Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I sometimes see in literature that Rat snakes can be opportunistic (like King & Milk snakes) and occasionally feed on other snakes.

1) Has anyone seen this in the wild?
2) Does anyone know of a captive that ate another snake?

1.0 Pantherophis guttatus (Tallahassee locale)
1.0 Lampropeltis getula floridana
1.0 Pantherophis obsoleta quadrivittata
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I do not live near ratsnake range, so I can't be as knowledgeable as some folks on this.

My experience with captive ratsnakes is this: The young will respond to lizard and frog scent, meaning they probably will eat lizards/frogs in the wild if the opportunity exists. Makes sense, baby ratsnakes can be small. I have not had very many baby ratsnakes, but the ones I had would readily take a thawed pink with no scent. I scented a thawed washed pink with lizard for a baby king. When the king didn't eat it, I offered to a baby grey rat who took it immediately.

Adults relish mammalian prey. If a ratsnake will eat a snake, I bet it is a rather rare event. That is my guess. Ratsnakes tend not to occupy the niche that kingsnakes do. You just don't find kings in trees (yes, you will find ratsnakes on the ground sometimes)Curious to hear what others have experienced.