Black Rat Snake

A Black Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) is a species of rat snake that snake prefers heavily wooded areas. They are known for having excellent climbing ability, including the ability to climb the trunk of large mature trees without the aid of branches.

Though they do consume mice and rats, the Black Rat Snakes also willingly consume chipmunks, squirrels, birds, and bird eggs. In captivity, they have a reputation for being “vacuum cleaners,” and will eat almost anything placed in front of them.

Black rat snakes are quite large and are known to reach up to eight (8) feet, being the largest snake found in Canada. The record length for a Black Rat Snake is 101 inches, making it (officially) the largest snake in North America. Unofficially, Indigo Snakes are known to exceed them, and one wild caught Pine Snake with a portion of its tail missing measured 111 inches.