Rat Snake

Breeding:
Mates April to June and in autumn. Clutch of 5-30 smooth-shelled, oblong eggs, 1 ½ - 2 ¼“ long, laid in rotten logs, leaf litter or under rocks June to August hatches in 7 ½ - 15 ½ weeks, August to October. Hatchlings are 11-16”

Habitat:
Hardwood forest, wooded canyons, swamps, rocky timbered upland, farmland, old fields, barnyards; from wet to arid situations; sea level to 4,400’.

Range:
E. Ontario and s. Vermont south to Florida Keys, west to w. Texas and adjacent México,
north to sw. Minnesota, and s. Michigan.

Subspecies:
Black, plain black or with traces of with between scales; s. Vermont to North Carolina
coast, southwest to c. Georgia, north to se Illinois, south to n. Louisiana and Oklahoma, north to sw. Minnesota an s. Michigan.
Baird’s, brown to orange brown with 4 stripes, the upper pair darkest; c. Texas west to Big Ben region and adjacent México.
Texas, yellow or grayish, with brown to blackish blotches, often with orange showing
between scales; s. Louisiana to ec. Texas.
Yellow, tan, yellow, or yellow-orange with 4 distinct dark stripes, tongue black; coastal
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and most of Florida peninsula.
Everglades red-orange, or orange with 4 faint stripes, tongue red; Everglades of s.
Florida.
Gray whitish to gray with brown to dark gray blotches, occasionally with 4 stripes on
neck; s. Illinois and extreme sw. Indiana south to Mississippi coast and east to sw
Georgia and nw. Florida panhandle. Active during the day in spring and fall but
becomes nocturnal in summer. A skillful climber, it ascends trees or rafters of abandoned builds in search of birds, eggs, and mice. Also eats other small mammals and lizards.
Hawks may be home in on a nest-raiding Rat Snake when it is being heckled by other
birds. In northern areas the Rat Snake frequently shares winter dens with Tiber
Rattlesnake and Copperheads; thus the local names Rattlesnake Pilot and Pilot Black
Snake. Captive longevity exceeds 20 years.