Great Plains Ratsnake
Pantherophis emoryi
Summary 4
Pantherophis emoryi, commonly known as the Great Plains rat snake, is a species of nonvenomous rat snake native to the central part of the United States, from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south to Texas, and into northern Mexico. It is sometimes considered by hobbyists as subspecies of the corn snake, which is commonly kept as a pet. The two are sometimes interbred to produce varying pattern and color morphs.
Description 5
The Great Plains rat snake is typically light gray or tan in color, with dark gray, brown, or green-gray blotching down its back, and stripes on either side of the head which meet to form a point between the eyes. They are capable of growing from 3 feet to 5 feet long.
Behavior 5
Great Plains rat snakes prefer open grassland or lightly forested habitats, but are also found on coastal plains, semi-arid regions, as well as rocky, moderately mountainous regions. They can often be found on farmland, which often leads it to be erroneously called the chicken snake, and other areas with a relatively high rodent population, which is their primary diet. They will also eat birds, and occasionally snakes, lizards and frogs, all of which they subdue by constriction. They are primarily nocturnal, and oviparous, laying clutches of as many as 25 eggs in the late spring. Like most rat snakes, when agitated, the Great Plains rat snake will shake its tail vigorously, which by itself makes no noise, but when it shakes amongst dry leaf litter, it can sound remarkably like a rattlesnake, and often leads to misidentification.
Warning signs of agitation are curling up tightly, shaking its tail rapidly. Though this snake has very small teeth and is nonvenomous, it will bite. However, as a whole, this species of snake is very calm and non-aggressive.
Common names 5
Additional common names for Pantherophis emoryi include the following: brown rat snake, chicken snake, eastern spotted snake, Emory's Coluber, Emory's pilot snake, Emory's racer, Emory's snake, gray rat snake, mouse snake, prairie rat snake, spotted mouse snake, Texas rat snake, and western pilot snake.
Sources and Credits
- (c) tom spinker, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/42389547@N00/5798081980
- (c) Cullen Hanks, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Cullen Hanks
- (c) Ron Savage, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Ron Savage
- Adapted by Desmon M Dunn from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantherophis_emoryi
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantherophis_emoryi
