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Black Rat Snake
Elapheobsoleta obsolete

Habitat : Rat snakes live in or near woodlands, often near water. They climb well, and often enter barns and abandoned buildings.

Distribution : “Black Rat Snakes are found in forests , fields , marshes and farmland”

Food: Rat snakes eat birds, eggs, lizards, frogs, other snakes, chipmunks, squirrels, small rabbits, mice, rats, bats (see photo to the left), voles, shrews, and other small mammals.

Predators: Raccoons, foxes, bobcats, owls, or hawks are common killers of young snakes.

Interesting facts: Female snakes will lay a clutch (batch) of 5 to 30 eggs, each approximately two inches long, in a rotten log, under a rock, or in a pile of dead leaves