Rat Snakes
Just like kingsnakes, vine snakes, and milk snakes, rat snakes are mildly venomous colubrids. These snakes, however, do not use their venom to kill or capture prey. They kill their prey through constriction and are known to feed on small mammals and rodents. Rat snakes use their venomous saliva to aid in swallowing and digesting their dead prey.
How Long Do Rat Snakes Get?
On average, rat snakes measure anywhere from four to six feet. However, several species exceed this length. At birth, they measure about 13 inches. With proper feeding, a baby rat snake can attain five feet in four years.
What is the Largest Rat Snake Ever Recorded?
In 2015, Indraneil Das, a conservation biologist at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak published his book “Field Guide to the Reptiles of South-East Asia”. In it, he documented a keeled rat snake specimen that measured 13 feet and 1 inch.
Keeled Rat Snake
Keeled rat snakes (Ptyas carinata) are the longest rat snake species. They measure anywhere from 4 feet to 9 feet. This species is known for its big eyes and dark colors. They are either black or deep gray. Often they have a distinctive checkered pattern.
Smallest Rat Snake Species
Mexican rat snakes (Pseudelaphe flavirufa) are native species of Central America and Mexico. They are also called the yellow-red rat snake and have three recognized subspecies. Mexican rat snakes are the smallest rat snake species. They are about 12 to 14 inches long as adults. This is just a little over 1 foot long.
How to Identify A Rat Snake
If you’re on the lookout for a rat snake, you need to know how to identify them. Rat snakes have keeled and ridged scales. They are either black or deep brown and have white chins. Various species have definitive features mixed with their black or dark bodies. Yellow rat snakes, for example, have black and greenish-yellow stripes.
Do Rat Snakes Make Good Pets?
Rat snakes have calm, docile, and shy personalities. They aren’t quick to attack and can become quite used to being handled in captivity. They aren’t frequent feeders. Western rat snakes, for example, eat as infrequently as once a month. Due to these reasons, rat snakes make good pets. They are the most popular pet snake species. If you’re considering a pet snake, it is a good idea to go for smaller species so space wouldn’t be a problem. Remember to purchase your pets from the pet store and not attempt to domesticate a wild rat snake.
Where are Rat Snakes Found?
Rat snakes are a widespread species. They are found in most eastern and midwestern states. However, it is easier to spot them in southeastern American states. Rat snakes can be found in every southeastern state.
Will a Rat Snake Bite You?
Rat snakes can bite. Even though they do not bite often, it is important to remember that they can and might if they feel threatened.
What To Do If You Get Bitten By A Rat Snake
Although rat snakes aren’t venomous, bites from them should still be treated as emergencies. If a rat snake’s toxic or venomous saliva should get into the wounds made by their fangs, you could be in for a couple of days of pain. If you get bitten by a rat snake, contact emergency services immediately.
How Do Rat Snakes Defend Themselves and Hunt For Food?
Rat snakes defend themselves and hunt with various abilities they possess. They hunt primarily by stalking and constricting their prey. They also have musk which they sometimes mix with feces and spray to deter predators. Apart from being extremely stinky, musk odor is notoriously hard to get rid of. As we mentioned before, they also rattle their tails to imitate venomous rattlesnakes
Rat Snakes and Global Warming
Rat snakes are a unique species for many reasons but one reason is extremely intriguing. As global warming begins to make changes to the climate, experts predict that many amphibians and reptiles will not be able to adapt as fast as temperatures are changing. However, warmer climates might actually benefit rat snakes. Global warming will cause temperatures to rise during both day and night times as the ozone layer gets thinner. This will allow rat snakes to hunt at night since the weather will be tolerable for them. Rat snakes currently hunt during the day because the weather is warm enough for them to be fully active. However, the daytime is also when hawks are active. Hawks are rat snakes’ major predators. They have such a high success rate because rat snakes are active during the day. If temperatures go higher, rat snakes will hunt at night when hawks are asleep. This also means that they will become nocturnal. This, in turn, will translate to higher hunting success. Rat snakes will be able to hunt larger animals such as birds that sleep and cannot see clearly at night. They will be less alert and less capable of detecting and protecting themselves from rat snakes. Global warming will tilt the battle in the favor of rat snakes a bit. They will feed better, become bigger, and be able to protect their eggs and themselves better. However, as you can imagine, what global warming gives, global warming takes. Eastern rat snakes will not be so lucky. Due to the warmer climate, they could wake on a sunny day in February or March instead of waking from hibernation in April or May. The ecosystem, this way, is meticulously balanced, so this early emergence could spell doom for the species. They could be exposed to fatal conditions that they would not have had to face if they were hibernating. Also, since global warming will result in unpredictable temperature fluctuations, these rat snakes could very much freeze to death!
