I have an old storm cellar and I have to duck to not hit my head on the top beams. One day I looked up and here were three of those rat snakes all balled up just looking at me, from about 6 inches away. I still have too many dang rats running around.
As for their climbing ability, I once watched a 5 foot snake climb a tree with the first limb about 4 ft off of the ground. They are amazing climbers.
