A slim, climbing colubrid endemic to Japan, widely encountered around traditional wooden houses where it hunts rats and roosting birds.
Description
The Japanese rat snake is a slim olive-green to bluish-grey colubrid commonly reaching about 1.8 m, with four narrow dark stripes running along the back and a paler creamy belly. The head is small and round-eyed, and the species can be remarkably blue in some populations.
Behavior
Excellent climbers, Japanese rat snakes scale wood beams and rough trunks in search of rats and sparrows. They are non-venomous constrictors and are tolerated, even encouraged, around traditional farmhouses for rodent control. The albino form is considered sacred in some local traditions in Iwakuni.
Range
Endemic to Japan, where it is found across Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and several smaller islands but absent from Hokkaido. The famous all-white Iwakuni albino population is a culturally protected genetic colour morph.
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Japanese Rat Snake starts with J and ends with E. Browse other snakes along the same letter.
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