The Houston Zoo is home to a lot of animals, and some of them are often overlooked. This series of blog entries is focused on the animals that you may have missed on your last visit.
The prairie dogs in the Children’s Zoo are popular, especially with kids who love to crawl through the underground tubes to pop up in the middle of the exhibit. On the other side of the cave from those tubes are several small animals from the prairie, including the Great Plains rat snake.
Great Plains Rat Snake in the Children's Zoo
The common name of this snake can tell us a lot about the animal. As the name implies, this snake eats rats and other rodents, which it kills using constriction. When scared, these snakes will rapidly shake the end of their tail in dry leaves or grass, producing a “rattle” sound similar to a rattlesnake. But don’t be fooled by this little trick; like all the rat snakes native to North America, this constrictor has no venom.
The other half of the common name gives us an idea of where the snake is found. They are native to the central and southern Great Plains states, including central and western Texas, and they prefer grasslands or lightly wooded habitats. When they live in an area with high daytime temperatures, they tend to be nocturnal, avoiding the heat of the day in burrows made by other animals.
If you want to see our Great Plains rat snake up close, head from the pelican exhibit into the “cave” behind the prairie dogs and check out the first terrarium exhibit on the right. This snake is usually curled up near or against the glass, making it easy to see the patterns of its skin.
Of course, no animal is guaranteed to be visible on every visit. Even if you know where to look, you might still miss the animal if it is off exhibit or hiding especially well when you visit. There are several terrariums in this area, though, so you will usually see something interesting nearby!