Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I plan to obtain a Northern Black Racer soon. My philosophy is that the species would fare much better in a natural setup than the typical substrate, hide, and water setup. Any ideas on how to set this type of cage up? I plan to use a Sunshine cage.

Hi,
I haven't kept a N.Black racer for years since I used to capture them on snake hunts. I never kept them too long since the majority will bite rather quickly(and they are fast!). Most are high strung so a hide seems needed to get them to feed. I had a pair and they would only eat in private. However, my snakes were wild caught and I'm sure this added to their stress. I did have one N. blk. racer that wouldn't bite no matter what, however, it also wouldn't eat. I'm not sure it matters whether they are kept in a natural habitat or not but like I said I would definitely have a hide box of some sort. Racers are really an interesting snake and I hope things go good for you no matter what set-up you use.
Good Luck,
SnakeMike

Yea I plan to catch my own. I do not remember the last time I saw one(captivity or wild). However, I really like them, as my user name suggests.

I think you may be going in the wrong direction...I have been keeping Buttermilk Racers Coluber c. anthicus for several years now and mine have done a LOT better when kept in small, plain cages than when I have tried them in larger setups. I now have the majority of them (I have 4.5) in a regular 28 qt rubbermaid rack system with aspen substrate, a plastic flower pot saucer hide and a small water bowl and they are doing great like this.

When I have tried them in 3' or 4' cages they stayed very hyper and frequently banged into the walls and glass whenever I was in the room. They also were much less regular feeders in these cages. In the rack they all take dead mice or rat pups with no trouble and they dont exhibit the striking and zooming around behavior.

I think that any sort of attempt to enrich their habitat is going to be a non starter because they will be so much harder to keep clean and one thing about racers is they need to be cleaned a LOT. If they dont stay clean and dry they are very prone to skin infections and blisters. I have also seen some that would hit the glass so hard that it is hard to imagine that they arn't hurting themselves although I will admit I have never seen any detectable injuries.

I think to get any sort of benefit from a larger, decorated cage you would need one really large, like room size which is a bit out of bounds for most folks. And even than the amount of racer poo might build up to where it was a problem.

Hope this helps

Peter
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Peter and Sara
Beouf River Reptiles

Oh no! Now I'm confused! lol I was always told racers do better in larger enclosures. Well I guess I'll try one and if it doesn't work. I'll go to the other. I will still accept any advice still.

I've always seen that they need large cages too. But since I started keeping them in a goodly number I have found it not to be so true. I wonder how many of the "authorities" who state they need large cages have ever actually kept them for an extended peroid of time? I don't know of many folks who ever seriously tried to maintain a lot of racers in captivity. I dont think that anyone actually tries to breed them. Most of the people who entertain thoughts of keeping racers seem to be of the less experienced sort. The experts tend to think of them as either cobra food or trash snakes that are not worth their keeping.

For this season I am setting up a double "breeding box" which has two enclosures that are 2' X 3' with an opening top and solid wood walls. The box is 2' deep and Im going to install a few climbing shelves and a basking spot as well as a nesting site. Im hoping that they will be less stressed in a cage with no glass to see movement thru.

Peter
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Peter and Sara
Beouf River Reptiles