I agree leave the snakes alone and a glove is a good idea. Too bad I never had a glove around when I was a kid. Isn't that an eastern racer, they can be real fast and not happy when bothered. Just looked it up your'e right it's a rat snake.
No - the white mottling to the scales of its belly are a dead give away, a racer would be completely black save for a little light color under the chin. The rat snake has the occasional white tipped scales along its body, again, a racer would be totally black. Upon close inspection there is a rib in the center of the scales on a rat snake, like a ridge line, that racers do not have. The sheer size is another, conservatively this thing was 66" long which, while big for a rat snake, would have been an exceptionally large racer.
Racers are much more aggressive too, had this been a racer I would not have been able to get all the pictures of it in the tree and I doubt I'd have gotten one to calm down to the point it wasn't trying to flip musk on me or bite anything that moved once I had it cornered and tried to pick it up.
Rat snakes, as the name should imply, can handle all sizes of vermin and are really fantastic snakes to have on or around your property. They are very docile, do not respond aggressively unless completely cornered or startled.
The only caution I would voice with them is that they tend to live in the same areas as copperheads, so if you see rat snakes you probably have the right conditions which would be inviting to copperheads and you should be extra careful when working in gardens, brush, stone walls or around woodpiles on your property.
Copperheads too are actually very timid, but because of their camouflage and being that they're predominantly nocturnal (relevant because they're usually asleep during the day when initially encountered) they tend not do be noticed until people are right on top of them and within striking distance.
Mice and other rodents are the main carriers of ticks that people interact with. I'm sure this guy has done his part keeping our backyard free of the furry little disease carriers. We do not spray the yard and we've pulled only one tick off the kids so far this year.
If my 3yr old girl isn't afraid of it why does a full grown "man" feel the need to kill these things? MAN UP and leave them alone to do their jobs!
Some other cool pics...I actually found him about 5' off the ground in a burning bush:
Really cool pictures and nice to see the little ones handle and have respect for the snakes. My 4 and 5 year old grand kids handle the snakes here that Dad catches for them. While not quite as large, they are poisonous. Hope this link works. https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v...amp;oe=59CFD7A7
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Nice catch! Never seen one that big in CT. We grew up (and still do) with all sorts of reptiles as temporary and permanent pets. Very cool creatures. Keep the ecosystem alive.
I saw a big black snake crossing the highway the other day. I really wanted to take it home to help fight the rodents that have infested my yard with ticks. My mother in-law found a snake in her yard and killed it with a shovel. I wish I could reciprocate as the real pest continues to thrive.
We need more predators. We have totally screwed up our ecosystem and are paying the price with zoonotic diseases. On a positive note, the Hawk population seems to have increased where I am.
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