Rat Snake

We’ll talk about Rat Snake today. They must be known to some of you. As it consumes all rats, they are also known as a framer’s friend. But are you aware? They consume a wide range of rodents in addition to rats, such as lizards, mice, frogs, and many others. Read more about them.

Introduction

• The United States is home to many medium-sized constrictors called rat snakes.
• It is a medium-sized dog that is mostly found in the United States.
• They are non-venomous snakes.
• Their throat and chin are white, and their back is covered in glossy black scales.
• They also have a light-colored belly. 

Scientific Name

Pantherophis obsoletus  

Characteristic

Size

• It can reach lengths of up to 6 feet (183 cm), but the average adult size is between 91 and 152 cm. 

Color

• They may be solid in color or feature spots, stripes, both, or none.
• They can be any color, including black, red, brown, yellow, gray, or black and white.

Behavior 

Nocturnal Behavior

• They are nocturnal even in warmer weather (active during the day).
• However, sometimes they do migrate at night. 

Feeding Behavior 

• They are omnivores.
• They will consume almost anything that is tiny enough to catch and does not offer a significant danger of harm.
• Given their name, it goes without saying that you assumed they consumed rats, but they also consumed mice, other small mammals, birds, bird eggs, frogs, lizards, and other creatures.

Lifespan

• The average lifespan of this creature varies according to the environment, species, and subspecies.
• When everything is said and done, the lifespan of this creature is 10 to 15 years.
• The lifespan of a captive rat snake can reach more than 30 years with the right housing and diet.

Food & Diet 

• They consume tiny rodents like chipmunks, moles, mice, and rats.
• They have also been observed eating frogs, lizards, and bird eggs.

Habitat & Range

• Rat Snake live in hardwood woods, mountainous areas, floodplains, wetlands, swamps, and more throughout the eastern United States.
• They share many of the same habitats in the central United States, but they also live in grasslands and the margins of semi-arid desert regions.
• Every southeastern state as well as the majority of the eastern and midwestern states, extending as far north as southern New England and southern Michigan, are home to this creature.
• It can be found in our area in the Highlands and mountainous areas of central Georgia and South Carolina.

Reproduction

• It start looking for a mate after a few weeks, usually in late April, or early May.
• Males frequently watch for females when they enter their territory.
• They use pheromones to communicate.
• Approximately 12 to 20 eggs will be laid by the female five weeks after mating.

Egg

• Between six and twenty eggs will be laid by a female, generally in late July.
• The development and hatching of the eggs could take five to seven weeks.
• For up to two years after hatching, young animals remain nearby.
• The population of this creature is thought to be stable.

Prey

• Small rodents including mice, rats, moles, and chipmunks are the main prey of this creature.
• They have also been observed eating frogs, lizards, and bird eggs.
• They kill their prey by constriction, which involves coiling the snake’s body around the victim and holding on until the victim dies from suffocation.

Bite

• The majority of these creatures can bite when provoked.
• Although the bites are not fatal, they can be quite painful.
• It bites contain a lot of microorganisms that can make you sick.
• These snakes can grow to be extremely enormous even though they do not have venom.

Rat Snake Venomous

• They are not venomous, although they will bite if provoked.
• As long as there is sufficient cover and food available, eastern Rats are extremely abundant in many backyards.
• They are highly helpful in reducing pest populations by eating not just rats but also ticks that are attached to the rodents.

Types of Rat Snakes 

These friendly reptiles come in about 50 different species. While the New World species live in the Americas, the Old World species live in Europe and Asia. They are mainly arboreal and have many different patterns, including blotchy, striped, and solid colors. Some have multiple colors, while others have long, pointed noses. 

Black Snake

• Large non-venomous snakes between 3.5 to 7 feet (one and two meters) in length are known as eastern rat snakes, formerly known as black rat snakes.
• Their throat and chin are white, and their back is covered in glossy black scales. They also have a light-colored belly.

Texas Rat Snake

• It is a subspecies of rat snakes.
• The Texas rat snake can grow to a length of 4-5 feet, making it a medium to the large snake.
• Throughout their area, Rat Snake have a wide range of colors and patterns, but they are normally yellow or tan with irregular, brown to olive-green blotching from head to tail.  

Gray Rat Snake

• It also known as Pantherophis spiloi des, is a species of non-venomous snake in the genus Pantherophis in the subfamily Colubrinae.
• It is sometimes referred to as the central Rat snake, chicken snake, midland Rat snake, or pilot black snake. 

Conservation

• In the majority of the Southeast, they are highly widespread and not protected.
• In the entire state of Georgia, this species is protected.

Related Link

• https://www.petanimalwildlife.com/milk-snake/
• https://www.petanimalwildlife.com/bull-snake/
• https://www.petanimalwildlife.com/gaboon-viper/
• https://www.petanimalwildlife.com/corn-snake/

Reference Link

• https://g.co/kgs/bGqDnQ

Rat Snake-FAQ