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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
gray rat snake, oak snake |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Colubridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Elaphe (the deer) obsoleta spiloides |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Gray with grayish-black blotches on both dorsal
and ventral surfaces |
|
| SIZE: |
91.4-182.8
cm (36-72 in) average adult length; 213.9 cm (84.3
in) maximum reported length |
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|
| DIET: |
Small
mammals, frogs, lizards, birds, and eggs |
|
| INCUBATION: |
Eggs laid in rotting vegetation or hollow logs in
summer |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
5-27
eggs; hatching occurs in fall |
| BREEDING
PERIOD |
Breeding occurs in spring |
|
| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
3-4
years |
|
| LIFE
SPAN: |
15-20 years in the natural environment |
|
| RANGE: |
Southeastern
United States; north to southern Indiana, west to
Louisiana |
|
| HABITAT: |
Pinelands, cypress swamp, marshland, farmland, and
residential areas; sandy soil and scrub preferred |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No
data |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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|
| 1. |
Gray
rat snakes are one of the longest snakes in North
America, occasionally reaching lengths of 8 feet. |
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| 2. |
When threatened, rat snakes will "rattle"
their tail, fooling other animals into believing
they are venomous. |
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| 3. |
Like pythons and boas, rat snakes are constrictors,
which suffocate their prey. |
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| 4. |
Gray
rat snakes can often be found in trees, hiding in
crevices or searching for food. |
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| 5. |
Unlike
other rat snakes, gray rat snakes retain their juvenile
coloration (speckled pattern) as adults. |
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Rat snakes are extremely important, both as predators
and as prey. They help manage the rodent population
by consuming small mice, rats, and voles but also
become food for larger carnivores such as hawks,
egrets, and foxes. |
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|
|
| Areste,
Manuel and Cebrián, Rafael. Snakes of
the World. New York: Sterling Publishing Co.,
Inc., 2003. |
|
|
Conant, Roger, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson
Field Guide - Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern
and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin
Co., Boston, 1991. |
|
|
Mattison, Chris. Snakes of the World. Facts
on File, Inc. New York, 1988.
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| Mehrtens,
John M. Living Snakes of the World. New York:
Sterling Publishing Co., 1987. |
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| http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/Elapheospiloides.htm |
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