Black Rat Snake Skin Looks Different: How To Identify Its Shed In Your Yard

Spotting a snake skin in your yard can be a nerve-wracking experience when you're on your knees pulling weeds or tidying up a flower bed. Even if you're passionate about wildlife gardening, you may suddenly find yourself wondering whether a snake was just passing through or is waiting for an opportunity to slither right into that stack of stuff piled up in the garage. The good news is that finding shed skin doesn't necessarily mean you have a serious snake problem. If you spot a skin that's between 3.5 and 7 feet long, with a round head larger than its slender body, and squarish scales with slightly raised ridges, you can be confident that a black rat snake has left it behind.

All snakes go through ecdysis, the biological process of shedding the entire outer layer of skin at the same time. This allows snakes to grow, heal from injuries, and get rid of external parasites. As a black rat snake, or any other species, wiggles its way out, the skin turns itself inside out and stretches considerably. That should give anyone who's scared of snakes at least a little peace of mind since spotting a large skin doesn't necessarily mean you've got a giant new resident hiding in your lawn. In fact, because they are excellent climbers, you may be more likely to find a black rat snake skin near the trees in your backyard than in open grassland or bushy spots, which is where garter and gopher snakes tend to leave their exoskeletons behind.

Understanding a black rat snake's preferred habitat isn't the only way you can identify a shed skin in your yard. The texture of the scales is also a telltale trait. For instance, a black rat snake skin has weakly keeled ridges that feel much smoother than the rough edges of a garter snake or gopher snake. The size of the shed is also an important clue. Black rat snake sheds can be several feet long, much longer than that of a garter snake.

Although there's no hard and fast rule that applies to all snakes, there are certain characteristics that can help you distinguish between a black rat snake skin and venomous visitors. For example, it's easy to identify shed copperhead snake skins in your yard thanks to their unique markings. Spotting a fully intact skin can also provide a clue, since copperheads have a triangular head shape compared to the rounded snout of the black rat snake. And the good news is that black rat snakes aren't venomous like the copperhead, so having one in your yard isn't something to fear. With more than 5,000 known snake species around the world, identifying a shed snake skin is part art, part science.