My Black Rat Snake

Oh, loverly looking specimen...I ought to impliment South Carolina in allowing to post records of field herpetofauna on my database site. I have an online database where aspiring herpetologists and fanatics can post information about herps they find during field runs. It is still in beta, and I still need to add a few things, but if you'd like...

http://ncherp.fh-net.com/home/news.php

thanks,
I posted some of them on there.


I am still trying to get pics but should have some on here today.

P.S. I found a few probs. with the site...
I will pm them to you...

I got that backwords (the male is 6' and the female is 7')

Here are pics of the three Black Rats.

Pics are:
female
male
male
JV.
JV.

Here is that last JV. pic...

Wow, those are awesome looking specimens, again though how's their temperament, were they hornery when you caught them?..

Well this is how it happend...

I was not looking for snakes when I found them, so I did not have a snake hook. I was looking for old bottles and whild digging I found a small earth snake. I sutck it in a snake bag (even when I am not looking for snakes I have snake bags with me!) then I went on digging. I walked over to a section of the bottle dump where there were a bunch of tires... and i saw a large snake skin going over the side of a tire and into it. It was a very old rotting snake skin that I guessed at about 1-2 weeks old but I thought the snake might still be around and since I had found my last Black Rat snake (aprox. 5 years ago) in a tire about 150 feet from where I was I thought that the snake that this skin came from might still be around, so I started flipping tires and when I flipped my 4 tire I saw the body of a snake inside. I had nothing to hook it with to pull it out and it would not come out on it's own. So I had to pull it out with my hand. It did not try to bite at all and I was able to put it in a bag with out much troble. then I decided to look around in the other (aprox. 20) tires but did not plan on finding any thing... but the very last tire I flipped had another snake in it... Just as I flipped it the snake shot out right at me but did not try to bite... it took about 3 seconds befor I was sure it was not a venomous snake and got my hand to reach out a grab it. It was a bit harder to get this one into the (only) big bag that I had with me... that I had the other snake in.

After I had them both bagged I went over to where my brother was looking for bottles and pulled them both out to show to him. By mistake I picked up the first one (the bigger one) too close to his head and while I was not looking it bit down hard. It surprised me so much that I did the thing that is hard not to do but should never be done and I jerked my hand away... She let go but I hope I did not pull any ov her teeth out when I jerked.
Since I caught them I have not had either even try to bite again, but I do use my short hook to get them out of the cage!!!

Damn, that must have surprised the hell out of you, not to mention quite an experience... I wish I could have seen that , bet that was fun nonetheless.., Awesome find though, they sure are cool lookin' , have a great day, Marshall P..

I forgot...

I found the baby in a tree limb about head level (6' 3") with a large food item half way down his body.
He did not try to bite then but has tried now!...