A few years ago my son came right back home, after heading up to his friend's house, in a frenzy. He told me he'd heard a rattlesnake under dead leaves as he passed a house, and I needed to check it out right away. Yeah, we live in a very wooded area with lots of stuff that can bite, sting, harm .... but no rattlers (that I've seen). I walked up the street and found a gorgeous 5' + black rat snake under the pile of dead leaves.
It was not particularly aggressive, though it did tag me once. It readily ate the live mice the short time I kept it and I could easily clean the tank it was in until I took it to a more remote place to release it. I had pics on my other computer, likely deleted now. It was a beauty!
You won't go wrong with a black rat if you care for it properly