Is the western ratsnake venomous?

The western ratsnake is harmless. Harmless and valuable as a rodent predator. Non-venomous.

How do you identify a western ratsnake?

Large and long, commonly over four feet, with a squared-off body cross-section. Blotched pattern in southern animals, near black in northern ones, always with a pale chin.

Where do western ratsnakes live?

They are found in 15 US states, in habitats including woods, farmland, suburban and indoors.

Western Ratsnake

Harmless

Pantherophis obsoletus · also called black rat snake, Texas rat snake, chicken snake

The western ratsnake is the same ecological animal as its eastern cousin across the Mississippi drainage and Texas, and it is just as good a climber and just as often found in barns and attics. Texas populations are strikingly different in colour from the near-black northern ones, which causes plenty of confusion.

Venom: Harmless and valuable as a rodent predator. Non-venomous.
Adult length: 42–72 inches (107–183 cm)
Markings: Highly variable. Northern animals are near black; Texas animals are tan or yellowish with dark brown blotches and often an orange wash between the scales. Juveniles everywhere are grey with dark blotches.
Habitat: woods, farmland, suburban, indoors
Family: colubrid
Range: 15 US states

How to identify a western ratsnake

Large and long, commonly over four feet, with a squared-off body cross-section.
Blotched pattern in southern animals, near black in northern ones, always with a pale chin.
Climbs vertical tree trunks and brick walls with ease.
Rattles its tail in leaf litter when alarmed.

What it does when it sees you

Slow-moving and often stands its ground with an S-coil and open mouth. Bluff, not threat. Musks heavily when picked up.

What the western ratsnake is confused with

One test settles each of these.

Western diamondback rattlesnake →

Ratsnakes have no rattle and a slender tapering tail, and they climb — rattlesnakes largely do not.

Gopher snake / bullsnake →

Bullsnakes have a pointed snout with an enlarged nose scale and a much louder hiss.

Where it lives

Alabama Arkansas Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi Missouri Nebraska Oklahoma Tennessee Texas Wisconsin

Before anything else

Back away and leave it alone. A snake that can see you leaving has no reason to bite. Most bites in the United States happen to people who picked up, cornered, or tried to kill a snake.
Never handle a snake to identify it. Every identification on this site can be made from a photo or from several feet away.
If someone is bitten, call emergency services now. Keep the limb still and below the heart, remove rings and watches, and go to hospital. Do not cut, suck, apply ice, or use a tourniquet — all of these make outcomes worse.
Do not try to catch the snake for identification. A photo from a distance is enough, and hospitals treat symptoms rather than species.

In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.

Not sure it was a western ratsnake? Identify it step by step →