Eastern/Black Rat Snake

ANIMAL:
Eastern/Black Rat Snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis

Type of Animal:
Colubrid

Habitat:
Fields, woodlands, forests, farmland, suburban areas, rocky hillsides, deciduous forest surrounded by grassland, forested wetlands, isolated urban woodlots, thickets adjacent to forests, backyards, attics, edge habitats, early successional habitats, agricultural areas, barns, old/abandoned buildings, cave mouths, piedmont, mountainous areas, rocky timbered hills, river floodplains, swamps/swamp margins, grassland, savanna, old woodpecker holes, meadows, marshes, stream valleys, mammal burrows, old rock quarries, urban areas, hilly areas, chicken houses, old houses, rocky outcrops, riversides, streamsides

Location(s):
E US & tiny part of SE Canada

Appearance:
Shiny black w/ cream to white chin/throat, irregular black/white checkerboard patterned belly, slate gray around tail, juveniles have dark dorsal blotches on grayish ground color, same belly pattern as adults

Food/Diet:
Rodents, moles, shrews, rabbits, bats, lizards, frogs, birds, eggs, other snakes (including of own species), young opossums, insects

Status in Wild:
Stable

Conservation:
Breeding in zoos, herpetoculture, & private breeders

Lifestyle:
Solitary or small groups of 2-10 snakes 

Additional Info:

Called:
Male
Female
Young: Snakelet
Group: Den 
 
Weight:
Male: 4 lbs
Female: 3.5 lbs
 
Gestation:
2 months 

Life Span:
15 years

Body Length:
Male: 6.65 ft
Female: 6.18 ft
Young: 2.5 ft

Tail Length:
1.55 ft, same for both sexes

Main predators of adults are other snakes (including larger individuals of own species), alligators, coyotes, foxes, bobcats, raptors, bears, snapping turtles, otters, & pigs. Raccoons & skunks prey on young.
 
These snakes nonvenomous, killing prey by constriction.
 
Females produce clutches of 4-25 eggs a year & can produce 2 clutches in good years.
 
They hibernate in winter, often w/ other snake species as well as w/ each other. 
 
They have wide range of temperaments, from docile to very aggressive.
 
They’re excellent climbers.
 
Sexually mature at 4 years old.
 
They communicate using pheromones.
 
Adults sometimes mistaken for smaller black racers.

Fun Fact(s):
Adult snakes only eat once or twice a month, juveniles typically eat once a week.
 
They’ll often freeze & stay motionless if provoked.
 
Often, they’ll release foul-smelling musk on predators/threats.
 
Very beneficial since they eat lots of rodents. However, they do eat small chickens, leading it to be called Chicken Snake.
 
Sometimes called Black Pilot Snake/Pilot Snake due to superstition that it led venomous snakes to hibernation den.
 
Juveniles sometimes mistaken for venomous copperheads, & therefore killed.

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