Rat Snake Baby Rattlesnake Florida

If you would like to watch a webinar where i describe several varieties of snakes in central florida and talk about basic do s and don ts for snake emergencies you can watch that webinar on youtube.
Rat snake baby rattlesnake florida. Some are single uniform colors. But they also feed on other small rodents birds frogs and reptiles. They can climb trees and if you don t protect your birdhouses with baffles they will invade nests. The eastern diamondback rattler has the most lethal bite.
Different species of snake can often be distinguished by their characteristic color patterns. They are found in almost every habitat where they prey on rodents birds and birds eggs. Here is a quick look at most of florida s snakes by pattern. Rat snakes emit a musky smell when threatened.
Central florida s snakes. Live in grasses forests marshes and buildings. Florida snakes visual identification. The gray rat snake elaphe obsoleta spiloides is the gray subspecies of rat snake is found in the florida panhandle and west into louisiana.
These beautiful snakes have a gray body with large blotches along the back and sides. The eastern rat snake like the eastern racer is a constrictor. There are numerous species and subspecies of rat snake across the world. Rat snakes can emit pungent odour to scare off their predators when touched.
Grey rat snakes canada red rat snakes florida keys while these rat snakes may be endangered or threatened in these areas this doesn t mean that they don t have larger populations in the other areas that they roam. This article focuses on the north and central american species in the pantherophis genus. As their name implies they mainly eat rats. Wherever there are food and dark shelter you may find them.
Rat snakes are found throughout the eastern united states and have a highly variable color pattern. Others have dark or light markings organized into stripes spots blotches or some other pattern. As with all snakes deforestation and humans encroaching on the rat snake s habitat is the biggest threat of all. These snakes are highly venomous and pose a genuine danger to humans.
However there are just 6 venomous snakes in florida. The eastern diamondback rattlesnake the timber rattlesnake the dusky pygmy rattlesnake the coral snake the cottonmouth and the copperhead. Rat snakes are found from florida north to new england and east through texas and nebraska. Of florida s 46 native species of snakes 35 are found in the central florida region shown in blue on this map including four of the six venomous species timber rattlesnakes and copperheads are only found in north florida only one non native species the tiny brahminy blindsnake is found in central florida.
Perhaps the most common is the eastern rat snake which is widespread from new york to florida. This group of snakes is very common and well known and there are at least ten different known species. Newly hatched rat snakes measure about 12 inches in length.