[Fairchild #17]

I ran across a big rat snake on a little turkey scouting trip. About 5.5’ long but thick and heavy.
When I let it go it rattled its tail in the dry leaves and if I didn’t know better I would have thought there was a rattle snake close. I’ll have to see if I can link a video of it. Really neat to hear.

 

[Fairchild #17]

New video by Fairchild

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Wainzoid]

I had one stretched across my lane this afternoon when I came home. The boy jumped out and moved it off the lane, and it did the same thing, rattled the leaves. Kinda caught the boy off guard, he had never heard/Seen that before. It did it while it was coiled up.

 

[crow bait]

Years ago I was walking in a horse pasture with an old horse rancher checking his stock, passed a bush and heard the buzzing rattle coming from under a scrubby bush

I grabbed his arm and pulled him away, he was hard of hearing. He grabbed a stick and poked around under the bush and it was a black snake with it's tail in a dried curled up oak leaf, made that perfect familiar buzzing sound.

 

[weemannn]

That's a bigun only seen one or two that big,years ago most people killed them didn't realize their value or were scared, im sure they take a poult now and then.

 

[bpottorff]

I have a few around the house, I wish I had more, good for eating mice in the out buildings. As for rattlers or copper heads, I do not need any of them, around the house.

 

[crow bait]

That's a bigun only seen one or two that big,years ago most people killed them didn't realize their value or were scared, im sure they take a poult now and then.

They're egg eaters

 

[mfuff]

New video by Fairchild

photos.app.goo.gl

Super cool vid!

 

[bpottorff]

They eat a few chicken eggs, sometimes when we see them you can see a round lump in them that is an egg. Last week one was in my layer building. I would never harm one, as they eat the mice. As long as they are not venomous they can live in or around my buildings. If a rattle snake or copperhead would come around the house it would be killed. I heard that these other big snakes keep copper heads away, hope it is true.

 

[Fairchild #17]

Being large constrictors they have the ability to kill other large snakes. I’m not sure how often rat snakes kill copperheads or rattlesnakes, but king snakes are known to do it as well.
Rattlesnakes, copperheads, rat snakes, and garter snakes will often den together over the winter so it’s funny to think about them eating each other other times of the year. But you know what they say about a snake.

 

[weemannn]

They're egg eaters

Yes I know also eat polts I don't know whether it's better to wack them or not some people say they do more good than harm.

 

[Fairchild #17]

My kids found a whole nest of turkey killers in my woodpile.

 

[bpottorff]

My kids found a whole nest of turkey killers in my woodpile.

Those killers are worse than rats.