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Gray Ratsnake

Pantherophis spiloides

Photo by pixygiggles
Published on Project Noah
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36.1628, -85.5016

Field Notes

Notes:

Since this was very close to my home, I don't feel comfortable putting the exact location; but I will say this snake was found on the outskirts of north Cookeville, TN. As we turned down our road, not too far from our house, I noticed a snake in the road. My boyfriend got out to take a closer look. It was sprawled out across the road when we found it. He reached out and touched the tip of its tail to see if it was alive when it flipped around into this striking position. Needless to say, he backed off and got back in the car, lol. I'm pretty sure this is one of the snakes living in the brush pile right on the corner at the stop sign. It must be at least a 3 and a half, maybe 4 foot long, snake. Can anyone ID it? I know it's not the best photo because it was already dark and I had to use the flash. My biggest concern is that I have seen the neighborhood kids playing out there on that rock pile. Should we call the TWRA to relocate the snake? Since the rock/brush pile is not on our property, I'm not really sure we can do anything about it.

Reference Links:

Gray ratsnake

Species ID Suggestions

Gray Ratsnake

Pantherophis spiloides

Reference Link
AshleyT
3

Comments (4)
AshleyT
Common and scientific names added :)
AshleyT
I agree with you, many people kill snakes for no reason other than the fact they are snakes. It really is upsetting, I hope no one goes and kills it. Relocating snakes is hard, some males have very large home ranges and if you don't take them far enough away then they will just come right back. But then if you take them too far away you can take them into another males territory and then you will have them fighting and one could die. My best bet is to try and leave it alone, he has probably been living in the area for quite some time, and if he is that big then he seems to be doing well for himself. Hopefully that continues.
pixygiggles
Thanks, Ashley. I do believe you might be correct about that ID. The photos I looked through of the Gray Ratsnake look very similar to the one we saw. I just wanted to be certain that it wasn't one of the 4 venomous snakes here in TN. I knew for sure it was not one of the two rattlesnakes, no rattle; but I've never seen a copperhead. After looking through photos of copperheads, though, I'm fairly certain it's not one of those because the color was too far off, as well as the pattern. The only other one is the Cottonmouth, but it's rare for them to be so far east of the Mississippi. Also, other than a few small ponds, there's really no moving water for several miles. Now, my only concern is that the neighbors or even the kids might kill the snake if they see it rather than the snake harm them. Even though it is illegal to harm, kill, remove from the wild, or possess native snakes taken from the wild in the state of TN, that doesn't prevent people from doing so.
AshleyT
It is very common for snakes to spread themselves across the road to soak up the warmth as asphalt holds heat longer after the sun goes down. Rat snakes are aggressive when messed with, but they are completely harmless. There is no need to contact anyone to relocate the snake, it is not going to do anything to the children that play near where you think it lives.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Tennessee Snakes, Lizards and Turtles

Tags

Photographed
PublishedJune 24, 2013

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