I did not see the query below until today, asking if Blues make better captives than Black Racers.



I do not think wild-caught Blues make better captives than wild-caught Black Racers. I've kept Northern and Southern Black Racers and tried w/c Blues a few times and the Blues seem to miss their freedom acutely, even more than Black Racers. When I've tried w/c Blues, I've watched them closely in case they declined or showed signs of being unhappy. I knew I could release them quickly enough for them to survive if I responded promptly.



The Blues I released all expressed great excitement when returned to their release points. Snakes express emotion with body language and these snakes all got very wiggly even before their carrying bags were opened. I suspect they smelled home through the fabric and were glad to be there. One even climbed to the top of a dense woody shrub and stayed there in the breeze and sunlight for half an hour instead of disappearing as soon as it was freed. This particular snake looked very much like it was rejoicing in its freedom.



People are experts at dismissing any idea that other creatures have feelings, desires, preferences or entitlements. This widespread human habit of embracing assumptions as if they were facts can blind us to what is right before us. Reptiles are spirited creatures and some will always deplore confinement, although many do accept it in time.



On the other hand, cb animals are excellent, contented captives when well cared for. I have some cb Blue Races from Glades Herp and they are the polar opposite of w/c in terms of captive stability.



The cb Blues eat without a fuss, defend their cages as if they were their territory, don't rub their noses or stress at confinement, recognize whoever feeds them and come to the front of the cage at feeding time, accept defrosted food and just generally appear quite content. Same with my large cb Western Coachwhips. Aside from their permanent readiness to challenge me if I enter the cage, it's no drama to maintain all these high-octane sighthunters.



If you prefer to try a Blue Racer that stands the best chance of contentment in captivity, see if anyone offers cb hatchlings later in summer when many baby snakes are around the hobby. To do right by hatchling racers you may need to be prepared to offer baby garter or other snakes at first, or small frogs or toads, until your new racers accept mice. I once conditioned ten hatchling Southern Black Racers at once, and found that only one ate mice from the start, while the rest went through stages of eating baby snakes, small frogs, scented mice and eventually unscented mice. In time, all fed on unscented mice and were placed in new homes as plug-and-play captives but it was a lot of work.



In contrast, my hatchling Blues from Glades ate pink mice from the start and never ate anything other than mice. They grew and moved from small cages to larger cages over two years, and never skipped meals even after moving. The male is so agressive we call him The Mangler--he likes to "kill" his food even though it's been dead for a year. He gets very excited at feeding time, which is pretty much every day even though his meals are adult mice. Properly fed racers are about the same body weight as well-fed water snakes, so I'd suggest using that paradigm when evaluating captive snakes for proper weight. I've developed my impression of healthy racers from seeing so many wild ones. Wild Blues are heavy, powerful animals.



One component of conditioning cb racers that I believe to be essential is good full-spectrum light, as if the snakes were high-UV desert lizards. I've said it many times before: I use only and recommend Lumichrome bulbs--the best lights available. I also provide a basking bulb since even baby racers like to bask at nearly 100 degrees F. When small, racers do OK in low-ventilation enclosures like fishtanks with screen covers. By the time they are two feet long, they need fan-vented cages like the ones pictured. High-octane snakes that bask under warm lights and eat nearly every day use a lot of oxygen, like mammals, and benefit from robust air flow.



If you succeed with racers, they are among the most amazing and rewarding animals to keep. Intelligent, curious and spirited, they are lords among snakes. It helps keep me centered to look into the eyes of a racer or coachwhip and see how truly unimpressed with me that snake is.

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