Large Black Rat Snake Invades Farmington Home [VIDEO]

FARMINGTON, CT — A teenager captured a frightening video at her Farmington home Monday afternoon, submitted to Patch by homeowner Linda Bertolette, showing a large black rat snake making its way into a second-story gutter and eventually under the roof.

Bertolette said the incident took place around 4:30 p.m., as the snake climbed up a 2-story portico and then went under the roof. She said the roof area where the reptile disappeared is where an attic for mechanicals exists.

"We're concerned it may have made a home," she said.

Based on the video, an exterminator estimated the snake to be around 7 feet long.

Black rat snakes live in fields, woodlands, farmlands and around suburban communities from Connecticut to South Carolina and west to the middle of Kansas and Oklahoma. They are excellent swimmers and climbers, and will use these skills to catch a variety of food, from bird eggs to frogs. They are constrictor snakes who use their body to suffocate their prey, according to information from the National Wildlife Federation.

(Courtesy of Linda Bertolette)