A friend of my fiancé’s found this guy in his vehicle. I believe it’s a colubrid of sorts but I can’t pinpoint which species. This is the only photo I have, unfortunately. I’m really curious to know so I can tell my fiancé and he can tell his friend. Any help is appreciated, thanks!
That would be a gray rat snake. Highly variable in coloration and likely the same species as the black rat snake/Eastern rat snake, but has yet to be officially lumped in with them despite having no physical differences that I am aware of. The only difference is their colors. They grow to the same lengths and everything too. Given the size I would say it is a male as well. Females in the wild don’t usually get that big.
Edit: Here is a link that has a bunch of pictures of them to show just how variable they are.
https://www.inherpatlas.org/species/pantherophis_spiloides
I agree with @ashleyraeanne on this one. Pretty interesting that it was in the engine bay even though it is warm for the most part this time of year. I know some friends that live in the south and have this problem pretty commonly in the winter with a multitude of small species of animal trying to stay warm.
I was thinking rat snake but with the colors compared to the pictures I was finding it just didn’t make sense but thank you!
I do find it odd that he was in there, we live in southern Indiana. Though this guy lives in northern Kentucky
I forgot to mention that this was taken a few years ago, I skipped over that part of my fiancé’s message thought it was still likely taken during the summertime
In Texas we get that a lot. The times I’ve seen it happen it tends to be a rat snake or a diamond back. Unfortunately because it is so warm they love it.