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View Full Version : Black Racer arrived!!!


aSnakeLovinBabe
03-21-2008, 07:43 PM
My black racer arrived today. He/she was described as being 3 feet, lol, it's closer to four and if any of you are familiar racers then you know how they are... they're FEISTY! And this snake lives up to the racer standard 100%. I've been doing a lot of research about keeping coluber and as long as all goes well with this guy I actually plan to start keeping mainly snakes such as these... thamnophis, pituophis, coluber and heterodon. I like my snakes to look like they've got something going on upstairs ;)

I am leaning towards female, and possibly, very possibly gravid. i say that because for a racer, it's chunky! haha... I didn't get time to take pictures today, but I will post a pic of an identical one for now! a beautiful, shiny black snake...

http://www.marshall.edu/herp/Snakes/Pics/Racer_3_posing.jpg
adamanteus
03-22-2008, 03:41 AM
I'll look forward to seeing the pictures of your snake, Shannon. It's been a really long time since I had a Black Racer, in fact it's been a really long time since I even saw one!
drache
03-22-2008, 04:06 AM
congrats
racers are beautiful
can't wait to see yours
Sid
03-22-2008, 04:43 AM
Congrats, Shannon. You are right on the Racers they are definately fiesty. I find them here often and when you corner them, they always show their spunk and attitude.
GarterGirl
03-22-2008, 06:24 AM
Can't wait to see the pictures!
anji1971
03-22-2008, 12:59 PM
Congrats!! All black snakes are so beautiful..........can't wait to see pics!
GarterGuy
03-22-2008, 01:26 PM
Very cool Shannon. I've always loved racers, but you really don't see too many of them out there. I love their attitude and like you said, there seems to be something going on upstairs with them. What type of racer did you get? Norther black (C.c.constrictor) or a Southern black (C.c.priapus)? I've always really liked the southerns, love the amount of white on their chins and their pretty red eyes. Here's a pic of a female I found in Tampa last year.

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//528/medium/Southern_Black_Racer_Seminole_Park_FL_05-07_.jpg
iwantacornsnake
03-22-2008, 02:01 PM
wow that snake looks cool wish i had one
aSnakeLovinBabe
03-22-2008, 02:36 PM
yes they are cool, but it takes a lot of experience to successfully keep racers simply because most of them are still WC (no market for them yet) and they are extremely nervous snakes. I've got quite a few fresh bite marks on my hands today because of her :P
Stefan-A
03-22-2008, 02:43 PM
Definitely on my wishlist. :) Especially Coluber constrictor foxii.
Loren
03-22-2008, 10:59 PM
yes they are cool, but it takes a lot of experience to successfully keep racers simply because most of them are still WC (no market for them yet) and they are extremely nervous snakes. I've got quite a few fresh bite marks on my hands today because of her :P

Yes they do like to bite sometimes. I have had my Western Yellowbellied Racer for about 4.5 years now, and he is one of my favorite snakes, but I pretty much just treat him as a display snake, rarely handling him. He's about 3 feet long now.
I brought him, and 20 or so other snakes, to a presentation I did at the local Church last week, and he bit and chewed the daylights out of me in front a of a large crowd, and drew quite a few drops of blood out of the 45-50 holes in my hand(dont worry, I didnt cry). Helped add some excitement to the show!
I would love to get a black racer someday too.
aSnakeLovinBabe
03-23-2008, 08:36 AM
where did you get your yellow belly?
Loren
03-23-2008, 10:26 AM
where did you get your yellow belly?
Caught him myself out in central Ca. Had to crawl and jump back and forth through thistles for about 10-15 minutes to finally get a hold of him.
aSnakeLovinBabe
03-23-2008, 05:56 PM
thistles?!?! yikes!
Loren
03-23-2008, 06:21 PM
thistles?!?! yikes!
No pain, no gain (no snake).
I'll dive into/around/onto about anything for a snake species I havent caught yet.:D
Other than that I am just a little bit wussy about poison oak yet.
adamanteus
03-23-2008, 06:25 PM
I'm with you there, Loren.... once I have a snake in my sights, there isn't much I won't go through to catch it!:rolleyes:
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/707-grass-snakes.html?highlight=Grass+Snakes
Zephyr
03-23-2008, 06:27 PM
I'm with you there, Loren.... once I have a snake in my sights, there isn't much I won't go through to catch it!:rolleyes:
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/garter-snake-lounge/707-grass-snakes.html?highlight=Grass+Snakes
Hmm... If I could ever get my vids on youtube...
I have movies of me hunting down 4-5 foot water snakes in dense reeds. Pulled out some beautiful snakes. Might actually keep some this year. >>
Loren
03-23-2008, 07:27 PM
Still waiting for those pics shannon!
While we wait for Shannon's pics, I will hold you over with this one.:)

Here's a pic of my Western Yellow Bellied. This pic is almost a year old, He has grown a bit since then. Sorry, its a little blurry.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/western_yellow_bellied_racer.jpg
adamanteus
03-23-2008, 07:28 PM
Blurry? That's a great pic!
Loren
03-23-2008, 07:29 PM
Thanks.
the head is a little out of focus. That bugs me.
anji1971
03-23-2008, 07:30 PM
What a gorgeous snake!! Not at all a bad photo, and he is definitely worth battling a few thistles for!
Loren
03-23-2008, 07:37 PM
Well, at the time it was the first racer I had ever seen in the wild, so I'll be darned if I was going to let it get away!
Loren
03-23-2008, 07:43 PM
While we're at it, here is another that I caught and released in North East Ca. The pic came out very nice, but doesnt quite do its color justice. This snake was absolutely beautiful in person.
http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/Western_Yellow_Bellied_Racer_-_Lassen_County.JPG
adamanteus
03-23-2008, 07:51 PM
This snake was absolutely beautiful in person.


Looks pretty good on the photo too, Loren.:)