Monday, July 27, 2009

Black Rat Snake


Black Rat Snakes (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta), are one of my favorite snakes. They are abundant and probably one of the most commonly seen snakes in Missouri. As young they look completely different from their adult counterpart. They are grayish-tan with darker patterns. As they age they take on their trademark glossy black coloring. The pattern fades to a somewhat reddish tint, then disappears almost entirely in older snakes. They are a rather large snake reaching lengths of up to 6 feet. They are relatively tolerant of people and tame down easily. Baby black snakes will bite and act aggressive, as is typical of most baby snakes. Seems they haven't learned what is dinner and what isn't, and bite at everything. They use that aggressiveness to defend themselves as well. I suppose if someone or something 50X larger than me grabbed me I would bite too.
Another defense mechanism they will implement is to shake their tail in dried grasses or dry leaves, this rattling sound mimics the dangerous rattle snake and may afford them some protection from predation or from being captured.
Last Tuesday I received a call at work from my mother, exclaiming that she couldn't get into the church where she was due at a meeting. I asked her "why not". She kind of laughed and said there was a snake sitting by the door and would not let her pass. Now you have to see the humor in this situation....a snake at church keeping members out? Hello...Adam and Eve all over again?
I told her I would be right there...I wasn't missing this for anything. I got to the church to find my mother and two other ladies standing on the sidewalk several feet away from a 4 foot long black rat snake. One of the women held a hanger ( was she planning to hang it out to dry?) The situation was humorous, but these ladies were trying their best to be brave; as well as get this snake away from the church. I moved it further down the sidewalk thinking it would leave the area once it realized it wasn't welcome. Oh no....it couldn't be that easy. This snake decided to climb the wall of the church and try to enter through a dryer vent. "You've got to be kidding me!"
So I pulled him out of the dryer vent and ask if I could borrow the woman's hanger. I used the hanger to lift his head and I grabbed his tail and carried him a block away to a field of tall grasses. Hopefully he stayed put. He sure seemed determined to go to church!
I guess the congregation had a few laughs over the situation. One even suggested an exorcism of the church. The snake came on the tail end of finding a mouse and a bat in the church. Maybe a priest needs to be called?

I personally like snakes, and have two for pets that I use on a regular basis for educational programs. I find it gratifying to change peoples attitudes about these often misaligned creatures. With so much myth and mystery surrounding snakes, they are often mistakenly labeled the "bad guy" and destroyed needlessly. They are creatures to be viewed with a certain amount of awe. One game I like to play with the children at my programs is the "snake race". I ask for volunteers who wish to pretend they are a snake. After several children all excitedly come forward, I have them lay down on the floor, and place their arms and hands straight down their sides. Their legs have to be stretched out straight. In this prone position I tell them they have to race ( a predetermined distance) without using their arms, hands, legs or feet. No elbows, no knees. If they use any of these appendages, they are out. The last one left that crosses the finish line wins. They get to see just how hard it would be to move like a snake. Then I tell them how snakes are specially designed with hundreds of very strong muscles, and moving like a snake is natural to them. There is much laughing and cheering every time we play this game. The two black snakes pictured here were photographed on our farm. I love seeing them, and knowing what a great service they are performing by eating all those mice and rats residing on our farm as well.

21 comments:

  1. I so agree with you on the miss application of malice to snakes. I am surprised everytime someone says snakes are slimy and creepy and know instantly how mis informed they are.

    I am teaching my kids NOT to harm snakes. They get excited in a good way when we find them at home now. There is just way too much anti-snake propoganda out there that we must counteract!!

    Keep up the great work. :)

    Glad to know someone else is in "my sleep club"

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  2. I agree with you wholeheartedly. The teaching has to start at home. I grew up with a mother who was deathly afraid of snakes. How I didn't turn out with her phobia is beyond me to figure out, but I'm grateful nonetheless. My husband's mission in life was to kill each and every snake he spotted. I worked hard to "retrain" his thought process. Now he leaves them alone, or comes and gets me if there happens to be a snake where he needs to go. I am all to happy to remove it for him. I raised my kids to respect snakes and not fear them. My daughter has a pet snake, that is actually blind. I have two snakes as pets that are used as ambassadors at snake programs. Keep up the good press on snakes, they need all the help they can get.
    We should start a support group for our "sleep club" I bet we'd be shocked at how many woman are in our same shoes!

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  3. Just happened to find your blog...a year later! LOL....thank you, I just ran into the biggest, blackest snake I've ever seen in my flower garden...scared the begeebees out of me! But I'm glad to know it's not harmful....He went one way I went the other! The picture is EXACTLY what I saw!

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  4. LOL I had to laugh at your description....too funny. These guys can get quite large and catch a person by surprise. I'm with you thankfully they are harmless. I kind of like having them around knowing they are eating all the little mice.

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  5. Hey I saw one in my back yard last week and my dog missed it thankfully. The big black snake was eating a grass snake. Quite cool.

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  6. I have never known of a black snake to eat another serpent, that would be cool to see. Did you happen to get pictures? If so I would love to see them. In fact I would love to see a grass snake...I've never seen one in person, just pictures

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  7. thank you, i appreciate this information . i just met our new room-mate this morning on my way to check our mail. so i will keep it around cause i know we have lots of food around here for it.

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  8. I am always excited to hear from people who exercise tolerance for these often feared and misunderstood creatures. Kudos to you for recognizing their importance and leaving your new "friend" in peace.

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  9. Here's a thought.A long time ago my grand father
    told me to never kill a black rat snake.They
    eat the same prey items that poisonous
    snakes eat.So when a poisonous snake is coming
    through (not if),it has nothing to eat and will
    move on.

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  10. you know I had never heard that before and I suppose there could be some truth in it. We all know when food or habitat is scarce populations plummet. So if u had a high concentration of rat snakes, venomous snakes might find it hard to locate food. Certainly "food" for thought.

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  11. I have recently found a snake that I think might be a baby black rat snake. I would like to find someone that really knows their snakes of Missouri and see what they think it is. anyone game

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  12. Harley Girl I am always game for a challenge. Do you have a picture of it posted somewhere? If not, you can send it to my email at MOpiggys@aol.com

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    1. Just found this page while looking to identify a snake- found a baby rat snake (about 6") that looks like it was mushed by my garage door. :( I hope there are baby rat snake brothers and sisters out there because I just saw that we have moles again! I put it in a baggie so I can show the kids after school. I'm in St. Louis suburbs. Would love to see more of these snakes. Bigger ones. I think they are so cool! My husband hates snakes and rodents. Screams like a girl. I don't get it. I love them both! Are you still on here MObugs- would love to send you a pic to verify it's a rat snake. That church story is a riot!

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    2. Sorry to hear about the unfortunate demise of your little snake. You can send images to me st MOpiggys@Aol.com. I will be happy to try and ID your snake.

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  13. We saw a Missouri Black Rat Snake yesterday in central Missouri, it was probably 4-5 ft long. It got up into workhorse atv and we had a hard time getting it out. It rattled its tail against the body of the bed and it was loud. Finally we got it out, and relocated it to a creek bed away from the kids treehouse :)

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  14. I live out in the country and we have "rats" that chew the wires on our vehicles, I've seen two black rat snakes in the past week and I'm happy they're here. :)

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  15. when i was in vacation in missouri, i found a snake's shed skin. I am trying to find out what kind it is. It is about 3 and 1/2 feet long, and I am not sure of much else. I would appreciate some help.

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  16. How can you remove them from a dead tree stump? I saw a baby one today while mowing? Will they hurt my dogs? My dogs are NOT small.

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    1. Black Snakes are harmless, beneficial snakes, that eat many mice and rats. They will not harm your dogs at all, in fact your dogs are more likely to hurt them. I know of no way to remove them from the stump. They just emerge on their own when their eggs hatch. I would recommend leaving them alone and allowing them to live. Most will fall prey to wild animals like foxes, raccoons, hawks and owls. Very few of the young snakes will survive to adulthood.

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