SUMMARY
VENOM: None
PREVALENCE: Common
ACTIVE PERIOD: Most active during the day
KEY ID FEATURES: Dark brown, black or tan with faint vertical banding from head to mid section and black or grey checkering towards the tail ~ 3 meters when mature
BEHAVIOR: Very fast and readily willing to bite, but will almost always try to flee when encountered
SIZE: Large - 3m
QUICK ASSESSMENT 0-10
GALLERY
IMPORTANT: Many snakes have significant variance in coloration and pattern even within the same species. There can also be extreme differences in appearance from juveniles to adults so it is important to never assume you have properly identified a snake.
DESCRIPTION
Generally black/brown or tan in color with faint vertical banding on the upper half of the body and a checkered pattern towards the tail. Often transitioning from dark brown or black by the head to light brown in the middle adn light brown with black mottling at the tail. Body shape is heavily keeled giving and almost triangular appearance. A lean snake, the keeled rat is slender relative to its length and when fully grown will be ~2 inches in diameter at roughly 3 meters long. Large round eyes with round pupils on a slender head usually flat dark color on top with lighted cloration along the jaw. Scales along the spine are keeled becoming more pronounced toward the tail.
BEHAVIOR
The keeled rat snake as with many rat snakes will puff up their neck when threatened. The keeled rat's neck expands vertically making them look taller rather than displaying the notorious 'hood' seen on cobra species. A harmless defensive tactic but can be unsettling for the inexperienced. These snakes will almost always flee extremely quickly if they sense you approaching and despite a bite from a mature specimen being a bit painful they pose almost no danger to humans and have no venom. They will musk readily if handled as well.
HABITAT
They eat rodents, lizards and occasionally birds and as such can be found from forested areas to areas around lakes and rivers as well as water culverts and jogging trails. Active during the day and can be a regular encounter on the trails.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
NO SNAKE SHOULD EVER BE HANDLED BY ANYONE BUT EXPERTS: Keeled rat snakes can often look similar to cobras at a quick glance due to their colors, patterns and general size/shape. Because of this and their propensity to act defensively they should be observed at a distance and never approached or handled.