A wildcaught black rat snake being dispayed by a naturalist in Marietta Ohio:
http://www.mariettatimes.com/photos/news/lg/522703_1.jpg
From this article:
http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/522703.html
Notice it does have a vague pattern (mines was a little bit more vivid, but he wasn't nearly that old).
Point is some will retain their pattern. And MOST (at least born in the wild) are not jet black as adults.
I'm not sure where people get the idea that black rat snakes must be completely black as adults, otherwise they must not be a true black rat snake. I've observed these snakes in the wild for at least 20 years (my dad was a HUGE wildlife/reptile enthusiast, taking me to herpetology meetings as a child even), and only on rare occassions have I seen specimens that don't have any visible pattern whatsoever (and when they defensively puff themselves up it is generally visible somewhat even then).
I also had a 6 ft adult, captured as an adult in central Cincinnati, that someone brought us at some point (found it high up while cutting a tree - it had a belly full of baby birds
. The woman he was working for threatened to kill it if he didn't remove it. ) and it too had a noticable pattern.
Even here in Missouri I have only seen a few that completely lack visible patterns.
http://www.mariettatimes.com/photos/news/lg/522703_1.jpg
From this article:
http://www.mariettatimes.com/page/content.detail/id/522703.html
Notice it does have a vague pattern (mines was a little bit more vivid, but he wasn't nearly that old).
Point is some will retain their pattern. And MOST (at least born in the wild) are not jet black as adults.
I'm not sure where people get the idea that black rat snakes must be completely black as adults, otherwise they must not be a true black rat snake. I've observed these snakes in the wild for at least 20 years (my dad was a HUGE wildlife/reptile enthusiast, taking me to herpetology meetings as a child even), and only on rare occassions have I seen specimens that don't have any visible pattern whatsoever (and when they defensively puff themselves up it is generally visible somewhat even then).
I also had a 6 ft adult, captured as an adult in central Cincinnati, that someone brought us at some point (found it high up while cutting a tree - it had a belly full of baby birds
. The woman he was working for threatened to kill it if he didn't remove it. ) and it too had a noticable pattern.Even here in Missouri I have only seen a few that completely lack visible patterns.
