One of five subspecies of the rat snake, this snake is found over a large range of eastern North America, from Minnesota to the eastern coast and as far as south as northern Louisiana.
They prefer heavily wooded areas, where their coloration allows them to blend into deep shade. In less wooded areas, they seek cover under rocks and boards.
The adult black rat snake ranges from 40 to 74 inches long, but the largest specimen known was 101 inches in length. That's nearly 8 1/2 feet.
The body is usually black or dark brown, with white, yellow, or red markings between the scales. The lower part of the throat and neck is usually white.
The young snakes feed mainly on smaller mice, lizards, and frogs. As they get older and larger, rodents become the food of choice, including large mice, shrews, chipmunks, and squirrels.
Black rat snakes are excellent tree climbers, and they've been known to prey on eggs and birds in trees.
Breeding season is the spring. In late summer, the female black rat snake deposits about a dozen eggs in rotting wood.
The eggs generally hatch in September. Newly-hatched snakes are about a foot long and they're brightly patterned, with dark blotches over a background of white or light gray.
The pattern gradually fades and the young snake assumes its adult coloration at two or three years of age.
Depending on the climate, black rat snakes begin hibernating in dens in October or November, and they don't emerge until April or early May, when breeding begins.