Rat Snake  Elaphe obsoleta

Albino

Scales in the middle rows down the back of the rat snake are weakly keeled (ridged) while the remaining scales are smooth.

Two subspecies are present in Illinois (black rat snake and gray rat snake) which are very similar in habits but are different in appearance. The black rat snake is plain black, sometimes showing traces of a white/red pattern when the skin is stretched. The belly possesses a checkerboard pattern, the throat is white, and the head is wider than the neck. Whereas the gray rat snake has a blotched pattern on a gray or pale brown background.

This snake lives in rocky hillsides, woodlands, old fields, barnyards and farm land. Active by day, except in hot weather, the rat snake is arboreal (climbs readily and often lives in trees). It moves slowly and may freeze in place when disturbed. If annoyed, it will raise its head, vibrate the end of its tail and lunge. This snake kills its prey by constriction.

In the fall it congregates in places like rock outcrops, mammal burrows, cisterns, wells or rotten tree stumps at which time it may hibernate with many other snakes including rattlesnakes and copperheads.