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Atlas / Library / Colubridae / Russian Rat Snake
Colubridae

Russian Rat Snake

Elaphe schrenckii

Photograph: Kim · CC BY

Photographed by an observer on iNaturalist and published under a Creative Commons licence; the photographer and the licence are named under the image. It is not an animal of ours, and no animal was handled by us to produce it.

14:00
Day

Drag the sun. The sheet states a night temperature, so the rail follows it.

National law is not global, and we hold no national wildlife law for any country, Thailand included. Check your own authority before buying or selling.

Check your setup against this sheet I keep one 123 plants usable with this species
Back to the globe My keep

https://keepr.pet/husbandry/en/elaphe-schrenckii

‹ All husbandry guides
warm end32–33 °C
cool end22–28 °C
Humidity50–70 %
Enclosure150×80×150
Diet7–14 days

The numbers

Thermal gradient

152025303540 °C
22–28°Cool side
32–33°Warm side
18–22°Night

Day: a real gradient, 32–33°C warm against 22–28°C cool, so the animal chooses. Night: 18–22°C.

Why

Same scale on every sheet here, so two species compare by eye.

The sheet stateswarm 32-33 °C / cool 22-28 °C / night 18-22 °C

Humidity

50–70%Target RH

The sheet states50-70%

Identity

Origin

Enclosure and conditions

Enclosure

32–33 °C50–70 % RH150 cm150 cm
warm side
50100150200 cm
150 × 80 × 150 cmWidth × depth × height
120dm² of floor
Substrate: not in our dataWater: not in our dataHides: not in our dataUVB: not in our data

Drawn from the stated numbers. Only what the sheet states is drawn inside.

Why

The rectangle carries the exact width-to-height ratio of the figures above it, and the ruler under it places that width on the 0–250 cm scale every sheet here shares, so two species still compare at a glance. Nothing is added that the sheet does not name: a lamp drawn on a sheet that never mentions one would be invented equipment. What the sheet leaves out is listed rather than left blank, because an empty tank reads as « none needed ».

The sheet statesat least 150×80×150cm (l×w×h) for an adult individual

Temperature
warm 32–33 °C / cool 22–28 °C / night 18–22 °C
Humidity
50–70%

What your climate adds

This sheet states a range to hold. Your local climate decides how much work holding it is. Pick the nearest city: nothing is sent anywhere, the choice stays in this browser.

Diet

Feeding rhythm

every 7–14 dAs an adult
4Meals in 28 days

Twenty-eight days, one row. Each band is a meal window. The sheet gives several ages on one line; this is the adult figure.

Why

The windows widen as they go because the interval is a range: four meals after a 10–14 day cycle land anywhere between day 40 and day 56.

The sheet statesmice and small rats - often switch to frozen thawed food; occasional supplements: small chickens or chicks, small birds; juveniles approximately every 3–5 days, adults approximately every 7–14 days

Common questions

Can it handle the heat here?

This is the main issue. It is a cool-climate snake, so it needs a properly ventilated setup and a cool retreat, and many keepers run it in an air-conditioned room.

What is its temperament like?

Usually very good. Adults are typically calm and slow, which is a big part of why keepers like them.

How big does it get?

A large snake, commonly around one and a half to two metres, with a solid body.

Why has it stopped eating in the cool season?

Many temperate species naturally slow down or fast for a period. As long as weight and condition hold, it is normal behaviour.

What it needs

Enclosure at least 150 × 80 × 150 cmbecause enclosure — at least 150×80×150cm (l×w×h) for an adult individual
A heat sourcebecause temp — warm 32-33 °C / cool 22-28 °C / night 18-22 °C
A thermostat to regulate itbecause temp — warm 32-33 °C / cool 22-28 °C / night 18-22 °C
A thermometerbecause temp — warm 32-33 °C / cool 22-28 °C / night 18-22 °C
A way to check the night figurebecause temp — warm 32-33 °C / cool 22-28 °C / night 18-22 °C
A hygrometerbecause humidity — 50–70%

Every line above is deduced from a value this sheet states, and names which one. Nothing here is a general recommendation.

Sources

jenkie.eu — lu le 2026-08-04vhm-abc.com — lu le 2026-08-04gbif.org — lu le 2026-08-08

Others in this group

Corn SnakePantherophis guttatusWestern Hognose SnakeHeterodon nasicusCalifornia KingsnakeLampropeltis californiaeEastern Hognose SnakeHeterodon platirhinosMexican Black KingsnakeLampropeltis getula nigritaSpeckled KingsnakeLampropeltis holbrookiEastern KingsnakeLampropeltis getulaGrey-banded KingsnakeLampropeltis alterna

What this sheet states

77%
TemperatureHumidityEnclosure sizeActivityOriginDietSourcesUVB

This sheet states 5 of 7 of the fields this product runs on. What is missing turns something off: day/night engine and awake count on the globe, the diet section. We show the gap rather than fill it with a plausible number.

UVB is measured but does not count: it is absent from 421 of 678 sheets, and on most of them that is not a gap, since a nocturnal snake's sheet has no reason to state a UV index. Counting it would call the library incomplete without cause.