Black Rat Snake
The Black Rat Snake, Elaphe Obsoleta Obsoleta, belongs to the snake family: Colubridae.
Black Rat Snakes are usually totally black in colour, as the name suggests. However hatchlings (baby snakes) are grey with darker dorsal patches, and will completely turn black as they get older. Some black rat snakes even have a white outline to some or all of the scales, although this is rare.
Other names for this snake include the ‘Pilot Black Snake’ and ‘Black Snake’.
Black Rat Snakes can be found in the wild in places such as Oklahoma, Canada and the Massachusetts.
Theses snakes can grow up to 6 feet long, with 4-5 feet being the normal length; the largest ever recorded was around 8 feet long! This meant that it was one of the largest snakes in Canada.
These snakes can live for up to 20 years or more.
Their diet is mainly rodents such as mice and voles. Black Rat Snakes are constrictors, like many other snakes, and so suffocate their prey by wrapping themselves tightly around the victim.
This snake makes an ideal pet as it is non-venomous. However, they do need a lot of space to climb, as in the wild they would live in heavily wooded areas and these snakes really do love to climb.
IF you are planning to breed these snakes make sure you have adequate accommodation for them all. Females generally lay around 12 to 20 eggs about 5weeks after the mating. The eggs don’t hatch until about 68 days later.
May 9, 2010
· 
Maddia (Admin) · 
3 Comments
Tags: Animals, Pets, Snakes · Posted in: Snake Species
3 Responses
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