Click on any image to open the slideshow
Pantherophis spiloides (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Gray Rat Snake
White Oak Snake
Synonym(s): Elaphe obsoleta subsp. spiloides (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
Florida native
A common snake of many panhandle habitats extending eastward to between the Apalachicola River and the Suwannee River (reference sources vary). The range extends west to the Mississippi River and north into Wisconsin & Michigan.
From the Big Bend area of Florida to the Osceola National Forest - much of the Suwannee River drainage - P. spiloides easily hybridizes with the eastern, or yellow, rat snake, P. alleghaniensis to form what is sometimes called the Gulf Hammock Rat Snake. The snake pictured here was seen in this area, and could be a hybrid, although this one does show characteristics typical of the Gray Rat Snake.
Average adult size is from one to two meters (~ 1-2 yards) and both juveniles and adults are gray with dark blotches. The belly is sandy gray with dark square blotches. Scales are weakly keeled.
Habitats include pinelands, hardwood hammocks, cypress strands, swamps, marshes, prairies, farmland and residential areas.
Pantherophis spiloides is a member of the Colubridae - Colubrids - nonvenomous snakes family.
Other species of the Pantherophis genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Pantherophis guttatus - CORN SNAKE
iNaturalist profile for this species
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Florida Museum of Natural History Herpetology page for this species
Date record last modified: Jul 14, 2024
