Gray Ratsnake
Identification
Of the 638 verified snake records in Williamson County, 201 are this animal. Before you look at a snake here, the odds are already a coin flip that it is a ratsnake.
Learn the cross-section, not the color. A ratsnake in profile is loaf-shaped: flat sides, a ridged back, matte scales. A racer is round and satin. The loaf is why a ratsnake can walk up the corner of a house and a racer cannot.
Where to expect it.
Every part of the county, from an alley off Main Street to the Harpeth bluffs.
Active Season
Charted from this species’ own research-grade records inside Williamson County.
What it gets mistaken for.
The juvenile is the single most misidentified snake in Middle Tennessee. A blotched gray body reads as "copperhead" to almost everyone who sees one.
Read the waist of the marking. A copperhead's crossbands are widest along the sides and pinch to a narrow waist over the spine. A juvenile ratsnake's blotches are widest over the spine and stop short of the belly. A copperhead's head is unmarked copper; a young ratsnake has a dark line running through the eye.
Both go black with age. The racer is round in section, smooth and satin, with a white chin. The ratsnake is loaf-shaped, keeled and matte.
A kingsnake's white is speckles on top of black scales. A ratsnake's white is skin showing between scales, so it only appears when the snake is stretched out or has just eaten.
When you meet one.
It freezes first. Then it vibrates its tail against dry leaves, which sounds enough like a rattle to end several ratsnakes a year. Then, if you pick it up, it musks you.
Leave it.
A resident ratsnake is the cheapest rodent control available and it will not tolerate a second one on the same ground.
Open the door and wait.
It came in after mice. Give it a clear exit, leave the space alone for an hour, then fix the gap it used.
Follow the mice.
A ratsnake in a soffit is a symptom. Seal the roofline and remove the food supply and the snake leaves on its own.
Expect musk.
It will bite and it will smear a foul musk on you. Neither is dangerous. Wash the bite with soap and water like any other scratch.
Pack it. Print it. Pass it on.
Most snakes killed in Williamson County are killed by someone who could not name them. Send this to anyone who gardens, hikes, keeps a woodpile, walks a dog off the greenway, or has a teenager who reaches into things. That is most of the county.
Sources
Medical disclaimer. This field guide is general educational information, not medical advice, and is no substitute for professional diagnosis or treatment. Any bite from a copperhead or a timber rattlesnake is a medical emergency: go to an emergency department, and call the Tennessee Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222 on the way. In an emergency, call 911. Identification disclaimer. No photograph identifies a snake with certainty, and this guide will not make anyone a herpetologist. When the answer matters, keep your distance and send a photograph to someone who does this for a living.