I found what looks like a black rat snake in my yard. Does any one know if it is likely to hurt a rabbit that i have caged outside? The cage is about 3 ft. off the ground and up against the back of my house. Thanks.
I am not sure what a "Rat Snake" is, but we have Black Snakes here in Arkansas, and when we were raising rabbits for meat years ago, I was checking my nest boxes with babies in them one morning. These were built on the side of the cage, and had a lid on the top. They were just at eye level for me, and I opened one lid and peered in. What a scare I had! Inside was a Black Snake among my babies. I dropped the lid down and called my husband to remove the snake. Turned out the snake was 5 1/2 feet long and had already devoured one of the month old babies which was evident by the lump in the snake. So make sure that your cage is "snake-proof". Harlean from Arkansas
I won't say that they "can't" hurt a rabbit, but I can offer personal reassurance that over 25 years of keeping rabbits, I have never had one killed (or even harmed) by a snake of any kind. And rat snakes as well as many other species are prolific in our area. They do eat our eggs and baby chicks/poults/ducklings/guinea keets. But never have they harmed a rabbit!
I think that a grown or even half grown rabbit would not only be FAR too large for a rat snake, but would also put up quite a fuss if the snake even approached. With all that stomping going on, the snake would most likely go elsewhere.
Well I googled "diet of rat snakes" and it said a full adult (maybe 6 feet long) can eat moles, squirrels, birds and mice. It can also climb trees. So if your rabbit is missing you will know where it is hiding.
Login using the form on the top of the page to post feedback (if you are a registered user). If you have not yet registered, click here to do so. It's FREE!.
