Common Rat Snake
Common Rat Snake ~ Elaphe obsoleta
Genus: Elaphe
Species: obsoleta
Adult body length: 42 - 72 inches
Body length at birth: 11 - 16 inches
Breeding period: April - June
Young per year: 5 - 30 young per year
Typical foods: small rodents such as rats and mice, birds and eggs
Habitat: Common Rat Snakes live in a variety of habitats, they are great climbing trees and are normally found in them
Can be found: from Virginia south through Florida and west through the eastern half of Texas and then north to southern Wisconsin
Short description: Medium headed, rounded head, slender, weekly keeled scales, rounded pupils
General description:
The Common Rat Snake, or also called the Black Rat Snake, is
a non-venomous snake that can grow up to 8 feet long. They kill
plenty of small mice and rodents each years. They are completely
black with grey, white, or yellow broken bands on their back. Their
belly is white with grey blotches on it. The juvenile are normally grey
with blotches on its back, and are commonly mistaken as the copperhead,
for they are similar in pattern. When they are threatened they have been
known to shake their tail rapidly, much like the venomous Rattlesnake.
For this reason many people kill them. This snake is a friendly snake but
will defend itself if aggravated.
May 09 2007 08:36 pm