Great Plains Rat Snake
(Elaphe emoryi)

I went to clean out the pool skimmer today and found this little guy. He was about 36 inches long and very docile. When I was carrying him around in the bucket, Home Depot issue if you couldn’t tell, he became a little agitated and started rattling his tail and opening his mouth very wide. Although he has no rattles on his tail, he is able to vibrate it quickly enough to make the sound.

After photographing him and showing him to family and neighbors, my daughter and I dropped him off at a local pond. The University of Texas has information in their Herps of Texas - Snakes area.