Texas Rat Snake (2 May 2007)

Tomball, Texas

(Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) Non-venomous; very aggressive; may bite if cornered, not allowed to escape, and handled; the productive bite of a mature adult may produce painful wounds that bleed freely from the numerous puncture marks caused by its small, sharp teeth; the bite is otherwise inconsequential; this species of snake preys on mice and rats and is very beneficial.

MS. M WROTE: Hi, Jerry---I found your website while trying to identify this snake that my husband came across at the back of our property in Tomball, TX.  He took the best pictures he could while holding it still.  He tried to keep it in a trashcan until we could find out if it was a good snake or poisonous one, but it got out!!!  He said that when he approached it, the snake curled up and shook it's tail, struck and hissed like a rattler, but no rattle is there!  I would like to know what kind of snake this might be as we have small children and this is the fifth snake in the last two months!  Three were coral snakes, then one last week that we couldn't identify - it was approximately three feet long, charcoal grey with a white belly and random, sparse white specks on its back.  When confronted it reacted just like the one today!  The most recent one I have attached several photos of.  It is about four feet long.  Hopefully you can help with this one, and if you have any ideas regarding the grey one they would be greatly appreciated!!!---Ms. M.

The muscular body of the Texas rat snake is evident in this photo.  The lower body is being held down while the snake is wriggling to get free, and the muscles are straining.  Note the clearly round pupil and that the head is rounded, from side to side, and uniformly dark gray on the nose and lateral face. Note also the paler color of the upper lips, which are unmarked.  The juvenile Texas rat snake has markings on the dorsal head, but mature specimens, like this one, are unmarked.  Tomball, Texas, by the way, is located northwest of Houston, due west of Spring, and west southwest of Conroe, Texas.

The mid body markings consist of saddles over the spine, separated by lighter spaces with an orange tint (sometimes bluish gray), and often, as with this specimen, with white markings between some of the scales.  On the sides, alternating between the upper saddles, are dark blotches ringed in the lighter coloration, usually tinged in orange but sometimes in bluish gray.  The scales nearest the spine are keeled, but those on the sides are either weakly keeled or smooth.  I count 13 to 14 scale rows from spine to lower side (the Texas rat snake has 27 rows from side to side at mid body).

MY REPLY: Hi---The photo is of a Texas rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri).  The species is very beneficial and, though it will bite if handled, your children or pets have nothing to fear from it otherwise.  It is a pugnacious snake, and will behave just as you mentioned.  That display is effective at keeping humans at bay. The charcoal gray snake with random white specks and white belly was probably a buttermilk racer (Coluber constrictor anthicus). Of all the reports of buttermilk racers I receive, more come from the vicinity of Conroe, just a few miles east of Tomball, so that is a good clue as well.  No other Texas snake has the markings you described, though the speckled king snake has tiny yellow spots (but very regularly spaced on its body, not randomly as with the snake you saw), with a yellow belly marked with large squarish markings. Both the buttermilk racer and speckled king snake are non-venomous.  Again, however, these snakes tend to be quick tempered, and will bite if handled.  The buttermilk racer tends to be less temperamental than most, but every snake has its own personality. Hope this helps.---Jerry

PAUL M. REPLIED: Thanks, Jerry, for your prompt reply.  I'll rest easier now, knowing that that Rat snake is on the prowl for those pesky rats and mice I have around here that my cat is not the least bit interested in.  I also looked up the Buttermilk Racer and found a picture that is exactly what I found in my yard last week.  I'm trying to learn to be less reactive with a hoe to the head to everything that slithers and realize that I'm the one invading their space,  not the opposite. Thanks again.---Paul M.

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