SSSnake – Eastern Rat Snake Scotophis alleghaniensis

This afternoon I was getting ready to sit down in the yard to take some bird pictures and this guy slithered up alongside me.

Eastern Rat snakes can grow up to 8 feet long, this one is between 5 and 6 feet.

Usually they are pretty slow moving, but this one didn’t want to be caught.

They like to come indoors this time of year and also early fall.

I always try and catch them when they are close to the house so my wife doesn’t get any surprises when doing laundry in the basement.

Another reason I catch and relocate them is my dog Betty. She is a curious pup and I wouldn’t want her to get bit while trying to take a closer look.

Although not venomous, a bite from one of these guys can be nasty. Remember to wash your hands after handling too. This one looks like he’s trying to whistle.

After this photo op I walked him back to the woods and released him far from our house, but I’ll probably see him again before the summer is up. Watch your step!

Birdhouse Eviction

I recently went to clean my Bluebird house from the nest of Wrens that produced 7 healthy fledglings.

 But it wasn’t empty.

A new tenant had taken up residence.

A small snake had made the empty Wren’s nest home.

I didn’t recognize what type of snake he was but I knew we didn’t want him in the birdhouse.

So I grabbed an arrow and knocked the nest to the ground.

The snake quickly slithered away into the nearby woods.

Later I looked him up by comparing the pictures I took to snakes native to the area. Turns out he is a juvenile Eastern Rat Snake (Scotophis Alleghaniensis).

It will mature into a large constricting snake that will be 6 feet in length or greater and be shiny black in color.  Eastern Rat Snakes are not venomous, but may bite if handled carelessly. Rat snakes are relatively slow moving and will most often freeze when first encountering danger. This is why so many are killed on our roadways. They are excellent climbers and do get quite long. I’ve caught and handled these snakes in the past and just thought of them as Black snakes. Learn something new every day…