Normally I’m not a fan of this type of morph (pied or paradox, that kind of thing), but something about this particular animal’s coloration is really beautiful.
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Ratsnakes are medium to large slim-bodied constrictors that can be found throughout most of the Northern hemisphere. They feed primarily on rodents and birds and, with some species exceeding 3m (10ft), they can occupy the top levels of some food chains. Many species make attractive and docile pets and one, the Cornsnake, is one of the most popular reptile pets in the world. Other species can be very skittish and sometimes aggressive but bites are seldom serious. As with nearly all colubrids, ratsnakes pose no threat to humans. Ratsnakes were long thought to be completely nonvenomous, but recent studies have shown that some Old World species do possess small amounts of venom (amounts so small as to be negligible to humans).
Previously, most ratsnakes were assigned to the genus Elaphe but many have been since renamed following mitochondrial DNA analysis performed in 2002.
