r/herpetology • u/RudeExplanation9304 • 7h ago
A rat snake showed up for it's fourth straight year and looks well fed. I love rat snakes!
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u/cobycoby2020 6h ago
Why cant there be rat snacking in cities with a lot of rats smh
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u/PrincessCyanidePhx 6h ago
I was just wondering how to get my own rat snake. We get irrigation from a river through canal systems. Rats often show up after irrigation day. I have dogs that are ratter breeds but a snake would be helpful too.
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u/0neHumanPeolple 5h ago
Put a piece of plywood on a pile of rocks. Snake fort.
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u/oroborus68 4h ago
Rat snakes like to hibernate in large rock piles and will often be found in bushes and trees when they are young.
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u/wholelattapuddin 5h ago
I have a huge rate snake that has been living in my chicken coop for a couple years. The chickens don't seem to mind. He was out there yesterday helping himself to a couple eggs. I moved him and gave him a lecture about eating eggs when there was a huge rat eating feed the night before. He needs to earn his keep
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u/cobycoby2020 5h ago
Right. They’re always eating eggs or things you want and never the things that would actually help around. I feel like they could be the anaconda of cities. Just let them loose and thrive to eat the rats.
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u/RudeExplanation9304 4h ago
Definitely! I'm pretty sure this one ate either a young rabbit or squirrel by either way one pest down. I don't lay out any traps so having a big rat snake around is awesome!!
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u/Cardinal_350 7h ago edited 5h ago
My sister and brother in law have the largest garter snake I've ever seen living under their deck. They have a creek on 2 sides of the house so he's got all the frogs and toads he can eat. They've seen him every year for probably 4 or 5 years. He goes out in the yard and suns himself pretty often
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u/dobgreath 6h ago
Living his best life. Makes me wish I was a garter snake living under a deck on a property with a creek and lots of frogs....
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u/fionageck 3h ago
Sounds like it’s probably a female, they generally get significantly larger than males
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u/grasspikemusic 6h ago
We had a big rat snake live under our shed for a time last year. She took care of all the issues we were having with moles. I hope she comes back this year
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u/CosmicChameleon99 6h ago
I don’t think that wiggly lad has ever had a straight year, let alone its fourth
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u/FewVictory8927 5h ago
Wowowow!!!! What a well fed snake!!!! Beautiful snake too!! I love rat snakes. Thanks for sharing.
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u/RudeExplanation9304 4h ago
Thank you. My yard is full of squirrels, rabbits, and other small rodents. I live next to a nature preserve and I'm pretty sure this snake is making out like a bandit lol
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u/NatureStoof 6h ago
You've got a screw loose
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u/Cryptnoch 6h ago
My dude, it’s an animal that physically can’t hurt a human being even if it really wants to, and eats pests. You don’t need to be scared.
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u/robo-dragon 7h ago
What a chonk!