---
title: "Japanese Ratsnake"
description: "Elaphe climacophora — Rettili. The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium-sized colubrid snake found throughout the Japanese archipelago (except the far South West) as well as on the Russian-administered Kunashir Island."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/japanese-ratsnake
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Japanese Ratsnake

> Elaphe climacophora — Rettili. The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium-sized colubrid snake found throughout the Japanese archipelago (except the far South West) as well as on the Russian-administered Kunashir Island.

- Scientific name: *Elaphe climacophora*
- Category: `reptiles` (Rettili)
- Habitats: `forest` (Foresta)
- iNaturalist observations: 1718
- Wikidata: [Q2562020](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2562020)
- iNaturalist taxon: [68339](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/68339)

## Names

- en: Japanese Ratsnake
- de: Insel-Kletternatter
- nl: Japanese Rat Snake
- pl: Połoz japoński

## Countries with the most observations

JP (1545), RU (73)

## Summary

The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a medium-sized colubrid snake found throughout the Japanese archipelago (except the far South West) as well as on the Russian-administered Kunashir Island. In Japanese it is known as the aodaishō or "blue general".  It is non-venomous and is hunted by eagles and tanukis.
The snakes brumate for three to four months, mate in spring and lay 7–20 eggs in early summer.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_rat_snake

## Photo

![Japanese Ratsnake](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/japanese-ratsnake/medium.jpg)

Photo: Kōsuke Onoda · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/114115058

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/japanese-ratsnake?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).