A Jeff Davis crawfish farmer has posted a video to social media of a huge snake that he spied climbing from tree to tree. That's right, the snake was in one tree and it slithered from one branch to another and then into an entirely different tree.

Kalob Deaton via Facebook
Kalob Deaton via Facebook
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That's a screengrab from a video posted by Facebook user Kalob Deaton.

Deaton spoke with KPLC Television about his encounter with the reptile. He said he saw the creature emerge from one of his crawfish ponds and climb up a tree. Deaton estimated the snake to be about 12 feet long as he told the television station that he noted the reptile's length as it was crossing a road near his ponds.

Kalob Deaton via Facebook
Kalob Deaton via Facebook
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The video that Deaton posted to his Facebook page was posted on Sunday evening. Already it has been shared several thousand times. You can see the video below.

Deaton told KPLC that he believed the snake was a very mature chicken snake. However, the TV station reached out to a representative of Louisiana Snake ID. Kevin Hood, with that organization, told reporter Johnathon Manning of KPLC that the snake was a rat snake.

According to the website, Live Science, rat snakes are very common in South Louisiana. They usually range in size from four to six feet but can grow to be as large as ten feet. The snakes kill their prey by means of constriction. In other words, like a good Cajun Grandma, they're going to "hug you to death".

For the most part, the species is very calm and shy. They won't usually mess with you if you don't mess with them. Although this species of snake has been known to get quite "snappy" if cornered. Oh, and there are several different varieties of rat snakes found in nature.

The snake's usual diet consists of small rodents, hence the name rat snake. But they will also consume lizards, birds, bird eggs, and I wouldn't put it past a snake, such as the one that is seen here, to attempt to take down a squirrel either.

In the Facebook video, we must caution you there is some unsavory language, so if that offends you, you might not want to watch or at least have the sound turned down if you're going to watch this at work or around children.

If you do listen to the video, which is embedded from Facebook below, you will hear one of the voices refer to "Darrell". Well, Darrell is the name that Deaton and his friends have given their overly large reptilian friend.

I'd have to admit, I'd be overly cautious from now on anytime I went to those particular crawfish ponds. I wouldn't want to disturb "Darrell". But more importantly, I wouldn't want "Darrell" dropping in on me unexpectedly like one of those fishing blooper videos.

I guess that's just something that's going to happen when we humans attempt to turn the snake's world into our world. I am just glad we can live in harmony. I am also glad that "Darrell" lives over in Jeff Davis Parish which should give me, a slow-moving old guy, plenty of time to stay out of his way.

Oh and about those other snakes you might encounter during your treks in the great outdoors of Louisiana.

Venomous Snakes in Louisiana

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