Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This little girl was rescued from the road.

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Will

I'll take REALLY good care of her for you. I promise!
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0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
1.0 Ball Python "Wilson" (Castaway)
1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk" (Goonies)
.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Peaches"
0.0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake "Onyx"

Nice rescue! Unfortunately I was unable to do the same for a five footer earlier this week here in Kentucky. But hey I guess 'possums have to eat too.

The snake you posted looks very similar to "black" rats found here in Kentucky.

dg

Hey Dwight,
A while back your posted dozens of location Yellow Rat Snakes of on a web site and I found that very informative.
Have you done the same with Kentucky Rats across the state?
I've seen eastern Kentuckians solid black (Harlan County near me in East Tennessee) and have seen the contrasting blotched in western Kentucky (Calloway County).
I just thought you might have documented the variances across your beautiful state?

Actually it would be a great, albeit ambitious, project to pictorially document all North American Rat Snake variants where there is a perceivable delta, much like Joe Forks has done with Gray-bands!!!
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Regards, Bill McGighan

I've always wondered if the gray ratsnake followed the Western Gulf Plains all the way up into s. IL, or if the specimens there are black rats that just look a lot like grays?

Here's a black rat from the Ohio Valley in Southern OH...

TC

A while back your posted dozens of location Yellow Rat Snakes of on a web site and I found that very informative. Have you done the same with Kentucky Rats across the state?

Bill,
I started that project a few years ago but I don't have any type of website at the current time. I am still compiling photos, mainly of snakes I've seen myself in the wild. The Carolinas and Florida are some of my favorite places to herp. The photos below are of a snake I came across in Hart County, Kentucky.

I've seen eastern Kentuckians solid black (Harlan County near me in East Tennessee) and have seen the contrasting blotched in western Kentucky (Calloway County).

I've yet to see a solid black rat snake from Kentucky. All of the obsoleta I've seen in Kentucky are the olive brownish versions that can also be found in southern Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee, and North Alabama. From the post above, looks like they are quite similar in MS, although I've never herped there... yet. I live in Todd County, which is two counties east of Calloway. I've got quite a few pics of Calloway county rats, I'll have to dig some up and post.

I just thought you might have documented the variances across your beautiful state? Actually it would be a great, albeit ambitious, project to pictorially document all North American Rat Snake variants where there is a perceivable delta, much like Joe Forks has done with Gray-bands!!!

Working on it, someday I'll put all my locality photos on the web again.

dg

That might be the thing books are made of!!!

And that would be a picture book with some sunstance, instead of the myriad of snake picture books that have no meat!
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Regards, Bill McGighan