The Persian Ratsnake is a small ratsnake from temperate northwestern Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 and near the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...

 area. It is 70 to 90 cm (up to 120 cm) long and usually jet black or grey with white markings along the lateral portion of its forebody; males seem to grow larger than females. E. persica has habits very similar to E. situla, and for many years it was considered a subspecies of E. longissima. It was granted full species status in 1984 (Nilson and Andrew). It is principally regarded as a terrestrial species, spending most of its time in the leaf litter; however, it is also an agile climber and will mount low brush. Its diet, like most colubrids, consists primarily of small mammals but it may also eat other small reptiles and amphibians.

The snake lays a clutch of 4-8 eggs, which hatch after 45–55 days of incubation. A hibernation period of 2–3 months is recommended.