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Missouri Rat Snakes

Three subspecies of rat snakes inhabit Missouri where they help keep the rodent population in check. Rat snakes in Missouri and elsewhere dine on a menu of small mammals, birds and lizards. They use their ability to constrict prey to obtain a meal. Rat snakes typically are nocturnal during the heat of a Missouri summer, but active in the daylight hours during spring and fall, spending the winter in hibernation.

Black Rat Snake
- The black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta) grows to lengths between 42 and 72 inches, with a shiny black body, except for a mottled or whitish belly. The black rat snake is a common serpent statewide in Missouri, reports the Missouri Department of Conservation, found in habitats such as woodlands and rocky hills. The black rat snake frequents barns and old houses, where it searches for rodents. The female lays as many as 30 eggs, with the young emerging in fall.
Gray Rat Snake
- The gray rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta spiloides) lives in a small range of Missouri, residing mainly in the southeastern corner of the state. It sometimes interbreeds with the black rat snake, which has a much larger population. While the gray rat snake occupies the same area it differs in color. It is gray to white, notes the "National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians." Gray rat snakes also have a number of brownish to very dark gray blotches on its body, along with as many as four stripes near its neck.
Great Plains Rat Snake
- A brown stripe through the eye and a series of brown blotches all along its body are the trademark of the Great Plains rat snake (Elaphe guttata). This type of rat snake is shy and avoids detection. The Great Plains rat snake lives in the southern sections of Missouri in wooded regions, as well as in those counties that the Missouri River flows through, except for the ones in the southeastern corner of the state. The Great Plains rat snake is smaller than its cousins are, growing to only 24 to 36 inches long.
Rat Snake Behavior
- All rat snakes vibrate their tails when confronting danger. They bite if provoked or cornered, but their bite is not venomous. Rat snakes play a large part in keeping vermin under control around barns and in crop fields, greatly reducing the harm these rodents inflict on crops in the fields and stores of grain throughout Missouri. While they do occasionally prey on young chickens or pilfer and eat eggs, overall they have a strongly positive affect on agriculture in the Show Me State.

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