Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta)


Group	Snakes
Code	ARADB13030
Order	Squamata
Family	Colubridae
Author	(Say, 1823)
Rank	G5 (definitions)
Occurrence	P (definitions)
Scale	C (definitions)

County List:


Western UP	none
Eastern UP	none
Northern LP	Oceana, Newaygo, Isabella, Mecosta
Southern LP	Eaton, Oakland, Wayne, Gratiot, Cass, Ottawa, Saginaw, St. Joseph, Shiawassee, Van Buren, Washtenaw, Berrien, Calhoun, Muskegon, Jackson, Clinton, Genesee, Hillsdale, Ingham, Branch, Montcalm, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Ionia, Allegan, Barry

Rule:

Forested or Mixed Forested/Nonforested Landscapes

      (Oak (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Assorted Hardwoods (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Swamp Hardwoods (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or (Bottomland Hardwoods (Pole or Sm Saw or Lg Saw or Uneven))
      or Grass 
      or Upland Brush
   containing:
     Dead Down Woody Debris

view decision rule term definitions

Habitat List:

Habitats	Regen	Sap	Pole	Sm Saw	Lg Saw	Uneven
Aspen	no	no	no	no	no	-
Paper Birch	no	no	no	no	no	-
Oak	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Assorted Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Spruce/Fir	no	no	no	no	no	no
Hemlock	no	no	no	no	no	no
Jack Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Red Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
White Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Conifer Plantations	no	no	no	no	no	-
Mixed Upland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Northern Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Upland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Pine	no	no	no	no	no	no
Swamp Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Balsam Poplar & Swamp Aspen & Swamp Birch	no	no	no	no	no	no
Bottomland Hardwoods	no	no	YES	YES	YES	YES
Tamarack	no	no	no	no	no	no
Northern White Cedar	no	no	no	no	no	no
Black Spruce	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Hardwoods	no	no	no	no	no	no
Mixed Lowland Conifer	no	no	no	no	no	no
Non-Forested	Grass, Upland Brush
Special Features	Dead Down Woody Debris, Edges

view size class definitions

Literature:

Holman, J. A., J. H. Harding, M. M. Hensley, and G. R. Dudderar. 1999. Michigan snakes a field guide and pocket reference. Co-operative Extension Service, Michigan State University. 72 pp.

These snakes are most common in and near woodlands. They are quite arboreal and often forage and bask at considerable heights above the ground.

Rat snakes feed on small mammals and birds they catch and constrict in coils of their body; the prey animal quickly dies of suffocation or circulatory failure before being swallowed.

In June or July, females deposit 5 to 44 eggs, usually in rotted wood or in underground burrows.

DeGraaf, R. M. and D. D. Rudis. 1986. New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution. GTR NE-108. Broomall, PA:USDA, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 491 pp.

Habitat: Variety of habitats including woodlands, thickets, field edges, farmlands, rocky hillsides, and mountain tops, river bottoms, old barns. Readily climbs trees. Found in dry oak and oak-hickory woods and mesic bottomland forests, may occur in very dense woods.