Brown rat snake, Chicken snake, Eastern spotted snake, Emory's Coluber, Emory's pilot snake, Emory's racer, Emory's snake, Gray rat snake, Mouse snake, Prairie rat snake, Spotted mouse snake, Texas rat snake, Western pilot snake, Grea
Pantherophis emoryi, commonly known as the Great Plains rat snake, is a species of nonvenomous rat snake native to the central part of the United States, from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south to Texas, and into northern Mexico.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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PredatorPredators are animals that kill and eat other organisms, their prey. Predators may actively search for or pursue prey or wait for it, often conceal...
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PrecocialPrecocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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FossorialA fossorial animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, ...
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NatatorialNatatorial animals are those adapted for swimming. Some fish use their pectoral fins as the primary means of locomotion, sometimes termed labriform...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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SolitaryNo
Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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HibernatingHibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy charac...
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starts withThe Great Plains rat snake is a nonvenomous snake native to the central part of the United States. It is typically light gray or tan in color, with dark gray, brown, or green-gray blotching down its back. There are also stripes on either side of the head which meet to form a point between the eyes.
Great Plains rat snakes occur from Missouri to Nebraska, to Colorado, south to Texas, and into northern Mexico. They prefer open grassland or lightly forested habitats but are also found on coastal plains, semi-arid regions, as well as rocky, moderately mountainous regions, and on farmland.
Great Plains rat snakes are solitary and primarily nocturnal creatures. They usually remain still for a majority of their time awake and on average, they only move 188 meters per day. Like most rat snakes, when agitated, the Great Plains rat snake will shake its tail vigorously, which by itself makes no noise, but when it shakes amongst dry leaf litter, it can sound remarkably like a rattlesnake, and often leads to misidentification. Though this snake has very small teeth and is nonvenomous, it will bite. However, as a whole, Great Plains rat snakes are very calm and non-aggressive. Great Plains rat snakes hibernate from late autumn and until late winter or early March. Preferred hibernating places are rocky slopes with some trees on which the snakes can bask.
Great Plains rat snakes are carnivores. They hunt mainly rodents and will also eat birds, and occasionally snakes, lizards, and frogs, all of which they subdue by constriction.
Great Plains rat snakes are polygynandrous (promiscuous) meaning that both the males and females have multiple partners. The breeding season usually occurs in May or early June. Great Plains rat snakes are oviparous and lay clutches of as many as 25 eggs in the late spring. Incubation lasts between 55 and 60 days. Baby rat snakes are independent from the moment they hatch and usually remain near the place they were born for up to 2 years. Females become reproductively mature at 8-10 years of age while males are ready to breed when they are between 6 and 8 years old.
There are no major threats to this species at present.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Great Plains rat snake total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.