Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My buddy in VA sent me these pics of 2 black rats in his backyard. He thought(and I did too at first) that they were breeding, but it looks like it is combat. He said they were going at it for a few hours. Has anyone else ever observed NA Ratsnakes showing this behavior?

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3.1 Corn (Anery Stripe-Ripple '06/Amber-Jack Straw '06/Snow-Casey Jones '06/Amel Motley-Cosmo '03)
0.1 Baird's Ratsnake (Sugaree '04)
1.0 White Oaks Grey Rat (Tennesse Jed '04)
0.1 IJ Carpet Python (Cassidy '04)
1.0 Western Hognose (Samson '05)
1.1 Shepherd mix (Dylan 8yrs, Porter 3yrs)

When snakes breed IT IS combat so it may be hard to tell. Cool photos thks
Below is a pic of eastern milks breeding and the male has her by the back of her neck
....... We can all learn something from nature

I've seen a lot of snakes doing a lot of things in the wild (eating, mating, laying eggs, etc), but I have always wanted to witness combating males. That would be an awesome sight.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas