Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone - I just found a snake in the basement and hope that you can help me 1. identify it and 2. figure out what to do next!

The snake is curled up between the insulation and the top of the window frame, so I can't tell how long it is. I can see that it's skin is white with a brown/gray spotted pattern on it that looks a lot like cheetah spots. It seems thicker than a garter snake - maybe 3/4" or 1" in diameter. I haven't seen the head.

I'd really appreciate any help you can offer.

Thanks!

Forgot to mention that I'm located in upstate NY in a wooded area with lots of mice.

Likely a Juvenile Black Rat Snake.

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

Thanks for the suggestion - I wish I could post a photo instead of trying to describe the snake. I looked up "black rat snake" and checked out pictures of them (adult and immature), and it doesn't look like that's what it is. The background to the pattern is white, and it's a regular spotted pattern that looks very much like a cheetah's.

Have you tried looking up pics of eastern milk snakes?

Try looking at some pics of juvenile Black Racers. The Black Ratsnake is more likely coiled up in a place like that, but it could be a racer.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, TX

While juvenile black rat snakes and black racers would have a blotched pattern when young, they tend to lose that (at least to the point where it's pretty indistinct) long before they'd be old enough to be 3/4" to 1" thick. Eastern milks are the only snakes I can think of in your area that would maintain that kind of blotched pattern into adulthood.

Patrick Alexander

sounds alot like an E milk to me, what county are from? I'm in oswego and have never seen a black rat around here only southern NY.
wayne

maybe a corn snake.