‹ Compare two snakes
Eastern Ratsnake vs Gray Ratsnake
Alejandro Santillana, no rights reserved
Eastern Ratsnake
Pantherophis alleghaniensis
Non-venomous(c) Dominic Gentilcore, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Gray Ratsnake
Pantherophis spiloides
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Mostly go by where it was found. Eastern Ratsnakes live east of the Appalachians and the Apalachicola River; Gray Ratsnakes live west of that line to the Mississippi. The young look almost identical, and the two interbreed where they meet.
Where it lives ★ This settles it
Atlantic states east of the Appalachians: western Vermont and southern New England south through New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas to Georgia and all of Florida east of the Apalachicola River, including the Keys.
Appalachians west to the Mississippi: Florida panhandle, Alabama and Mississippi north through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan to Wisconsin and Ontario.
Head
Narrow head barely wider than the neck; white or cream chin and throat.
Narrow head barely wider than the neck; white to cream chin.
Pattern
Adults black, often with pale skin showing between scales; young gray and blotched.
Dark gray or brown blotches on a gray to brownish back; some northern adults turn nearly black.
Eyes
Round pupil, fairly large dark eye; no heat-sensing pit.
Round pupil, fairly large dark eye; no heat-sensing pit.
Pits
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
Tapers evenly; no rattle.
Tapers evenly; no rattle.
What it does
Climbs trees and walls; vibrates its tail in leaves when cornered.
An excellent climber; bluffs with a tail buzz in leaf litter.