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We were out camping at Lake Casitas this weekend and while we were setting up camp I heard the word snake get mentioned at the site next door as I noticed a couple of guys walking up to the bush line behind our camp. They had mentioned that it was a racer and that it took off into the bushes. I went back to my camp setup keeping an eye on the bushes. About ten minutes later I noticed a long, red skinny object moving in the grass near the bushes. I snuck over and right away discovered that the racer was actually a 4ft Red Coachwhip. It appeared to be on patrol for one of the many baby ground squirrels that we had all about the area. I waited for him to poke his head into one of the burrows that he was hunting in and quickly snatched him up.



The next evening the coachwhip was back out and we were watching him from our shade treen near the bush line. He seemed to be sitting with his head poking out to the edge of the bush line in hopes to ambush a young weary squirrel. After a while I also notice this small pencil sized black and white banded thing moving about in the bushes about a foot off of the ground. I couldn't recall much of the coachwhip having that coloration on it so I decided to take a closer look and to my surprise I had found my first ever California Kingsnake. It was in the act of striking in the coachwhip's direction when I walked up. It was probably trying to scare the coachwhip away, but I think he may have been in the process of becoming a meal for the coach if I hadn't walked up.

We herped the campgrounds all that morning, but no snakes found...best spot appeared to be our campsite from about 3pm on. We also got a pic of some California Valley Quail on our way back home.

that coachwhip is insane! Love the brick red color.
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We wouldn't have 6 and a half billion people if you had to be beautiful to get laid.
6.6 African House snakes
3.2 reticulated pythons
.1 corn snake
4.2 Florida Kings
1.2 speckled kings
1.2 ball pythons
0.0.1 Argentine boa

Nice find!

I figured you would run into a Cal King soon.....congrats i know you were looking for 'em.

The coastals in Ventura are more of the brown and yellow banded phase.

Thanks! This one has a slight tint of yellow towards his belly and the black looks pretty black, but now that you mention it I can see a hint of brown in the natural lighting. I am very pleased with this find.

I would like to make a trip to the Mojave soon...my son has a friend from back in MI flying out soon and he is a huge snake fan...any pointers on where we could go and camp out in or near there? I would probably do some night time spotting by foot as well as looking for chucks and desert igs by day...of course a nice desert cal king would be awesome too.
Did you ever find any rosies or lyres on your last trip?

That red racer is incredible, post that on the coachwhip forum will ya. love to have some of those to work with, I have 1.3 easterns and eggs all over right now.

Will do that. Send me an email to granddl@live.com so I can save you as a contact in case I come across some juveniles that could be easily shipped...no promises though...this was my first coach that I have come across out here. Does the red coloration set in as they mature?

Yep...they are just a boring brown as juvies....so one rule here in SoCal is ya gotta post how many times he bit ya when ya caught him....suckers are MEAN!

We have one other Racer here (Always referred to Eastern Racers as Coachwhips but not out here for some reason they are just Racers lol)and that is the California Striped Racer....kinda green with yelly striping on the sides....like a big, mean, fast Garter Snake.....sorta the "throwback" out here as well as the ringnecks.

Good hunting....i'll post my recent Rosy trip here shortly.

TC

He didn't get a chance to bite me...I had him by the tail 'til he tuckered out and then got him by the neck. I know their bitey nature so I wasn't givin him any free-b's at me. Although I will say after a while I gave him some room on his neck grip, but he didn't go for me at all. If I get any good bite pics I will be sure to post em.

I will have to look up some pics on the striped racer...we did find brown with yellow striped DOR snake on the way back home...the head was missing so it made it harder to ID. I just figured it was a garter though, but I haven't familiarized myself with the locals out here yet.

Can't wait to see you rosies.

That the reddest coach I've seen caught in the wild. Very cool.

A pink juvi from an AZ trip last month. Approximately the same color as my sunburned face.

That one is pretty sweet looking too. It also looks fairly mellow...must have been handling him for a while before you snapped that shot.

Bingo. The CSI detectives would be proud. =)

Very nice piceus!Racers and Coachwhips have to be some of my favorite US snakes, so full of vin and vigor!

My opinion on capturing these snakes is you have to either leave 'em be and watch them or grab them, take the bites and get them restrained. If they are warmed up the thrashing can do some damage. I think if that snake was good and hot your story would be

"I saw this thing I think was a snake bolt across the trail/road and ran after it at full speed. Right when I thought I lost it I saw it in a tree/under a rock. I went to grab it again and it took off and did the same thing. Finally I cornered it in a tree, when I got a hold of it it crapped all over me and made me bleed like an untrained nurse. But look at cool it is "pound chest". "

At least that's how it went when I cought one.

Nate

I think I like yours better with the red head...maybe next time I will let him draw some blood on me...maybe not.