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@lauramellinatelier.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 3:48 PM

#nature #wildlife #reptiles #wildlifeinouryard #boxturtle #ratsnake #juvenileratsnake

It’s been a week for wildlife! 2 days ago, I saw a second box turtle, and today, Bob rescued a juvenile rat snake from being hit by the garage door. 🐍🐢

Juvenile rat snakes look nothing like the adults! 😀💜

A colour photograph of a juvenile rat snake, taken from above, on the concrete pavers of our patio. The snake is in full sun, and is oriented head towards the bottom of the image, tail up. The snake is lying diagonally on one paver, their tail just curling around on the moss between the pavers at the top corner.
Juvenile rat snakes have brown and tan stripes along their body, with a diamond pattern of tan and brown on their head. This one is about 10 inches in length, and their scales are bright, and the snake was handled as little as possible.
They are sometimes mistaken for juvenile copperheads by inexperienced people, and are killed (don’t do that!). They’re not poisonous, and their teeth are not large enough to pierce most human skin (their mouths are too small to get a good grip, though they will try to trike if stressed, this is defensive behaviour). Rat snakes eat insects and small mammals, and are great for pest control. We have a hibernaculum (snake dormitory!) of rat snakes under an old chimney in the yard, which we take care of.
In sum: Rat snakes are fren! :)

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