Eastern Rat Snake
Common Name: Eastern Rat Snake
Scientific Name: Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Physical Description: The Eastern Black Rat snake grows between 3.5 and 7 feet long on average and is characterized by a black or all grey dorsal side and a checkerboard black and white ventral side. The underside of their head is typically all, or mostly white-grey in color.
Habitat: The Eastern Rat Snake lives in a wide range of habitats, from deciduous forests to shrubland, and rocky crests to riverbanks. They are also capable of climbing trees. As an ectotherm, or “cold-blooded” animal, they require warm, sunny locations such as rocks and cleared soil to bask in and maintain homeostasis.
Range: East of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States from Florida to Massachusetts, and into New York west of Lake Champlain
Scientific Name: Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Physical Description: The Eastern Black Rat snake grows between 3.5 and 7 feet long on average and is characterized by a black or all grey dorsal side and a checkerboard black and white ventral side. The underside of their head is typically all, or mostly white-grey in color.
Habitat: The Eastern Rat Snake lives in a wide range of habitats, from deciduous forests to shrubland, and rocky crests to riverbanks. They are also capable of climbing trees. As an ectotherm, or “cold-blooded” animal, they require warm, sunny locations such as rocks and cleared soil to bask in and maintain homeostasis.
Range: East of the Appalachian Mountains in the United States from Florida to Massachusetts, and into New York west of Lake Champlain
Diet: Birds, eggs, lizards, mice and small mammals.
Life Span: They can live up to 20 years in human care.
Social Structure: Eastern Rat Snakes, like many species of snakes, do not provide care for their young, and live in solitude.
Status: Least Concern
Other: Eastern Rat Snakes are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs, with 5-19 eggs laid per year on average7. A non-venomous species, they are constrictors, meaning they will use their body to entrap and suffocate their prey.
Eastern Rat Snakes are often killed by humans who mistake them for venomous species, or who find them a nuisance. By leaving snakes alone, they can provide services such as pest control and you can help to promote a healthy and diverse ecosystem.
[1] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/90069536/90069545
[2] https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/eastern-ratsnake/blackrat_snake.php
[3] https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Black-Rat-Snake
Life Span: They can live up to 20 years in human care.
Social Structure: Eastern Rat Snakes, like many species of snakes, do not provide care for their young, and live in solitude.
Status: Least Concern
Other: Eastern Rat Snakes are oviparous, meaning they lay eggs, with 5-19 eggs laid per year on average7. A non-venomous species, they are constrictors, meaning they will use their body to entrap and suffocate their prey.
Eastern Rat Snakes are often killed by humans who mistake them for venomous species, or who find them a nuisance. By leaving snakes alone, they can provide services such as pest control and you can help to promote a healthy and diverse ecosystem.
[1] https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/90069536/90069545
[2] https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/reptiles/snakes/eastern-ratsnake/blackrat_snake.php
[3] https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Black-Rat-Snake
