GO BABY GO! This feisty little ripper is a very young yellow rat snake. Hatchlings are light gray with darker gray square patterns across the back. This contrast helps to break up the outline of the animal so birds don’t see the shape of a snake when they look down at it from above. As the snake matures the squares will fade into stripes of yellow and light brown and some orange tinting. As the snake gets larger it can defend itself quite well so it doesn’t need to hide itself anymore. Very much like a bland caterpillar that gets those brilliant bright hues as an adult butterfly, the yellow rat snake too comes from a humble beginning. Fun fact about rat snakes, since their diet has such variety, their life expectancy far exceeds that of most other snakes