat Snake sits right in the ‘goldilocks region’ we look for and as such is just right for most beginner keepers.  
This is not a prolific snake and with clutch yields of only 4-6 eggs this goes some way to also explain why they are not more popular. To be able to achieve a fertile breeding a deep and protracted winter brumation would be required. This may put certain breeders off.

Score analysis:

When considering temperament, Steppes Rat Snakes are one of, if not the tamest of snakes. Because they are so laid back about handling even the most nervous or apprehensive of keepers will be fine handling one. Particularly if this is an older animal as they only seem to become calmer with time.

Territory disputes with Steppes Rat Snakes are incredibly rare occurrences and potentially would only arise if an animal was startled by the keeper. In the main no antagonistic behaviour s would be noticed by a keeper removing a Steppes Rat Snake from its enclosure. Younger animals or animals fresh out of brumation may be shorter of temper but this is only a fleeting issue. Invariably, once removed from the enclosure this will subside immediately.

This species is essentially bomb proof. They come from truly inclement regions of the world and have to endure some horrendous winters. This resilience and toughness lends itself to a keeper who is finding their feet with snakes. It is very hard to upset a Steppes Rat Snake.

With a mature size of around 1 metre in length Steppes Rat Snakes are right in the sweet spot of what we look for in snake sizes for the beginner. Large enough to be a substantial handful without it being intimidating.

In the round Steppes Rat Snakes are excellent feeders but owing to where they originate in the wild they can fast for extended periods. As they mature it just seem to make more sense to rest them by bromating them over winter as they naturally seem to want to go to sleep anyway.

Enclosure recommendations:

Tub:
    33 or 50ltr

Vivarium:
    90cm x 45cm x 45cm

Budget rig: -
    40cm x 30cm heat pad
    On / off thermostat
    Digital thermometer to monitor thermostat performance
    Warm hide
    Cool hide
    Water bowl
    substrate

Recommended rig (vivarium only): -
    150w ceramic heat emitter
    Ceramic lamp holder and bracket
    Bulb guard
    Day night thermostat
    Digital thermometer to monitor thermostat performance
    Various logs and caves along the thermal gradient
    Damp hide (optional)
    Climbing and exercise branches
    Plants and foliage (live or artificial – your choice)
    Water bowl
    Substrate
    UVB light (8w T5 shade dweller 7% kit from Arcadia or equivalent) (optional)
    Subterranean section to vivarium for further psychological security (optional)

Climate analysis:

Tough as old boots, for just how tough look at the winter night time lows to see what sort of temperatures they would have to endure. -10°c -15°c-20°c at the surface. Imagine how deep into fissures and underground these snakes would need to move to escape frost (which is deadly to snakes). Most snakes wont venture out until it reaches 12-15°c, but Steppes Rat Snakes can remain active down to as little as 8-10°c.

Summer peak temperatures still hit a respectable 25-30°c, and during this period of the year Steppes Rat Snakes would be voracious seeking out as much food as possible.

Wet seasons vary wildly depending upon locale. Thankfully many Steppes Rat Snake keepers maintain locale data, this then helps them when the wet season for each locale should occur to help with breeding or feeding triggers.

Conclusion:

A superb pet snake with a few issues; these issues are not insurmountable but need to be addressed. For at least 3 months of the year if not longer this snake would be in brumation. This may be required to keep your snake healthy long term. If kept warm all year it may fast for extended periods in protest.

If the idea of the lengthy brumation is not an issue to you this snake is better than a Corn Snake based on adult size and hardiness alone.
Steppes Rat Snakes lost only 7% off the overall score making them one of the very highest and certainly top 5 snake species on the entire website.