ratsnake
Nonvenomous barn hunter
A ratsnake is a nonvenomous constrictor found throughout North America, named for its diet of rodents.
Ratsnakes are common around farms and rural buildings where rats and mice congregate.
They kill by squeezing prey rather than biting, making them harmless to humans and beneficial for pest control.
Also spelled rat snake.
Glide smoothly, sinuously
- glideMove with effortless continuity
- undulateMove in waves
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
- sinuousCurving in flowing turns
wriggle · coil · locomotion · flexible · muscular · crawl · climbing · agile
Causing no injury
- nonvenomousProducing no poison
- pest-controlManaging unwanted organisms
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
- balanceSteadiness or amount owed
beneficial · coexistence · tolerated · protected · wildlife · vermin · mice
Plates or weighing devices
- cold-bloodedUnfeeling or externally heated
- ectothermicTemperature set by surroundings
- serpentCunning, limbless reptile
- squamataScaled reptile order
herpetology · terrarium · shedding · forked-tongue · reptilian · vertebrate · elongate · limbless
Snake killing by compression
- ambushSurprise strike from concealment
- huntPursuit of quarry
- preyAnimal being hunted
- squeezeFirm bilateral compression
capture · stalker · lurk · forage · swallow · strike · coil · muscle
Recurring arrangement or template
- blotchedMarked with irregular spots
- stripedHaving contrasting bands
- bandedHaving encircling marks
- colorationSurface hue arrangement
camouflage · mimicry · countershading · melanistic · glossy · slender · keeled · yellow
slither
Glide smoothly, sinuously
- glideMove with effortless continuity
- undulateMove in waves
- serpentineCurving in repeated bends
sinuous · wriggle · coil · locomotion · flexible · muscular · crawl · climbing · agile · fluid
harmless
Causing no injury
- nonvenomousProducing no poison
- pest-controlManaging unwanted organisms
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
balance · beneficial · coexistence · tolerated · protected · wildlife · vermin · mice
scales
Plates or weighing devices
- cold-bloodedUnfeeling or externally heated
- ectothermicTemperature set by surroundings
- serpentCunning, limbless reptile
squamata · herpetology · terrarium · shedding · forked-tongue · reptilian · vertebrate · elongate · limbless · slender
constrictor
Snake killing by compression
squeeze · capture · stalker · lurk · forage · swallow · strike · coil · muscle · nocturnal
pattern
Recurring arrangement or template
coloration · camouflage · mimicry · countershading · melanistic · glossy · slender · keeled · yellow · black
terrarium
Glass-walled growing enclosure
enclosure · breeding · morphs · docile · handleable · herpetology · keeper · vivarium · substrate
woodland
Forested land area
thicket · grassland · rocky · burrow · hollow · arboreal · terrestrial · hiding · refuge · den