The first year I volunteered at the center, Susan Gallagher dubbed me “Jeannie, Jeannie, The Reptile Queenie” because after years of being terrified of snakes I began to appreciate these scaly creatures instead of fearing them.

The more I was around them - cleaning tanks and feeding them - the less frightened of them I became. Soon I was defending them and talking about their importance to anyone who would hold still long enough to hear my spiel.

Recently, we have acquired a few new educational reptiles and one in particular, the White Oaks Gray rat snake, is quickly becoming a favorite.

The gray rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides) is also commonly known as the Central rat snake, the Chicken snake, or the Midland rat snake. This rat snake is one of about 10 species within the American rat snake genus Pantherophis.

The gray rat snake typically reaches an adult size of six feet total length (including tail); however, the record is eight feet in length for a captive snake in a zoo. Unlike other juvenile rat snakes whose patterns fade as they enter adulthood, the gray rat snake does not go through these changes in color or markings. Instead, it retains the juvenile pattern of dark blotches along its back separated by pale gray body scales, a light gray crown with dark striping that forms a solid band, which crosses over at the eyes.

Native to North America, this snake is commonly found in the forests of the Eastern United States. It can be found along the Appalachian Mountains, westward to the Mississippi River, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

All snakes can climb (some climb better than others) and the gray rat snake is an excellent climber. Commonly found along streams and fields, around barns and sheds, and often is found in close proximity to people. I have often heard my boss say that almost any environment where rodents can be found proves a suitable habitat for the snakes. As the name suggests, this is true for the gray rat snake as well. A scent-hunter and a powerful constrictor this snake feeds primarily on small mammals, birds and bird eggs, frogs and lizards. This snake has two roles in the environment: predator and prey. Hawks, owls, foxes, raccoons, and cats are among frequent predators while it is a juvenile, but once into adulthood it has very few enemies other than humans.

When startled, the gray rat snake, like other rat snakes, stops and remains motionless. It will rattle its tail against whatever it is lying on, attempting to make an audible buzzing sound. This sound comes as a warning to back off and leave the snake alone. The gray rat snake will further defend itself by raising its head and bluffing a strike. If the buzzing sound or the bluff do not work, it will produce a foul-smelling musk which usually is enough for the threat to leave the snake alone. And, like all other snakes, if all else fails, it will bite to defend itself.

The female reaches sexual maturity at 4 to 7 years of age and will lay between five and 30 eggs around mid-summer, in a hollow standing or fallen tree, compost and mulch heaps, sawdust piles, and decomposing logs. The young hatch from July through September and are usually just over a foot long at birth, with the distinct gray and black pattern.

Like all other snakes in colder climates, it will hibernate by late October underground or in deep crevices and emerge by mid-April. They may congregate in the same dens with other species of snakes, such as copperheads, timber rattlesnakes, other species of rat snakes and black racers.

I do my best to keep up with scientific names of animals because taxonomists do discover variables in animals’ DNA, but it can get super confusing. I want to be able to give correct information and understand the animal I am talking to folks about.

Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Eastern rat snake) has sometimes been considered a subspecies of Pantherophis obsoletus, (Black rat snake) to which it is closely related.

Here’s where my confusion sets in. The Black rat snake was always referred to as Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta. As more information becomes available, names change.

Pantherophis alleghaniensis is found in the United States east of the Apalachicola River in Florida, east of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, east of the Appalachian Mountains, north to southeastern New York and western Vermont, Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, south to the Keys. In Florida, the Black rat snake readily mates with the gray rat snake (Pantherophis spiloides). This is the same snake that previously had been referred to as Elaphe obsolete spiloides.

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.