The young of the brown rat snake are more colorful and distinct than the adult individuals. This species was previously considered a subspecies of the rat snake, but genetic tests have shown that they have been evolving separately for millions of years. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Zoo Prague
„These are three very different snakes literally from three different corners of the world. All the offspring bring us joy, although two of them might be a bit larger. I mean the reticulated pythons and the Tatar rat snakes. In both cases, they are the grandchildren of snakes that were confiscated from poachers, the pythons in Vienna and the rat snakes in Cologne,“ says reptile curator Petr Velenský. „The breeding of the offspring of the snakes from the customs confiscation is a nice continuation of an otherwise quite sad story,“ adds Velenský.
The Tatar rat snake from the (semi)deserts of the Middle East and Central Asia is a sand swimmer. This is evidenced by its tiny eyes and cylindrical body. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Zoo Prague
Visitors to Zoo Prague can find the reticulated python in the Darwin crater. On the opposite side in the Terrarium pavilion, they can then view the brown rat snakes. Only the Tatar rat snake needs to be sought in the upper part of the zoo, in the Gobi exhibition pavilion.
