Find the egg

This is an eastern rat snake. A large adult one can reach about 7 feet long. This one is close to 4 feet long. The eastern rat snake is a skinny snake that can get into holes where rats go. Rats and mice are a major component of its diet.

Have you found the egg yet? It's inside the snake about halfway back. This snake has very carefully and slowly swallowed a chicken egg. Bird eggs are also on the menu of the eastern rat snake.

Most farmers are pleased to see the rat snake in and around their barns and out sheds. The snake is security against mice and rat populations that can grow quickly and damage stored grain.