The Eastern Rat Snake is a species of non-venomous colubrid snake that is native to the Eastern parts of the United States.
This snake is sometimes referred to as the Chicken Snake or the Yellow Rat Snake. It is also sometimes called a Black Rat Snake, although there is another species by this name.
Eastern Rat Snake Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Eastern Rat Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Corn Snakes and Milk Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
Genus
The genus that the Eastern Rat Snake belongs to is called Pantherophis. This genus contains the North American Rat Snakes, Corn Snakes and Fox Snakes.
The snakes in this genus were once considered part of the Elaphe genus until they were later reclassified. This means that they were originally grouped with the Old-World Rat Snakes such as the King Rat Snake.
Species
The scientific name for the Eastern Rat Snake is Pantherophis alleghaniensis and they are currently no recognised sub-species.
This species was first described in 1836 as Coluber alleghaniensis by an American herpetologist named John Edwards Holbrook.
Eastern Rat Snake Description
The Eastern Rat Snakes is a large species of snake that can grow to between 3 and 6 feet in length.
They typically have shiny black scales on their back and a lighter white or cream colored belly while their throat and chin are also white.
The belly of the Eastern Rat Snake typically has a black and white checkerboard pattern. However, this usually becomes uniformly slate grey towards the tail.
Their head is more pronounced than their neck while their eyes are round with a black pupil.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Eastern Rat Snake can be found throughout the Eastern United States and parts of South-Eastern Canada.
In Canada, these snakes can be found in the Ottawa region of Quebec where there is an isolated population of these snakes.
In the United States, these snakes can be found throughout most of the Eastern third of the country.
They can be found as far West as Wisconsin, with their range extending Southwards through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and down into Louisiana.
From their, their range extends Eastwards where they can be found throughout the state of Florida.
Their range extends up along the Atlantic Coast, as far North as Vermont while they can also be found in almost every region in between.
The Eastern Rat Snake likes to live in open fields, woodlands, farmlands and around suburban areas such as parks and gardens.
Eastern Rat Snake Behaviour
In the height of summer and in the warmer parts of its range, the Eastern Rat Snake is primarily nocturnal, meaning they are mostly active at night.
However, this behaviour changes in cooler temperatures when they start to become more active during the day time.
During the colder winter months, these snakes will hibernate underground in abandoned rodents’ burrows or deep inside rock crevices.
They are even known to share these hibernation sites with other species of snakes such as the Copperhead, Timber Rattlesnakes and Eastern Racers.
When this snake feels threatened, it will emit a foul-smelling musk in an attempt to deter a potential threat.
They are excellent swimmers and climbers and will also spend a large amount of time burrowing or hiding under logs or stones.
They are opportunistic feeders and will eat a wide variety of prey such as rodents, birds, frogs and other amphibians.
