Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, all. Can anyone help me to identify this little fellow (about 15" that I caught on my pool deck this morning?? Thanks.
Don

That is a young Racer. What type of racer it is depends on where you live.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I believe they said it was found in Sarasota, FL. They started this thread in the "General" section and I guided them here.

I thought it looked like a grey rat snake but the markings on top of the head didn't seem quite right. I grew up in FL and many, many, moons ago cold name the majority of US species right off the bat, but a lot of water (and other things that we won't mention) have passed under the bridge.

I believe you when you say racer, another poster said the same thing, But if you don't mind, would you please give this ol' man a refresher on the differences between young racers & grey rats? I sure would appreciate, and I hope I'll remember it. Hahaha!!!

Thanks!
HH
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

The most obvious thing would be the shape of the blotches on the back. They would be longer than they are wide, and more square on a ratsnake. The shape of the head and size of the eyes are also different but with that hint it would probably be more useful to you if you did an image search and compared a few photos than someone trying to describe the differences.
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

A couple of other things to help a fellow old f**t. The tail on the young racer is not patterned, & there is a bit of russet speckling on the belly.

~~Greg~~

Hahaha!!! Yeah, this ol' f--t can use all the help he can get. I didn't notice the solid tail, either. They must lose their pattern & belly specks somewhere near about the 2ft mark, 'eh?

Like I told Larry, I've seen several within the 2 - 5ft range, but no juveniles. Pretty pitiful for a FL native that spent his first 30 yrs there as an avid snake enthusiast. Ha!

Thanks!
Mike
(HH)
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

Ha! Ha! Mybe I'll be alright one of these days.

For some reason, when I looked at the pic last night (sober, too, might I add),I mistook the eyes for side markings. I never could clearly see it's head or face; couldn't tell if it was holding it's head up or level.

I've got to admit that I noticed the bands & I thought they were abnormal and Figured it might've been due to it coming from further south (locale) than Apopka, where I spent my fist 30yrs, heavily into snakes. But I should've known better.

Fact is, now that I stop & think about it, I don't recall ever seeing a juvenile racer. Seen plenty from around 2 - 5ft, no babies, though.

And to add insult to injury, Larry, I never even thought about Googling them to compare. And I'm a big "Do your research" promoter, too. Ha!

Nuthin' like feelin' like a fool, but at least I leanred me sumthin'. Hahahaha!!!

Thanks!
Mike
(HH)
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Due to political correctness run amuck,
this ol' hillbilly is now referred to as an:
Appalachian American

>>Fact is, now that I stop & think about it, I don't recall ever seeing a juvenile racer.

I was about to say the same thing, but now that I think about it, the first time someone brought a couple of the to me, I thought they were baby ratsnakes. So, it's quite possible that I may have seen some before that and not known it. Once you've compared them and seen the differences they seem obvious. (Although I still have trouble telling racers from coachwhips sometimes...)
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Looks like a black racer I caught last year.

Not an expert by any means but is there any chance thats a Black-Masked Racer? I saw a young.. 2-footish one in several photographs that looks very similar to this one from the top.. I don't remember reading where its from so if its out of range then my mistake.. Racer's are difficult.. especially when you get to some of the Southern Black Racers and Blue Racers... though its always easy to identify them as a racer of some type.. that head is unmistakeable..
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Mel Goodrich
RavenCrest Reptiles: Sale and Rescue
drune@charter.net

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