R. K. Cook's video: Juvenile Allegheny Rat Snake Crawling On Brick Wall

HANK WILDING'S JOURNAL: I spotted this handsome snake crawling upon the brick wall of my house last June (2016). Judging by the tremendous bulge in his belly, he had just enjoyed a big meal — hopefully not one of my precious Broadhead Skinks, which call the river rock wall surrounding my moonflower bed home. But what kind of snake was he? I thought it might be a juvenile Gray Rat Snake, but I wanted to be sure before posting this video. So, I turned to the Grand Poobah of Reptiles & Amphibians, John Jensen, herpetologist and senior wildlife biologist with the Georgia DNR. Here's what John wrote to me in an email: "Those [Rat Snakes] that would occur in Henry County typically become solid black as adults and previously were recognized as the subspecies commonly known as a Black Rat Snake. Juveniles look like juveniles AND adults of the subspecies previously commonly recognized as Gray Rat Snake. Molecular work has revealed that there are two full species in Georgia, no subspecies in either, and cannot be identified by color or pattern, but only by DNA and geographic range, although the contact zones for the latter are very fuzzy for what we know at this time. The split between the Allegheny Rat Snake to the east and the Gray Rat Snake (even though they can also be black) to west approximates the Chattahoochee River in GA. Therefore, your snake is a juvenile Allegheny Rat Snake (Pantherophis allegheniensis). Simple, right?" Simple for you, Mr. Jensen. Hard for me!