NEED TO KNOW
A Tennessee family encountered a 5-foot gray rat snake crawling across their car hood while driving
Experts say the nonvenomous snake likely entered the car seeking prey or warmth in the vehicle’s engine bay
Wildlife officials recommend regularly checking for nests and rodents in vehicles to prevent similar incidents
Forget about snakes on a plane; what do you do when a snake emerges from the hood of your car while you’re on the road?
Analissa Hensley and her family were driving along Callis Road near Lebanon, Tenn., when they picked up an unexpected passenger: a large snake that emerged from under the hood and slithered near the windshield as the car moved.
“I’m sitting there like, ‘We have a huge snake on the hood of our car,’ ” Hensley told WKRN. “We were on our way to Mt. Juliet, going to pick up some soccer stuff for my youngest daughter, and we’re just having a conversation and my husband’s like, ‘There’s a snake.'”
Hensley said she could hardly believe the sight. “Am I really seeing this?” she recalled thinking. “So I started recording, and it started working its way over to my side.”
She estimated the snake was about five feet long. The family tried to pull over to the shoulder, but the snake made its move first, rolling off the side of the car.
Mallory Tate, a biologist with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, told WKRN that the markings on the reptile in the clip were consistent with a gray rat snake. “It is a nonvenomous snake that we have in Tennessee,” Tate said. “Pretty common.”
According to Tate, the reptiles typically climb aboard a vehicle in pursuit of a meal. “Most often when we have gray rat snakes, specifically in cars, it’s because prey are using the cars,” she added. “So either a bird has built a nest in there or has started to build a nest — usually a Carolina wren — or there are mice in the car.”
Snakes are known to track their prey by smell. “Snakes are really good at scent detection,” Tate said. “That’s why we find them in our chicken coops, near bird nests, [and] near mice.”
Stock image of a Gray Rat Snake
Credit: Getty
There’s a second draw, too. Snakes are ectothermic and rely on outside heat to regulate their body temperature, so a dark, warm engine bay makes an appealing shelter — and offers plenty of nooks to hide from predators.
Tate said the best way to keep snakes out of your car is by removing what’s drawing the animals in. She recommended checking for bird or mouse nests under the hood, keeping vehicles clean, and parking away from wood piles.
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For all the alarm, Tate also stressed the snake posed no threat. “To me, they’re a good friend to have around,” she explained. “They are nonvenomous. They’re not dangerous to you, your kids, or your pets, or your livestock.”
Mostly, she said, the animals want to be left alone. “It doesn’t want anything to do with you,” Tate said. “Just like most don’t want anything to do with them.”
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