A rat snake is a very common beginner snake for exotic pet owners. Most rat snakes have a body shape and color pattern that provides superior camouflage making rat snakes very difficult to see in the wild. Most rat snakes are extremely illusive and are only active at night. In a natural environment, a rat snake will eat a wide variety of birds, rats, mice, frogs, toads, lizards, and insects, but in captivity, rat snakes are fed mice and rats, which are sufficient. The following sections discuss the various types of rat snakes kept as a pet including their location, and average size.
Baird’s Rat Snake
Found in Central, Southern, and Western Texas
Grows to a length of 3 - 5 feet
Baja Rat Snake
Found in Southern and Baja California
Grows to a length of 4 - 6 feet
Beauty Rat Snake
Found in numerous provinces throughout Asia
Grows to a length of 5 - 8 feet
Bella Rat Snake
Found in China, North Burma, and North Vietnam
Grows to a length of 2 - 3 feet
Corn Rat snake
Found in the Southeast and Central portion of the United States
Grows to a length of 4 - 6 feet
Everglades Rat Snake
Found in South Florida
Grows to a length of 4 - 7 feet
Gray Rat Snake
Found in the Eastern and Southern portions of the United States
Grows to a length of 3 – 6 feet
Great Plains Rat Snake
Found in Northern Mexico and numerous parts of the United States including Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, Texas, and Utah
Grows to a length of 2 - 6 feet
Green Rat Snake
Found in Southeast Arizona, Southwest New Mexico, and Northern Mexico
Grows to a length of 3 - 5 feet
Green Bush Rat Snake
Found in Burma, China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam
Grows to a length of 3 - 4 feet
Japanese Rat Snake
Found in Japan
Grows to a length of 4 - 7 feet
Japanese Forest Rat Snake
Found in Japan
Grows to a length of 2 - 4 feet
Mandarin Rat Snake
Found in the mountains and forests of Burma, China, Taiwan and Vietnam
Grows to a length of 3 - 6 feet
Mexican Night Rat Snake
Found in Mexico
Grows to a length of 4 - 5 feet
Radiated Rat Snake
Found in numerous parts of Asia including Indonesia
Grows to a length of 5 - 6 feet
Rhino Rat Snake
Found in South China and North Vietnam
Grows to a length of 3 - 4 feet
Trans Pecos Rat Snake
Found in desert areas of Texas and Mexico
Grows to a length of 3 - 4 feet
Trinket Rat Snake
Found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka
Grows to a length of 3 - 6 feet
Twins Spotted Rat Snake
Found throughout numerous provinces of China
Grows to a length of 1 - 3 feet
Yellow Rat Snake
Found in the United States including North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida
Grows to a length of 4 - 7 feet
Copyright © 2014 by John Mallozzi
