Starter Kits Special Offer! -50% OFF ALL LIVESTOCK

Due to its immense popularity, we are continuing with our 50% OFF ALL LIVESTOCK when purchased with one of our full starter kits. This covers any animal/group of animals up to £300 in value, for animals over £300 you still get £150 off their standard price when purchased with a full starter kit. Offer valid 01/6/26 until 30/10/26.

Black Copper Rat Snakes (Coleognathus flavolineatus) are a medium sized (3-4 ft), attractive rat snake, native to South East Asia from Cambodia down to Indonesia (most captive bred stock traces back to the Indonesian localities). They are found in lowland rainforest but also adapt well to disturbed habitats such as farmland and around human habitation. They are mostly terrestrial in nature and will often dig and burrow in loose substrate, but they are also adept at climbing when given the opportunity. They are relatively easy to keep, only requiring a hot spot of around 28C and prefer a humidity 50 to 80% but they are a hardy species that can tolerate a range of temperature and humidity levels making them well suited for a novice or experienced keeper. Given their humidity preference they can be kept in a naturalistic or bioactive enclosure with live plants making them suitable for elaborate and aesthetically pleasing enclosures.

Like many Asian rat snakes they are “spirited” when young and you should expect to get nipped by them during the taming process. If they feel intimidated, they can puff their throat out to appear more threatening, they will also open their mouth and rear up backwards as a threat display in a last resort. With regular handling they grow out of this threat posturing behaviour rapidly and are very tame as adults. They are normally good feeders and rarely go off their food over winter. Their small size and attractive colouration makes them popular as pets and they are often though of as a smaller and calmer equivalent to the Beauty Rat Snake (Elaphe taeniura).