Reptile & Amphibian Forums

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.

Hey,

I have had one of those racer myself. They are a docile species. A 20 to 40 gallon would be fine. A dry substrate with a hide box and water dish would be great. They need a 75 watt heat lamp over them for 12 hours a day. They will east mice, lizards, moths, grasshoppers, crickets, and even smaller snakes. They should eat once or twice every week. They are a active snake that needs to be fed at least 2 times every week. The more you handle them the more they will get tame and not be affraid of people. And they can live up to 15 years if kept well. There are a lot of bad names given to the family of racers and coachwhips. Manly because they are aggressive. But i myself have had a large number of racers and coachwhips and still do and all i have ever had were once mean and now tame. Some just dont tame, but most do. If you have any more questions just email me at wchuntsman@msn.com. I also have Aol, Msn, and Yahoo messenger. Feel free to add me anytime if you like. I hope i have helped. WILLIAM H. AND THE GREEN PINE MUSEUM.
Green Pine Museum Website