Texas Ratsnake
Elaphe obsolete lindheimeri
CLASS: Reptilia
ORDER: Squamata
SUBORDER: Serpentes
FAMILY: Colubridae
SIZE:
3.5 - 7 feet in length
RANGE:
Mississippi basin, west through Louisiana and in central and southern Texas
HABITAT:
From swamps through drier, rocky land
DIET:
Wild - Small rodents, birds, and eggs
Zoo - Mice, rats
DESCRIPTION:
Grey or yellowish with brownish or bluish-black blotches; head often black; fair amount of color variation in species; anal plate divided.
Adults have red color between scales
FACTS:
Often found dead on highways due to habit of basking on road surfaces
Expert climbers. Will go straight up a pine tree as high as 40 inches to catch birds, eggs, etc.
#1 animal that enters people's home. Often referred to as "chicken snake."
YOUNG:
Clutch of 6 - 28 eggs laid from June to August. Young look like gray ratsnakes. As they get older they darken
STATUS:
Not threatened
REFERENCE:
Identifying Snakes, Nigel Marven and Rob Harvey, 1996, Quintet Publishing Limited.
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