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I caught a racer, i think....help?

cito Oct 10, 2003 04:28 PM

I caught a 4 and a half foot "racer" today. It was curled up under a rock at a wildlife park. It has an all black top, white under its head and all blue/gray under the snake. It also has a pretty narrow head, and is slender. I was wondering, if it is a racer, what should i feed it? And what size cage, what kind of substrate? And another thing, i read that they ate mice, how can they eat mice without being constrictors?

Replies (2)

michaelb Oct 10, 2003 06:57 PM

Sounds like a black racer. Despite their taxonomic name, Coluber constrictor, you are correct in that they do not constrict their prey; they typically throw a loop of their body over the struggling victim to hold it down. In addition to rodents, they also eat small birds, lizards, other snakes, frogs, and occasionally insects. They generally are nervous captives, often probing and poking around their enclosure enough to damage their noses. They are one of many types of snakes that will vibrate their tails when disturbed. If you decide to keep it, I'd suggest a 20-gallon container minimum, preferably larger. They like to climb, so providing some branches or other stuff to climb on would be a good idea.
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MichaelB

epidemic Dec 11, 2003 09:04 AM

Let me get this straight; You caught a racer in a park, and kept it?
Am I the only one who finds a problem with this? There are laws pertaining to the capture and/or the taking of both flora and fauna.
Unless you had permits or direct express permission to remove such. taking anything native to a park is illegal and immoral. Of course, this is my humble opinion.

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