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I found this little 12" guy on my front porch yesterday morning when the temperature was about 50 F. Easy to handle then, after warming up he certainly is grumpy like a Texas rat snake, but I'm not sure how to tell a Texas rat from a Great Plains rat snake. The Texas rat snakes I've seen here in Austin, TX have been much darker but they were adults.
Thoughts?
deg
The belly is the key. The Great Plains is species guttata, which have bold large black checkerboard markings & the underside of the tail is striped. The Texas is species obsoleta. The belly is not as boldly patterned & the underside of the tail is not striped. In guttata, there is usually a spear point mark on the top of the head. Yours lacks that. I would say you have a Texas.
~~Greg~~
Well, the patterning on the belly is very subdued and there is no striping on the tail, so it does seem to be a Texas rat snake. Is the juvenile coloring usually the same as adult coloring or is it likely this snake will darken with age?
thanks,
deg
Yes, the youngsters will be more clearly marked. The bigger snakes will be darker.
~~Greg~~
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