#Pantherophis

[herpsandbirds]

An Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis), family Colubridae, spies on a gardener from a nearby tree in Viginia Beach, Virginia, USA

photograph by Jason Crawley

[spacedoutrat]

pretty baaby....

[snototter]

An Eastern rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaneinsis) amongst the leaves in the USA

by Ian Deery

[faunalregion]

[birdblues]

Eastern Rat Snake

[colorsoutofearth]

Corn snake (Pantherophis guttatus)

Photo by John Cancalosi

[great-and-small]

Hi! I hope you’re doing well. I was wondering if you could help me out? I know your primary interest is birds, and also that you’re from Florida, but you seem rather knowledgeable about all sorts of wild animals so I thought I might as well ask.

A relative of mine has been seeing a very large (4-5 feet long, maybe slightly longer) snake about once a year for the past 3-4 years, and none of us have a clue what it is. Said relative lives in Ohio, and my attempts to search “large snakes in Ohio” just lead to questionable exotic pets and searches for native snakes was bringing up smaller snakes that didn’t seem to fit the bill. My best guess was some kind of rats snake but it’s just a vague guess.

Here’s a pic for reference:

I’m also curious about the snake’s behavior. The family has a dog, and one of the adults is unemployed, so they’re outside often, yet they only see the snake once, maybe twice a year. Additionally, they live in a well-off suburban neighborhood, with little “wild” space, so I’m curious where the snake is living and what it might be eating. (Chipmunks??? Is it the reason they don’t have rats?) is this species native to the area? Or is it invasive?

Do you have any insight on any of this? No worries if you don’t, I just thought I might ask as my googling hasn’t been very successful, and I saw you post about snakes a couple of times.

Thanks for taking the time to answer, and I hope you have a lovely day/night! :)

Now that is one healthy looking snake! I believe the species that your relative has spotted here is indeed a gray ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides). This species is native in Ohio and they can grow to be pretty large. Ratsnakes are wonderful to have around and as their name implies they make for fantastic pest control. Your relatives might have this friend to thank for keeping the numbers of rats and mice around their property to a minimum.

Snakes can be a bit more shy and elusive than some other animals, so it doesn’t surprise me they don’t see this individual too often. Rat snakes adapt to life around humans fairly well and aside from rodents they’re also happy to eat birds and eggs, as well as small lizards and amphibians. It’s in great body condition though so you can be sure this guy is eating good! If you or your neighbors happen to have a chicken coop, make sure not to use fake eggs as these can be lethal to snakes.

Thanks for sharing your snake! I really like this species (and all ratsnakes) and you have a really lovely specimen here. Wishing him many years of prowling for rats as your friendly neighborhood pest control.

[reptimoe]

He's blu

[fyanimaldiversity]

In case anyone was wondering about my wonderful worm, here is 7 month old vs the now approximately 2 year old Poptart the palmetto corn snake ! Her colors have developed so intensely, she no longer is a tiny pink worm, and contrary to what I was told about the morph she did definitely gain spots, and spots that she initially had have grown in size as well!

[fellowshipofthenoodles]

:o

[ID: Sesame the grey and red corn snake coming up through a small hollow cork bark round in his enclosure, he's facing the camera and his head is slightly lifted up]

[shopcat]

some examples of pink in the animal kingdom. while there are no mammals with pink fur, it's naturally found in some birds, insects and fish. otherwise, usually due to genetic pigment mutations like albinism or leucism, some animals appear pink due their extreme paleness – their blood is visible through their skin!

[herpsandbirds]

Eastern Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus), family Colubridae, Michigan, USA

photograph by Clint Guadiana

[spacedoutrat]

baby!

[shadyufo]

This beautiful and humongous gray ratsnake found themselves a lovely perch on a bunch of antler racks I have hanging up in my shed.

[shrimpin-aint-easy]

she takin a lil baf

[squishyfauna]

New friend!!! They’re gonna be made into a cute freebie sticker for Etsy orders 👀

Kickstarter | Etsy