[fintstone]

I caught this one in my house about a year and a half ago. It was probably between 2 and 3 feet long. It is black....but the light on it (flash) makes it look gray (It was in the dark). Hard to catch and keep from escaping as these type can almost stand up on the end of their tail (helps catch birds on bushes). This one could instantly raise itself up and come out of a 3 foot tall box (with trash can liner (in photo). That is why they are likely types to get into a house. They can get in anywhere a mouse can...and actually seem to follow their trail.



I recently saw a much bigger one near (between 4 and 5 feet long) where I released it...so maybe the same one. Only about half of this one is in the photo:


I saw one in the landscaping near my front door last year that was well over 6 feet long and as big around as my wimpy bicep. Last time that year I reached under that bush and blindly pulled weeds. I was only able to photo the tail end as it quickly exited...probably the last foot of it and the smallest part (but you can see it was pretty large).


They say they eat about once a week...so a big rat snake probably consumes a lot of rodents. The numbers here sure drop in the summer.