I have a juvenile rat snake and need some help.Right now it is grey with black markings.I need to know if as it gets older will it change to black.Everything I have read doesnt confirm my questions.HELP!!

do you know what type of rat it is??

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

not really.the book I am holding right now doesnt help at all,it just tell alittle about them and even has a pic of one that looks just like mine.the book is amphibians and reptiles of the cacolinas and virginia

do ya have a picture you can post of him ???

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Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

The best guide is Peterson Field Guides! I've got Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern Central North America. I buy almost all of my books from www.half.com. I find what I want in stores and then search for it by isbn on half.com. I think I paid like $5 for my petersons guide!

Here is a pic of a black rat snake that I photographed by Whitewater Falls in NC back in '98.

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~Red~

if anyone has the same book the pic is on page 202 and is idenical to mine

My Peterson's says this:

BLACK RAT SNAKE, E. obsoleta obsoleta
Uniform black or with faint traces of spotted pattern; throat light. YOUNG: Patterned like Gray Rat Snake.

(Peterson Field Guides Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern/Central North America page 92)

I just love black rat snakes! They are sooo beautiful!

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~Red~