Reptile & Amphibian Forums

While we were at our local ice cream shop, my dad spotted a snake in some nearby bushes, and i gladly offered to catch it. AFter doing so, this snake was brought back home where i can find out which snake it is.

My biggest problem is distinguishing this from a Garter sake, and a Gopher snake. This snake is nearly 4' in lenght, and has some striking colors. Sorry i can't post pics of this, but i'll describe it best i can.

This snake is definately in the Colubrid family, since they look similar. It has a multi color pattern, with checkered black and brown in the first 1/3 of his body. Then fading out to a red hue. I've tried looking up pics for this snake, but i can find no strong evidence on what type this snake is. May someone please help me?

I live in Souther California, if that helps at all.

What you have is a red racer, Masticophis flagellum piceus.

The difference between a garte snake & a gopher is basically the difference between a stripe & a blotch.

Knowing where you saw the snake keeps us from telling you a species that does not occur in your area.

~~Greg~~

Really??! It's neither? But it looks so familiar...Thanks for explaining which one it is. But is it different from taking care of a regular Colubrid snake?

Yes it is not a typical colubrid...If you are thinking in terms of Kingsnakes and Ratsnakes.

Whipsnakes and racers are much more nervous snakes that require large cages. They get fairly large and are ground hunters, often prefering lizards and snakes to warm blooded prey. They often strike and bite readily so if that one is calmer you are lucky.

Frank
-----
"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

May you tell me the required minimum of tank space? do they prefer a lot of height for climbing? Or large ground to crawl around. Mine is nearly 4 foot long, so what types of housing should i use?

It does sound like it might be a Red Racer AKA Coach Whip. I recommend you at least do a web search of the various snakes found in S Calif. and comparing pictures. You will probably be able to get a definitive ID within 10 minutes. Just search for a list of species for Calif. and then search the different species you think it might be.

Here is a link to a pretty good website with good photos of Reptiles and Amphibians found in California, click on "Snakes" in the left sidebar, scroll down to Red Coachwhip/Western Coachwhip, click on the name and several photos will come up.
Cakifornia Herps

Here is a link to a pretty good website with good photos of Reptiles and Amphibians found in California, click on "Snakes" in the left sidebar, scroll down to Red Coachwhip/Western Coachwhip, click on the name and several photos will come up.
California Herps

Racers are one of the harder snakes to maintain which is why you don't see them often in the pet trade. They are really fast,wild and aggressive snakes that will readily bite when handled.When they bite they latch on to your skin and chew at your arm and can cause really nasty bites,especially the larger ones. Trust me I have caught a few WC racers and have gotten tagged and you bleed like a pig..lol Most will not tame down and will stay flighty and nervous. Your best option is to let it go. They can also be a pain to get to feed,especially wild caught ones.

Thanks for the replies. I already noticed that this is not your usual garter or gopher, but a flighty, nervous beauty. It's pretty amazing on how great the coloration is. I probably know that keeping this snake for longer durations might not be possible, but i will try and feed it his first mouse tomorow.

But when this Coachwhip gets more tame, which enclosure size would you recommend? I have a tall 15 gall tank for himi right now. He is 4 foot long. Is this good enough? We have a mesh top, and we anchor it down with 5 pound rocks so he won't push it out.

I plan to acept the responsibilty of taking care of a wild snake, but only if the proper cage and needs are taken care of fist.

For an adult coachwhip, I would think a large,(6x2x4) cage would be best. Other similar sized colubrids would do fine in a smaller cage, but Coachwhips are far more active than your average snake. Even if you don't want to go that big, a 15 gal is way too small for a coachwhip.

Mike