I have been trying to figure out the best way to keep racers in captivity for a couple years now. the first racer that i tried to keep i kept her in a 55gallon tank but she refused to eat anything i offered. I eventually releases her. Last summer i had more room to play with and had several styles of cages (visions and neoshada) so i went out and caught a few more racers. in the cages where there is only glass in the front, several inches of cypress mulch and just a heating pad every single racer ate f/t mice that was just left in their cages. At first, the more you handle them, and the more you try to feed them off of tongs the more they stress out. I didnt handle them at all for the first 4-5 weeks; once they are eating regualarly then its time to bring out the snake hooks. My advice when taming a racer is to completly avoid eye contact and keep the restraining to a minimum and you will do just fine.
As far s temps go, I keep my racers in the mid-high 70's (room temp) with a heating pad. during the winter they go in a room with no windows and a light is on 10 hrs a day to keep them in their summer mode.
sorry for the long post... the most important thing is to be patiant and have confidence.. and some luck of course! lol

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