Black Racer Snake

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Ranked #97 in Animals, #3,316 overall

Blue Runner, Black Runner - Beneficial and Beautiful


Black Racers are very fast black snakes with a bluish cast to their scales. Other names for this handsome, non-venomous snake are Blue Racer, Blue Runner and Black Runner. The Southern Black Racer occurs in habitats all over Louisiana and through most of the Southeast. Most Racers do not enjoy being handled. Black racers eat mostly mice and rats, so are extremely beneficial snakes to have around.
 

Black Racers

are often called Blue Runners or Blue Racers because of the blue tinge of their scales. They move very quickly and can be out of sight in the blink of an eye.

Coluber constrictor Linnaeus 


There are five subspecies of Black Racers that occur in Louisiana. They are:

 ~ The Southern Black Racer which is characterized by a black dorsum and slate gray or black venter;

 ~ The black-masked racer, characterized by a slate gray dorsum, a bluish gray venter and a broad black stripe behind the eye;

 ~ The eastern yellow-bellied racer, characterized by an olive green dorsum and a light yellow venter;

 ~ The tan racer, characterized by a light tan dorsum with some light spotting and a grayish white venter; and

 ~ The buttermilk racer, characterized by a blue, blue-black or blue-green dorsum with a variable amount of light spotting and a grayish white venter.

Racers are constrictors that kill their prey by wrapping around it until it is dead and then swallowing it whole.

Racers lay clutches of 6 to 18 granular white eggs from June through September in such places as soft moist soil beside decaying logs, in decaying wood pulp or in depressions in clumps of grass. The hatchlings don't look like the adults and have light-colored bodies with dark blotches along the back and sides.

 



(reference: Dundee, Harold A. and Douglas A. Rossman, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana)

Long Black Racer print
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Racer Subspecies 


A. Southern black racer, Coluber constrictor priapus
B. Black-masked Racer, Coluber constrictor latrunculus
C. Eastern yellow-bellied racer, Coluber constrictor flaviventris
D. Tan racer, Coluber constrictor etheridgei
E. Buttermilk racer, Coluber constrictor anthicus
F. Juvenile racer, Coluber constrictor

 

racers*


*photo reference: Dundee, Harold A. and Douglas A. Rossman, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana

Adult Black Racer 

black racer

The photo was taken early in the spring, when the weather was still cool. This Black Racer is still a little sluggish and is trying to warm its body in the sun.

Snakes of the Southeast 

Snakes Of The Southeast (Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book)

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 11/10/2009)Buy Now

This is a wonderful book with good information and great pictures. Every snake lover from the southeastern United Snakes should have this book in their personal library.

Young Black Racer 

black racer baby

Notice the hint of blue where the sun is hitting the scales of this young Black Racer. This is why one of the common names of the species is Blue Runner.

Southern Black Racer Facts 

The Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) is one of the more common subspecies of non-venomous snakes in the Southeastern United States. These snakes are quite active during the day, which increases the chance of sightings. They will eat almost any animal they can overpower, including, rodents, frogs, toads, and lizards. They have been known to charge at people in an attempt to frighten them, but will usually retreat ? if challenged. Members of this species generally do not tolerate handling ? even after months in captivity ? and will typically strike and flail wildly every time they are handled. These snakes are usually thin with a jet black dorsal side with a grey belly and white chin. They are quite fast, giving rise to the name "racer".

Baby Black Racers 


Very young black racers are marked differently from the adult of the species. The young are speckled with black, white and tan spots.
 

Young Black Racer print
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Black Racers also have a reputation for biting when they are caught. It seems that they develop this defense mechanism very early in life as you can see by the picture below. We happily released the little bugger after the brief photo op.
 

Baby Black Racer Bites print
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Snakes of the U.S. and Canada 

Snakes of the United States and Canada

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Black Racer YouTube Video 

Herping with Dylan: Blue Racer

A Blue Racer I managed to corner in a tree.

Runtime: 1:23
7547 views
10 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

Samantha the Black Racer 

The Adventures of Samantha The Black Racer Snake

Amazon Price: $18.00 (as of 11/10/2009)Buy Now

Black Racer Sensing Our Presence 

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Northern Black Racer 

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Black Racer poster 

Black Racer Blog Posts 

Black Racer Snake With Iguana Prey on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
A black Cayman racer snake bites off more than he can swallow as he wrestles with this two-foot-long non-native green iguana. The snake itself was about four feet long, and grew very fed up with me and the camera's flash rather quickly.
Identifying the Black Racer Snake of North America
The black racer is a snake that many people encounter in the back yard, and as such has taken on quite the reputation. The black racer has been rumored to be.
Your wild photos: Black racer snake spotted in Sawgrass Lake Park
Your wild photos: Black racer snake spotted in Sawgrass Lake Park. Sawgrass Snake1. TampaBay.com reader Jim McKechney of St. Petersburg shot this photo of a black racer peeking out from the rootball of a fallen tree in Sawgrass Lake ...
Floridana Alaskiana v2.5: Southern black racer, 18 August 2006
Southern black racer (Coluber constrictor priapus) Residential Mt. Dora, Florida; 18 August 2006 I think I'm going to dip back into some snake photos for the next week or two. I must admit, I do miss my snakes -- and...

Black Racer Photos 

Snake in the Grass by kthypryn

Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass by kthypryn

Snake in the Grass

Snake in the Grass by kthypryn

Snake in the Grass

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Snake in the Grass

the snake & the toad by kthypryn

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Race off a Comment! 

beachbum_gabby wrote...

awesome lens but still afraid to all kinds of snakes ^__^

ReplyPosted August 19, 2009

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ReplyPosted June 05, 2009

KimGiancaterino wrote...

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ReplyPosted April 29, 2009

Sarunas wrote...

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I gave you 5 stars.
Keep it up. :)

ReplyPosted April 27, 2009

lakeerieartists wrote...

This is an excellent lens. Blessings.

ReplyPosted April 16, 2009

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About Naturegirl7 

Lensmaster naturegirl7, aka Yvonne and Al B., has been a member since April 22 2008, has rated 479 lenses, favorited 433, and has created 144 lenses from scratch. This member's top-ranked page is "7-up Cake Recipes". See all my lenses

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