Six Foot Ratsnake

Eastern Ratsnake, Oglethorpe County, Georgia

© Photographer: William Wise | iNat observation: 53845509
A frantic friend called me with a “giant rattlesnake” in his yard. Knowing it probably wasn’t a rattlesnake, I kept making excuses to not drive out to his Oglethorpe County home. But he kept insisting, “it will be worth your while.”

On arrival it was, of course, gone from the spot where he first spotted it. After about 5 minutes of flipping logs, my friend saw it over in a nearby brush pile. I love the yells of excitement and fear heard on the video as I pulled this big Eastern Ratsnake out from the debris and onto the open ground!

I measured it right at six-feet; probably one of the biggest I’ve caught. It had a squirrel-sized lump in its belly. My friend counted all his chickens and none were missing.