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
Eric on 24 Feb 2009 at 2:47 am #
I watched a black rat snake climb a tree and feed on a family of squirrels. The snake was close to 6 feet long, solid black with a white throat. The snake climbed the tree and entered the squirrel next via a large knot hole in the top of the tree.
Trisha Valliere on 30 May 2009 at 5:36 am #
I just turned down the covers on my bed and found a young rat snake curled up on my husbands side of the bed, with 1 of my cats laying about 6 inches from it. I just scooped him up in a tall glass and let him go in my flower bed. we have a cat door in our window next to our bed..I know that’s how he got in…i will definitely be on the lookout every night now!