Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Pantherophis quadrivittata quadrivittata
Yellow Rat Snake

Jasper Co., South Carolina
March 12, 1999

We saw a number of  'Greenish' Rat Snakes on  trips to South Carolina, but this snake was the first we could point to and say "Yellow Rat!", meaning, a yellowish rat snake with clean, well defined dorsolateral lines.  It was close to four feet long and was hiding under a piece of wood near a drainage ditch.

The snake in the bottom right photo was found crossing the highway after an afternoon rainstorm; rat snakes in general seem to be more active after a rain.  These broken-patterned Yellow Rats are quite common in the low country of southeastern South Carolina.

The bottom left photo shows one that  was found under a highway bridge.  Note how the stripes are not very clean, with dark blotches in between them.  The top of the head also has a decidedly jade-colored cast to it as well.  Even so, not an ugly snake, by any means, and a good-sized one to boot!