Name this snake!

[MonitorLove]

This beautiful, docile little dude fell out of the ceiling yesterday in a house we're remolding. He's healthy, non aggressive. Black with faint markings throughout. Yellowish belly specked with black.

Picture quality isn't the greatest, my brother snapped it with his camera phone. Can anyone identify him?

[Mindibun]

Not sure where you're located but it looks to be a black rat snake. They're pretty common in most parts of the U.S. I'm definitely not an expert, though.

I hope you let him go back out into the wild if they're native there.

[FloridaHogs]

Yup, need your location to give you any ID, but my first thought was rat as well.

[RoyalGuardian]

It looks alot like a black rat snake! I have no clue but thats what I think.

[anendeloflorien]

Huh yeah it does look like a black rat. Do you plan on keeping it? Have you kept colubrids before? Very nice looking snake but just know that a w/c snake sometimes has issues adapting to captivity. If he/she refuses to eat or otherwise adapt to captivity I would suggest releasing it near the area where you found him.

[ohyeahnow]

When I was a kid I used to catch a lot of black rat snakes. If you ever saw a juvenile, it would look nothing like the adult. As a black rat snakes grows it loses the juvenile coloration and turns mostly black on it's top side. Adults sometimes maintain faint markings from their juvenile colorations. Looking at the picture, and hearing your discription, it sounds like you have found a black rat snake.

Living in the country, I have seen in them in trees, in barn rafters ect. I once had one fall out of tree by the front poarch. Do a google image search and you might be able to get a better idea, as you can fully few the snake in question. The black rat snake leaves a huge geographical footprint. What state are you in? I would guess the black rat snake is found in your area judging by the picture.

[Brandon Osborne]

100% Black rat. As ohyeahnow said, they are found in quite an extensive range, as well as habitat. If you can work with it, I'm sure it will calm down with time. I've never had a problem getting adults to feed.....rats, mice, eggs, birds, chicks, small rabbits. They are very hardy animals. Be sure to check your state regulations. They are illegal to keep in some states. Good luck.

[Ophiuchus]

Definitely a black rat.

[mcbrayerreptiles]

Elaphe Obsoleta....I love black rat snakes!!! they are awesome!! Nice find

[Thor26]

awesome snake id name him angus...black angus