Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys and gals,
I caught what I believe to be a eastern yellowbelly racer. I am located about 40 miles north of houston. This little fella is about 6 inches at best, solid greenish brownish dorsal coloring (bear with me, im color blind in greens and browns, but i know its one of the two colors), and a yellow vertical coloring. It has single wide belly scales and small eyes, about as big as this period. It is no thicker than a pencile. I have been trying to research and ID this snake, and I am trying to narrow down the list. Using a list of snakes found in Texas, and then those found in the south east, I am sure it is a colubridae, as the only other possibilities are blind snake family, Elapidae, and Viperidae, so thats pretty conclusive... After searching through the list of colubrids, coluber seems the only logical answer. I guess my question is that when I look for other information on c.c. flaviventris on google, the information kinda disputes its self. Any help or information is greatly appreciated.

Here are some pictures, sorry they are bad, this little guy is rather hard to photograph, sure is quick like a racer...

~Johnny

Looks like an Earth snake or Worm snake. That does not look like a racer. Get a field guide and see if you can find a match.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

thanks, will do. That explains the smaller eyes...

~Johnny

That's a rough earth snake. Fully adult, most likely.
They are difficult to keep and you'll rarely see them as they are generally subterranean and crepuscular. They are found on the surface sometimes after a heavy rain, or in gardens and such in early mornings, hunting.
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...and I think to myself, "What a wonderful world."

Thanks gents,
I wanted to get an ID on this fella before I cut him loose, but he is long gone now. Keep on keeping on,

~Johnny