Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I found these eggs in a load of mulch. I am located in NE florida/st.augustine area. Dont know where the mulch came from but probably close. Small eggs about the size of corns or alittle smaller. 3 hatched this morning and here is the best pic I could get as they are very feisty. Could they be venomous?
Thanks

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3 ex wives
2 daughters
0.2 cats
way to many snakes(or so the ex wives say)

They look like harmless southern black racers (Coluber constrictor priapus) to me.
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Joe

thats what I was thinking but they are mean little jokers right out of the egg!! So I should be able to at least handle them even if I get bitten. Thanks. Any other opinions??
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3 ex wives
2 daughters
0.2 cats
way to many snakes(or so the ex wives say)

Joe was right on the money!, those are definitely Southern Black Racer's(Coluber constrictor priapus).

They will change gradually into their adult solid dark coloration gradually as they mature.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Absolutely correct! This is the most common snake in the state. By this time next year, they will be mostly to completely black.

~~Greg~~
Florida's Venomous Snakes

Sometimes it's hard to tell baby racers and coachwhips apart, but those are definitely racers. And, yeah, the babies are just like that...
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What goes up must come down...unless it exceeds escape velocity.

Yeah as said they're black racers. And don't worry about the biting. Snakes this size can't even break skin. Just wanted to add that as far as feeding you should wait until they shed (should take 3-4 days after hatch) then offer crickets, skinks, and small anole lizards. Some won't take crix off the bat and will need to eat skinks for a while. Eventually they'll all take crickets but I don't think the nutrition is really enough for them so I'd offer the occasional vertebrate as well. They can be switched to pinks but it can take some work with scenting and you must be very careful only to offer the tiniest day old pinks. Offer one of these a pink that's too big and it can kill the snake. They'll sometimes eat stuff that's too big for them. And they can't handle the same size of pinks as a corn would. Stick to 100% body thickness and don't go over or it's dangerous.

another note... lizards can seriously injure a baby snake so it's a good idea to either offer it to the snake head end or hold the head while snake swallows it. Unless the skinks you're offering are very small and can't get in much of a bite.
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