Name this snake!

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?

http://i37.tinypic.com/p96k0.jpg

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

Definitely a black rat.

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

awesome snake id name him angus...black angus

Thanks for the replies guys ^^

I like in Missouri, near the Kansas boarder.
I gave him a 'test pink' yesterday and he snapped it right up. I have a feeling this guy was once someones pet...he's almost to calm not to be.

The last rat snake I saw was up in North Dakota at PetCo, a stunning gray.
I was going to get him...until he bit me.
At which point, I decided I had enough snakes that bite me, he can go to someone else :P

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Originally Posted by Ophiuchus

Definitely a black rat.

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Yup, it looks pretty darn cool though.

OK I checked out the laws in Missouri. After not finding a web site, I found a number for a wildlife agent in Missouri who was a little surprised I found his number. He asked not to post his number because he was not the person to contact, but explained the law to me non the less. As long as it is not a game species, which amphibians and reptiles are not, you may keep up to 5 reptiles and amphibians that are native species. Exm 5 snakes or 5 amphibians or a combination of reptiles and amphibians totaling five. You can have more reptile and/or amphibians than 5, but can only posses 5 native species. They cannot be sold, given away or bartered. Venemous snakes require a permit according to him, though it was unclear to me if this varied by location.

If you decide you no longer want the reptile or amphibian you are to release it back into the wild. If you do this, make sure to do so as to allow plenty of time to hibernate, and release them where they were caught. This is my rule of thumb, not what the wildlife conservationists told me, as I did not ask this question.

While he does not want his name or number given out and could not figure out how I procured either, he did provide me a number and website you can refer to. The state conservation number is 573-751-4115 and their website is www.missouriconservation.org.

I never had trouble with any of the black snakes I owned as far as feeding, and most would calm down with time. I have been bitten numerous times by both the ones I kept, and from ones in the wild. My biggest one was about 7 feet, I caught him in the mountains and he stretch across a good portion of the road. He gave me a few nasty bites and never calmed down. As summer wound down he was taken back to the exact spot I caught him and released. Good luck with your snake.