Reptile & Amphibian Forums

well due to the different laws in area I live in an cant keep any constrictors so I have changed my breeding efforts to my hogs and my geckos... but I wold love to get into racers and coachwhips but I can never find any available.. any ides where to look?
Thanks
Chris

WC's usually become available in spring as they're all starting to think about brumation this time of year. I plan on picking up some coachies next spring aswell so I can become part of the group of "elite keepers" lol.
Nate

They are difficult to get started as youngsters. (Coachwhip Snakes that is). If you wan some there is Myself and three others working on establishing them as a snake for the hobby but they are among the toughest challenges to hatch and one of the very hardest to get feeding out of the egg. They are one of the smartest snakes I know and one of my favorites. The tough part is providing a feeding hatchling to someone who wants one. After they take the first meal they are easy but the first meal is near impossible.

I think the problem is they are smart and stress from day one. They burn energy and might shut down if pestered too much. Half of my offspring refuse food and die the other half might take six months to kick into gear, a lot of work for a snake that sells for $15 as a wild specimen......Bill
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

They're not readily available because they're blood sucking monsters. Most people out on the high desert catch them on horseback with a lasso and a net cannon. With the really big ones, you have to use a tranquilizer gun. Make sure you have a large steel cage ready, and a pair of welding gloves, they're really strong and will break through anything else. Don't even think about taming them, and if you have any dogs, cats, or small children in the house, keep them away because they will surely be eaten. Hope this helps,
Kevin

hehehehe

You laugh, but I ain't kiddin'. I keep mine behind barbed wire, and I keep an elephant gun in the closet in case one ever gets loose.
Kevin

What a sissy, I just use a fencing mask and chain mail gloves and suit.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."

Man, you don't even know. For the really mean ones, I use a shark cage and a taser. I've got family to think about.
Kevin

I got my old hockey goalie gear already ready!

doh!

You bet, they're worth keeping, just make sure you have a bomb shelter and a heavy supply of canned goods in case one should get lose in your house.
Kevin

I love racers and coachwhips; along with mountain kings, my absolute favorites. A long time ago when I was 14 (1968) I acquired a 4 1/2 foot blue racer (Coluber constrictor foxi) from a dealer in Royal Oaks, Michigan. He caught it crossing a road near Detroit. I paid $6 or $8 for him. Man was he beautiful! Smoky blue gray on top grading to an intense bright and clean blue on the sides, and with a black racoon mask. I had him for a year in a 20 gallon cage. He ate live adult mice 3 out of 4 times offered and was very robust and healthy. I handled him regularly. He allowed it but bit me many times. Very touchy. Once he tagged my face repeatedly in the space of 1 or 2 seconds when I dropped the cage lid on his tail. Can you blame him? I had to leave him behind when my family moved to California, at the Dayton (Ohio)Museum of Nat. Hist. where I worked. Sadly, I found out he was neglected and died. The museum had in 1967 (another sadly neglected) blue racer, 3 1/2 feet that was incredibly pure blue over the entire dorsal (a hypo?). I've never seen another like it but I wonder if private breeders might breed a pure blue lineage. Racers are for snake lovers only, not those seeking a friendly pet. I was once chewed on by a 12 foot anaconda. It was like being attacked by a shark. That bothered me. Racer bites don't make me flinch. I hope some day to acquire a real blue blue racer (a foxi, not a frog eating paraste riddled everglades racer). Or better yet, a pair. Anyone in Mich., northern Ohio, Ind., Ill., etc. please let me know if you get them (without endangering a local population).

I love racers and coachwhips; along with mountain kings, my absolute favorites. A long time ago when I was 14 (1968) I acquired a 4 1/2 foot blue racer (Coluber constrictor foxi) from a dealer in Royal Oaks, Michigan. He caught it crossing a road near Detroit. I paid $6 or $8 for him. Man was he beautiful! Smoky blue gray on top grading to an intense bright and clean blue on the sides, and with a black racoon mask. I had him for a year in a 20 gallon cage. He ate live adult mice 3 out of 4 times offered and was very robust and healthy. I handled him regularly. He allowed it but bit me many times. Very touchy. Once he tagged my face repeatedly in the space of 1 or 2 seconds when I dropped the cage lid on his tail. Can you blame him? I had to leave him behind when my family moved to California, at the Dayton (Ohio)Museum of Nat. Hist. where I worked. Sadly, I found out he was neglected and died. The museum had in 1967 (another sadly neglected) blue racer, 3 1/2 feet that was incredibly pure blue over the entire dorsal (a hypo?). I've never seen another like it but I wonder if private breeders might breed a pure blue lineage. Racers are for snake lovers only, not those seeking a friendly pet. I was once chewed on by a 12 foot anaconda. It was like being attacked by a shark. That bothered me. Racer bites don't make me flinch. I hope some day to acquire a real blue blue racer (a foxi, not a frog eating paraste riddled everglades racer). Or better yet, a pair. Anyone in Mich., northern Ohio, Ind., Ill., etc. please let me know if you get them (without endangering a local population). carl@fossilrecord.com

I have a one year supply of rice and an alternate house.
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"Life without risk is to merely exist."