I caught what appears to be a western yellow bellied racer, and would like to make a pet of him (or her). There are alot of things I need to know. Most of what I have read says that they do not make good pets, but this one appears to be very docile. He (or she) just sits in my hand and looks at me. It's body is about 3/8 of an inch in diameter and about 22 inches long. I made a small wire cage to contain him untill i can get to the pet store and buy a cage. He just sits there staring until i take him out and then he tries like mad to get away until i hold him in my hand and then he seems content to stay there. He looks indentical to the snake in this photo. My questions are these:



Do I have a male or female? How can I tell?

Which is better, A screened cage or aquarium? What size?

What does it eat? How often?

What do they need to be content?

How often should you handle them?

How often should you feed them?

What temperature should I keep it?

How long do they live?



My family and i have been looking for some kind of pet and a snake seems to be a perfect choice based on what I know.(Which is very little) I may just let the little guy go, if it seems like he would do poorly in captivity, but i would be grateful to anyone who could educate me a bit on the care of this type of snake.

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