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Coachwhips. Not for the timid. Or the brave. Or pretty much anyone who believes in keeping their blood inside their body or their sanity (what's that?)

So--not enough coachwhips in my life--no-o-o-o-o-o I needed more, more! Cujo, my biggest male Texas pink bred with a lovely brick-red female with cute black neck bars (coachwhip beauty marks). She played hard to get but he's over five feet long and built like a water snake so she had little choice. Five of seven eggs hatched although one baby died after a few days--that one will be thawed one day for Regal ringneck snake food--waste not. The Cujo hatchlings are lightly patterned, dull green on duller green and I'm interested to see how they turn out--pink coachwhips don't show their full color for several years.

Glades Herp owner Robroy Macinnes has a few pairs of Texas pink coachwhips that he breeds every year. Usually they sell out before they hit the pricelist but this year I was able to get two pair. Robroy's baby coachwhips are classic Texas pink hatchlings, light tan with faint markings.

After a few weeks here, one of the Glades babies has taken a live unscented pink mouse. Another has fed voluntarily on brown anoles a few times, the rest are still figuring out what their mouths are for, other than biting me. Two of my home-grown hatchlings are eating anoles, the other two are holding out for some delicious snake keeper blood.

I haven't acclimated baby western coachwhips since I got my two big males years ago. Deja vu all over again. Times eight. It's going to be a long autumn.

They're definitely an addictive snake. After having three of the w. texas pinks in my collection for a few years now, I had to add a jet black eastern to the mix. He's all of five feet long, and absolutely not timid or afraid of anything. He thinks nothing of chasing me around the living room for a few laps, or driving me out of his territory whenever I come in to change a water bowl or feed him. Speaking of which, he's taken to frozen thawed mice with gusto, and eats three or four at a time every few days. Definitely cool snakes, my personal favorite. Can we see some pics of the babies/adults?

Kevin

P.S. Your male didn't come from Bill Reid, did it? That's where my male came from.

My male did come from Bill Reid, back in 2004. After he settled down and started thinking of mice as food instead of pets, he got around to attacking anything on forceps. He acquired the nickname of Cujo for his sweetness.

His brother, Buddy, is much less agressive. Cujo still likes to pretend he's a T-rex at feeding time, shaking a dead rat so violently that he often bounces off the front and back of his cage, which is 30 inches deep. Buddy just grabs and swallows for the most part, although it was Buddy who accidentally threw a rat across the room out the open door of his cage one time when he was going all Cujo on it. That's not typical of him--he even scoops dead rats off the cage floor sometimes if I leave them in to see if he's interested. Cujo likes his dinner to move before he commits so I wiggle defrosted rats and if he's ready it's an Emeril moment--bam!

Both are gorgeous pink coachwhips. I don't shoot digital although a friend does--maybe I can talk him into a photo shoot of my collection--lots of pretty stuff in here. If you want to see a coachwhip that looks exactly like Cujo or Buddy go to this link: http://southwesternherp.com/snakes/testaceus.html

Not only is the snake in the photo the spitting (hissing?) image of my males, he's showing that good old coachwhip chutzpah we all admire and maybe fear...just a little...? Speaking for myself....

I just went and looked at the link you provided.. wholly crap the pink eating the rabbit is my hero.. that is a mans snake! not a burm who is 8X the size of a rabbit.. thats chicken crap... a snake 1/2 the size of the rabbit taking it down is the real deal. and its got all the color anyone could ask for. I want some

I started out in the 70s with Boids, and through the 80s I had the Pines, the the Kings, the Rats and the BT Indigos and the even YT Indigos, those are all real cool snakes but other than the BTs and YTs I pretty much stuck with Fla snakes. In the 90s I started selling the Scarlet kings I collected to Rob down (now up) at Glades herp, good guy, bad rap. anyway, I now sell them on the net but of all the snakes I've gotten to know in 22 years of collecting the only snakes in my current collection are my 1.2 Eastern Coachwhips (btw have 18 eggs ready to pop) and a few Screammer Scarlet Kings and a pair of Black Pines to suffice my real desire to raise the Eastern Indigo and/or The Fla Pine, the B.Pines give the satisfaction of all three, Big Balck and Pine, but I think the coachwhips are way under-rated and one day will hit the hi-dollar range when their numbers in the wild are done falling. I also believe the Red Racers and the Pink Mtns will likely leed the way but I'll be keeping my Easterns. JB

Good for you breeding Eastern coachwhips--such magnificent beasts. I like the pix you included, especially the snake in the grass. That sighting groove in front of the eyes--how many times a week do I end up in Cujo's sights as he stares me down from inside his cage. Something primal about looking into the eyes of a coachwhip from the front, from a few inches away. Not a good thing if you're edible...which he is quite sure I am...

Easterns are the best. They have literally an explosive amount of personality, and most seem to have a much shorter fuse than the westerns. Don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but easterns won't think twice about latching onto your nose, most westerns I've been around seem to be a little more docile.

My favorite phase of the eastern is what I call the "midwest" phase, the one found in Kansas, arkansas, missouri, etc, the jet black animals with scarlet red highlights. Some of these beasts are truly maginificant animals, almost built like an indigo sometimes, big, thick bodied apex predators. Right now I only have the Oklahoma eastern in my collection, but hope to add more someday.

Kevin

Hey Kevin, do you happen to have any pictures of those Midwest phase EC's? Sounds like a great looking snake.

here is a pic of the snake he was describing.

Thats a solid looking snake, pretty stout for an ec isn't it? Is that typical of that area?

There were some photos on a forum a few years ago of some glorious copper-toned Easterns from that area. What titans. Their eyes told all that they have no doubt who rules their realm.

reading these posts by you guys makes me think I have found my herpetological bretheren

My friends ask me often why I keep snakes with attitudes or that arent very popular. The answer I give them is 1) "you only keep ball pythons and boas so you would not understand" and 2) There is nothing in the herp world as cool as a snake who can differentiate the sound of my car door vs. my wifes and thus be waiting at the glass when I come in the door but show no interest when my wife comes home.. no boid can do that (I have a few carpets and still have a soft spot for them but not like my colubrids) or even anythng close to that but both my cribos, false water cobras and my black racer have all done that and some do it every time.

My favorites will come out fo their hides or lower levels when they feel my foot steps coming across the room (Im 6'7" 345lbs so my footsteps are probably mini earthquakes to them).

I agree that these guys are underrated and my only experience as a keeper of one is with my black racer for the last few years. It seems so many of the absolute coolest snakes out there are highly under rated.. look at the ptyas rat snakes.. they are insanley awesome.. ever seen one in the US even though they are one of the most common snakes in asia?

Jay

Ptyas are pretty cool too...if I ever had a chance to own some ptyas dhumnades, I would for sure. Awesome snakes. On Kansas easterns...I found my first after searching for the better part of three years for them. Unfortunately, it was DOR, but was a fantastic animal all the same...jet black from head to tail with bright gold eyes. At least I know where to find them now. Westerns are another story, fairly easy to come by in Kansas, but they tend to be more of a muddy brown color, although I have seen some pretty spectacular yellow ones. Ah, coachwhips. Who can get enough of them?

Anyone have any pictures of texas easterns? Now those are some awesome animals, I've seen pics of some that are downright freaky looking. Even saw a maroonish purple one once.

Kevin

The brick red ones are just fantastic looking animals.
I like coachwhps but they're one of the more common snakes I find when I got daytime herping, and I'm disinclined to keep something I see semi-regularly (since behaviors in the wild are so much cooler than anything in a cage).
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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

I feel the same about Blue Racers where I live. Much nicer to see them free-range and I can guarantee multiple encounters in season. Multiple bites, too.