Illegal to harass, kill, collect or possess. Our largest snake, the black rat snake can reach a length of eight feet, but is usually much smaller. The adult snake is black with a white or creamy yellow chin and throat. In contrast to the black racer, the belly of a rat snake is a mixture of light and dark, giving a somewhat mottled appearance.
Light areas are often apparent between scales, and the scales on the back are weakly keeled .
A juvenile rat snake is gray with light spots running down the middle of the back, and has white eyes. This pattern darkens with age and is generally undetectable once the snake reaches a length of three feet. Mating generally takes place in the spring, with 10-14 eggs laid in June or July. Eggs deposited beneath rocks or in manure piles, rotting vegetation, stumps or logs generally hatch in August and September. Exceedingly rare in Massachusetts, black rat snakes have been found only in the Connecticut Valley and southern Worcester County, where they occupy rocky ledges and forested hillsides.