Rat Snake
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Rat (Chicken) Snake in Wood Duck box.Not 1 but 3 Rat Snakes inside this box, eating duck eggs.I captured 2 of the snakes and put them in a cage for a few days. This one is inspecting a unhatched duck egg that I found when cleaning out duck boxes.He immediately began to swallow it.This series of images was taken in a 12-minute time frame.It was at this point that I heard the egg being crushed and the "lump" disappeared.Efficient predators they are. While we hate for them to eat the eggs of our beloved birds, they also eat untold amounts of rodents. Rat snakes are very beneficial to man in this respect.
Other Snakes
Mississippi Green Watersnake (also known as Western Green Watersnake). Western and Eastern Green Watersnakes have scales under their eye, above the lip scales.Mississippi Green Watersnakes are a swamp dweller, feeding on many species of fish and amphibians.Blackmask Racer. One of 8 sub-species or racer throughout the Southeast, the blackmask can be found near the Mississippi River drainage.Blackmask racers have a wide range of prey, including small rodents, birds, frogs, lizards, and bird and reptile eggs. They will even consume other snakes, including other racers, copperheads and pigmy rattlesnakes. Blackmask Racer. Note the black eye stripe that gives this species its common name. Racers are visual hunters, and often can be seen moving along with their head held high, searching for prey.