The Persian ratsnake (Zamenis persicus ) is a species of medium-sized nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Western Asia.
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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...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Hibernation 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 withAdults of Z. persicus are from 70–90 cm (28–35 in) up to 120 cm (47 in) in total length (including tail), and usually jet black or grey with white markings along the lateral portion of the forebody. Males seem to grow larger than females.
Z. persicus is found in temperate northwestern Iran and Azerbaijan, in the area near the Caspian Sea.
The Persian ratsnake is principally regarded as a terrestrial species, spending most of its time in the leaf litter; however, it is also an agile climber and will mount low brush.
The diet of Z. persicus, like that of most colubrids, consists primarily of small mammals, but it may also eat other small reptiles and amphibians.
Sexually mature female Persian ratsnakes lay clutches of 4-8 eggs, which hatch after 45–55 days of incubation.
