Herping for rat snakes in NY,PA

Does anyone have any advice for finding rat snakes in CT, southern NY, or Northeast PA? As a general rule I do not keep any herps I find but i'm in need of an adult female black rat for a breeding project and just cant find any dark enough online. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

My advice would be to collect any wild snakes legaly. In New York that requires at least a hunting license for snakes. Of course the regulations refer to a permit, but when you check with the DEC you will find that they liely only require a hunting license. This of course requires you to either take a hunter safety course (about 2 to 3 days long) or already have a license elsewhere. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation can be found at this linkNY/DEC . The NY Dec has a pretty good reptile atlas of the state atNY State Reptile & Amphibian Atlas Project that may be of some help to you. Black Rat Snakes have a fairly limited range in NY.

After you ensure you legality as above, look in old barns and other outbuildings, up in the rafters, during the hottest part of the day. They seem to like slinking around up there after the starlings and pigeons. I've always found more rat snakes closer to "humanized" areas than out in deeper woods. Chicken farms are a great place as well.

Thank you for the info. I do have a hunting license in NY. The barn part seems to be harder though. Nobody seems to ever want to give permission to herp.

i've heard tell that BlackRat's are found from around Honeoye N.Y. south through Pennsyltucky and beyond.

i did not know about having to have a liscense for capturing a BlackRat, good info i will ask around!

thanx --- Derek.

I thought PA had a load of ratsnakes? PA is older, as far as states and colinization goes, so you shouldn't be hard pressed to find some abandoned barns and whatnot, where permission isnt a problem at all, because nobody is there!
Good luck looking for a female anyhow.

Just a note on Ct. since you mentioned it. The Black Rat is a state regulated snake here. Even as a state NWCO I have to be careful regarding them. I do get calls for them in and around houses,garages,cellars and barns. We have Beautiful ones, one of my favorite snakes.