I just encountered your channel via this vid today. It caught my interest because I'm also a fan of black rat snakes. One ended up in a former friend's bathtub, poor thing was in a blind panic so I scooped it up from the middle, took it outside and set it down in tall grass. It just sat there for a moment wondering what just happened, then raised it's head to look at me. I just spoke to it softly, making no move to touch it, and it went under the porch. I like to think it was thanking me for rescuing it from that damn tub it got trapped in. I've been in more arguments online with people about how intelligent reptiles are, and whether or not they are capable of a range of emotions like we are. I'm very much on the side of very intelligent, and range of emotions, and cannot be convinced otherwise. I have lizard and snake companion animals who have shown me this. I have very good bonds with most of them. The uromastyx is timid and squirrely but does enjoy neck pets, nose touch (my version of kisses for head-shy critters) and cuddles. He just shies and tries to bolt at random times. Anyway, thanks for sharing this vid and the solid info. Too many people are afraid of snakes when there is very little reason to be. Try not to step on or corner them and they are perfectly happy to just get away from you. Spiders on the other hand, have a bad habit of falling from the ceiling onto you. Or is that just me?
I'm glad you found this video, welcome to the channel! I definitely think that reptiles are more 'intelligent' than they are often given credit for; just because they don't exhibit emotions as clearly as mammals does not mean that they don't experience them. Haha spiders also descend on my head, I just think it's because my hair looks like a nice little place to explore.
I've always noticed that snakes I pick up eventually just accept they've been yoinked. When I look at the reptile trade, people always say snakes don't need enrichment in their enclosures, but I've always felt that was wrong. These animals are curious and have enough sense to know what is going on around them.
Yeah this does seem to happen often, depending on the species and individual I'm working with. I also think captive snakes deserve more complex environments than they are often given. They navigate complex three dimensional spaces in nature, so why not in captivity?
@@TheWildReportOfficial and @jr-wv4qw- I also have to agree on the idea of nrichment... years ago, I spent 4 summers on staff at our local Boy Scout camp. We were responsible for finding (and releasing at the end of camp) all or our animals for the ecology merit badges. Every year, we'd find at least two rat snakes. We'd walk around with them draped over the back of our necks. The snakes- they were busy exploring in our pockets. Yes, they need areas to explore. On a bright note, once during Family Night, we actually got an ophidiophobe to touch the skin of a rat snake.
5 місяців тому+8
Just moved a black rat snake off my deck yesterday with confidence and without harming or scaring the snake. Thanks for all the informative videos Ben!!
My dog alerted me to a big fella in the yard earlier. He coiled up on me but a few minutes of me standing there he seemed to relax enough for me to pick him up. Was able to relocate him back to the woods and into a tree where he went on about his business. They are great to have around.
Ben my Uncle had Cabin on Mobile River and he had a Huge Black Snake that lived under the pilings and he kept the mice and rats out of the Cabin My Uncle Toby loved that Snake he was like a pet and gave me apperaction for the Black Rat Snake ❤. But my favorite is Green Snake. Thanks for another Great Video Ben 😉👍❤️
They do love to live in/around/under structures that mice frequent. I think it's such convenient free pest control! Green snakes are absolutely adorable, I can see why they are your favorites. Thanks for watching, Walter!
Great video, Ben! It's so interesting when a wild animal that surely had to dodge a lot of predators in its life to get that big, will respond calmly to gentle handling. Remarkable!
Absolutely lovely Ben to see these beautiful & gentle creatures & your loving interaction with them. Hopefully we'll get to see Big Bertha - the Queen of black rat snakes, this summer! Blessings to you.
Thank you for this! I just found my first black rat snake the other week and honestly had no idea how to handle so as soon as I touched it, it slithered off quickly😂 (it was my first attempt ever picking up a snake). Would love to see a video in general on herping tips sometime🙏🏻 love your content man
The black rat snake is my personal favorite snake here in Pennsylvania as well 😊 The rough green and smooth green 🐍 are tied for second! Followed ever so closely by the Eastern Milk Snake 😊 Thanks for sharing this Ben
That's a very solid tier list, hard to argue with such a stellar lineup! The top of my list is some combination of copperhead, mud, rat snake, and eastern king, but I can never decide on the exact order.
@@TheWildReportOfficial love king snakes.. always wanted one ever since I was a child! Closest thing we have to them in Pennsylvania is the milk snake. The California King Snake is my favorite of all snakes! I'm not a fan of venomous snakes.. but boy boy are they beautiful ❤️
I actually just hatched 8 eggs from my captive produced eastern black rat snakes. Funny enough the male is a North Carolina locality. The female is a Maryland locale. The babies I expected to be flighty and nippy like most ratsnakes but they actually handle very nicely and will make for wonderful pets or educational animals!
Ring necks are so cute!!!!! My family hasn’t stopped fearing snakes unfortunately. But she also grew up in Taiwan where 90 percent of the snakes were not only venomous but highly dangerous. That’s Taiwan. My mom just doesn’t like snakes unfortunately and also sides with their prey. There was one time when I was a kid and there was a baby rabbit in our garden. The black rat was prowling around and my mom insisted on killing the snake.
I live in SW Ohio and invariably get black rat snakes from time to time in the summer. Down the hill from my townhouse is a small creek where they probably come from. The ones I’ve seen are easily 5 feet long. I like to see snakes (behind glass!) so they startle me and my heebie jeebies kick in. lol!!
I had one that lived around my house in TN. and it never bothered us so we just left it alone. But, we found one on the living room of an empty rental house the other day. I picked him up so I could take him out in the grass, but I scared it and it bit the shit out of my hand several time's 😮 on a scale of 1 to 10 the bite was a -2😂 It got me a few times, until I could get him to the grass. I hate that I scared it 😢 now maybe next time I can do better. 😕 Thank's for this video❤
I was raised around snakes and in an early part of my life worked in surveying which I was knees deep in snakes. I came to see each breed has a main character trait. As some of the most poison were very docile and far from aggressive. Such as the very intelligent Cotton Mouth. And many snakes like the Corn Snake were just so easy to handle. But I found that the grumpy Black Snake, racer or rat..will not stop Biting!!!
I love how different species have different personalities...yep, when they are grumpy they are sometimes extremely difficult to calm down and I often just let them go.
Not Big Bertha but a fantastic snake nonetheless. I enjoy the "What's That Species?" challenge. To me, the next one looks like a Cottonmouth or a well fed Nerodia.
i live in Salisbury (Rowan county) North Carolina... found a snake skin that has to be 6 feet long unfer my house... i feel like it's a black rat snake... I'm going to leave it alone and let it do it's job even though my family wanted me to find it and get rid of it
I need this channel. I have tried to have a healthy attitude and not overreact to snakes. Mixed bag though I held a baby cooper in my hand and everyone was screaming at me to put it down 😂 (I’m originally from the uk where we NEVER see any). Then I was trying to escort a northern racer out of a swimming area and ended up killing it because it kept leaping at me and I wasn’t confident enough to think of something else. I’m a teacher, and I’d like to work with knowledge and not ignorance 😂 I discovered a black rat well over 6 ft-happy to send you the vid. Pretty exciting, and I’d like to make friends with it if I can just get calmer. ua-cam.com/users/shortsIHHJRhrSNyo?feature=shared
@@TheWildReportOfficial if none of the links work, just look at my old man not that exciting channels, and it s one of the more recent vids …’well fed black rat snake’ is the title ☮️
I just encountered your channel via this vid today. It caught my interest because I'm also a fan of black rat snakes. One ended up in a former friend's bathtub, poor thing was in a blind panic so I scooped it up from the middle, took it outside and set it down in tall grass. It just sat there for a moment wondering what just happened, then raised it's head to look at me. I just spoke to it softly, making no move to touch it, and it went under the porch. I like to think it was thanking me for rescuing it from that damn tub it got trapped in.
I've been in more arguments online with people about how intelligent reptiles are, and whether or not they are capable of a range of emotions like we are. I'm very much on the side of very intelligent, and range of emotions, and cannot be convinced otherwise. I have lizard and snake companion animals who have shown me this. I have very good bonds with most of them. The uromastyx is timid and squirrely but does enjoy neck pets, nose touch (my version of kisses for head-shy critters) and cuddles. He just shies and tries to bolt at random times.
Anyway, thanks for sharing this vid and the solid info. Too many people are afraid of snakes when there is very little reason to be. Try not to step on or corner them and they are perfectly happy to just get away from you. Spiders on the other hand, have a bad habit of falling from the ceiling onto you. Or is that just me?
I'm glad you found this video, welcome to the channel! I definitely think that reptiles are more 'intelligent' than they are often given credit for; just because they don't exhibit emotions as clearly as mammals does not mean that they don't experience them. Haha spiders also descend on my head, I just think it's because my hair looks like a nice little place to explore.
I've always noticed that snakes I pick up eventually just accept they've been yoinked. When I look at the reptile trade, people always say snakes don't need enrichment in their enclosures, but I've always felt that was wrong. These animals are curious and have enough sense to know what is going on around them.
Yeah this does seem to happen often, depending on the species and individual I'm working with. I also think captive snakes deserve more complex environments than they are often given. They navigate complex three dimensional spaces in nature, so why not in captivity?
@@TheWildReportOfficial and @jr-wv4qw- I also have to agree on the idea of nrichment... years ago, I spent 4 summers on staff at our local Boy Scout camp. We were responsible for finding (and releasing at the end of camp) all or our animals for the ecology merit badges. Every year, we'd find at least two rat snakes. We'd walk around with them draped over the back of our necks. The snakes- they were busy exploring in our pockets. Yes, they need areas to explore.
On a bright note, once during Family Night, we actually got an ophidiophobe to touch the skin of a rat snake.
Just moved a black rat snake off my deck yesterday with confidence and without harming or scaring the snake. Thanks for all the informative videos Ben!!
Bravo 👍
So glad to hear that. Thanks for the support!
One of my favorite snakes to find when I'm in their range. Common, but still an iconic snake.
For sure, I'm lucky to have always lived within their range!
My dog alerted me to a big fella in the yard earlier. He coiled up on me but a few minutes of me standing there he seemed to relax enough for me to pick him up. Was able to relocate him back to the woods and into a tree where he went on about his business. They are great to have around.
Had my first hands on encounter with an adult rat snake yesterday. 4' at least. Such a wonderful experience and a great, docile animal
That's awesome, they are such wonderful snakes to work with!
Ben my Uncle had Cabin on Mobile River and he had a Huge Black Snake that lived under the pilings and he kept the mice and rats out of the Cabin My Uncle Toby loved that Snake he was like a pet and gave me apperaction for the Black Rat Snake ❤. But my favorite is Green Snake. Thanks for another Great Video Ben 😉👍❤️
They do love to live in/around/under structures that mice frequent. I think it's such convenient free pest control! Green snakes are absolutely adorable, I can see why they are your favorites. Thanks for watching, Walter!
and don't forget, bubonic plague is spread by fleas infected from rats... no rats, no plague, more or less. BEAUTIFUL snake you found!
Yep, snakes are working hard to keep us healthy. It was a beautiful individual for sure!
@@TheWildReportOfficial rat snakes are my favorite anyway, so I'm extremely biased.
Great video! I absolutely love rat snakes! I always appreciate how chill they are. These guys are truly a special gift!
Thank you! Yeah these are by far the chillest 'big snake' in NC that I've worked with.
Great video, Ben! It's so interesting when a wild animal that surely had to dodge a lot of predators in its life to get that big, will respond calmly to gentle handling. Remarkable!
Thanks Joy! It is amazing that they are able to stay alive and reach such impressive sizes, it's a harsh world out there for a snake.
Absolutely lovely Ben to see these beautiful & gentle creatures & your loving interaction with them. Hopefully we'll get to see Big Bertha - the Queen of black rat snakes, this summer! Blessings to you.
Thanks so much for the kind words, they are such sweet snakes! I'd also love to find Bertha again, we shall see.
I love adult black rat snakes. Now, baby black rat snakes are a bit less friendly and tend to freak out when encountered. At least in my experience.
Agreed, I think by the time they get big they are better at knowing what is a threat and what might not be.
Love your videos and all the local nc knowledge. Really helped me with my snake encounters
I'm so glad to hear that, NC is an amazing snake for herpetology!
I'm that guy from the coffee shop! Awesome video, man. I love learning about animals.
Thanks for the feedback, it was great to meet you!
Thank you for this! I just found my first black rat snake the other week and honestly had no idea how to handle so as soon as I touched it, it slithered off quickly😂 (it was my first attempt ever picking up a snake). Would love to see a video in general on herping tips sometime🙏🏻 love your content man
Glad it provided some timely help! I'll have to work on a general herping video, that would be a good episode I think. Thanks for the support!
The black rat snake is my personal favorite snake here in Pennsylvania as well 😊
The rough green and smooth green 🐍 are tied for second!
Followed ever so closely by the Eastern Milk Snake 😊
Thanks for sharing this Ben
That's a very solid tier list, hard to argue with such a stellar lineup! The top of my list is some combination of copperhead, mud, rat snake, and eastern king, but I can never decide on the exact order.
@@TheWildReportOfficial love king snakes.. always wanted one ever since I was a child!
Closest thing we have to them in Pennsylvania is the milk snake.
The California King Snake is my favorite of all snakes!
I'm not a fan of venomous snakes.. but boy boy are they beautiful ❤️
Great channel. My son loves it. Subbed
Thanks so much for the subscription!
I actually just hatched 8 eggs from my captive produced eastern black rat snakes. Funny enough the male is a North Carolina locality. The female is a Maryland locale. The babies I expected to be flighty and nippy like most ratsnakes but they actually handle very nicely and will make for wonderful pets or educational animals!
Some individuals are like that, I'd say it's like a 1/10 chance they are super nippy.
Cool video! Keep it up!
Thank you!
Ring necks are so cute!!!!!
My family hasn’t stopped fearing snakes unfortunately. But she also grew up in Taiwan where 90 percent of the snakes were not only venomous but highly dangerous. That’s Taiwan. My mom just doesn’t like snakes unfortunately and also sides with their prey. There was one time when I was a kid and there was a baby rabbit in our garden. The black rat was prowling around and my mom insisted on killing the snake.
Ringnecks really are adorable. That's unfortunate, but hopefully she can overcome her fear by becoming more familiar with nonvenomous snakes!
Your Awesome Dog! Ihave a BRS that comes & goes from my basement through the Cat door & Its Welcome to do so! Thanks for Your Knowledge🤪
Thank you! Sounds like you've made a good friend.
I live in SW Ohio and invariably get black rat snakes from time to time in the summer. Down the hill from my townhouse is a small creek where they probably come from. The ones I’ve seen are easily 5 feet long. I like to see snakes (behind glass!) so they startle me and my heebie jeebies kick in. lol!!
Neat, rat snakes definitely seem to appreciate proximity to a water source. It's amazing how such a large snake can appear so unexpectedly!
I had one that lived around my house in TN. and it never bothered us so we just left it alone. But, we found one on the living room of an empty rental house the other day. I picked him up so I could take him out in the grass, but I scared it and it bit the shit out of my hand several time's 😮 on a scale of 1 to 10 the bite was a -2😂 It got me a few times, until I could get him to the grass. I hate that I scared it 😢 now maybe next time I can do better. 😕 Thank's for this video❤
Black snakes are cool. I'm too far west to see them anymore, but when family members back in East Tennessee see them, they tell me about them.
Yeah these are awesome, super chill snakes!
I wanna touch a rosey boa snake!!!! 😮 just learned about em 🐍 🐍 🐍
Those are so cool, I'd love to see one in the wild some day!
I was raised around snakes and in an early part of my life worked in surveying which I was knees deep in snakes. I came to see each breed
has a main character trait. As some of the most poison were very docile and far from aggressive. Such as the very intelligent Cotton Mouth.
And many snakes like the Corn Snake were just so easy to handle. But I found that the grumpy Black Snake, racer or rat..will not stop Biting!!!
I love how different species have different personalities...yep, when they are grumpy they are sometimes extremely difficult to calm down and I often just let them go.
How large would you say that the rat snakes home range would be?
It depends on the snake, the average seems to be around 10ha based on movement ecology studies like this one:
www.jstor.org/stable/3809084
Not Big Bertha but a fantastic snake nonetheless. I enjoy the "What's That Species?" challenge. To me, the next one looks like a Cottonmouth or a well fed Nerodia.
It really was an amazing snake to work with! Oh great guesses, we'll find out soon!
❤️❤️❤️
i live in Salisbury (Rowan county) North Carolina... found a snake skin that has to be 6 feet long unfer my house... i feel like it's a black rat snake... I'm going to leave it alone and let it do it's job even though my family wanted me to find it and get rid of it
I'm from Salisbury! Sounds likely to be a rat snake.
@TheWildReportOfficial no way you're from salisbury? i live by the flea market on Webb road and study animals just like you
I need this channel. I have tried to have a healthy attitude and not overreact to snakes.
Mixed bag though
I held a baby cooper in my hand and everyone was screaming at me to put it down 😂 (I’m originally from the uk where we NEVER see any). Then I was trying to escort a northern racer out of a swimming area and ended up killing it because it kept leaping at me and I wasn’t confident enough to think of something else.
I’m a teacher, and I’d like to work with knowledge and not ignorance 😂
I discovered a black rat well over 6 ft-happy to send you the vid. Pretty exciting, and I’d like to make friends with it if I can just get calmer.
ua-cam.com/users/shortsIHHJRhrSNyo?feature=shared
Well I'm happy to be helping with that process! Hmm that video share link didn't work right, can you try sending it again>
@@TheWildReportOfficial ua-cam.com/users/shortsIHHJRhrSNyo?feature=shared
@@TheWildReportOfficial
ua-cam.com/users/shortsIHHJRhrSNyo?feature=shared
@@TheWildReportOfficial if none of the links work, just look at my old man not that exciting channels, and it s one of the more recent vids …’well fed black rat snake’ is the title ☮️
I had a rat snake come in and kill my bird now the snake is my new pet
Oof, sorry about your bird but I guess congrats on the new pet?
@@TheWildReportOfficial thanks. And your video has helped me with my snake