Living with the Snakes

[manumuskin]

Anyone,

How do I identify a racer from a ratsnake in the field without picking it up?

Don

if it is over five feet long it probably would be a ratsnake
Ratsnakes have keeled scales which makes them shinier and rougher to the touch.Ratsnakes often have white showing between the scales which is skin,this shows more the better fed they are at the moment.Ratsnakes as you say tens to climb a lot,racers are seldom found more then a couple feet off the ground.Racers are very fast and will usually beat a hasty retreat whereas ratsnakes more often rely on camo and will freeze.Black isn't very good camo to me but they think it works.
Once grasped a racer will start tattooing very intricate patterns all up and down your arm and even your face if you let him get that close.A ratsnake if it bites at all will usually calm down quickly.Racers have a dull look due to smooth scale and their belly is solid grey,a ratsnake has a mottled cream and grey splotched belly.both have white throats and chins.ratsnakes are much more common in my experience then racers.racers will be found more in fields and under things in the heat of the day,a ratsnake will be in a tree or in a hole in a tree.The head scalation is also different as well as the shape of the head looking down on it.Googling the separate snakes may yield pics to illustrate this.

 

[Don Catts]

Thanks Al, nice break down. All the ones I see around here have the Grey and white bellies and freeze, but for the most part they don’t seem to care if I am around or not. Is there a difference in the young or babies. Found seven young skins under a maple tree one day. About 13” long. Also, two years ago found a skin on the lawn exactly 6 ft long. I took it down to the ranger station at Atsion. I though maybe they would display it with the other things they have there, but they did not want it.

 

[manumuskin]

http://cryptobranchidae.tripod.com/id209.html
eighth pic down is a black rat baby
http://www.floridabackyardsnakes.com/SouthernBlackracer.html
upper left is a racer baby.lot of differences.shapes of blotches,marks on face.the whole snake looks different.
you can tell weather the scales are keeled or not on a shed skin.if the skin was six feet long and found in south jersey it was most likely a black rat or a pine snake.both have keeled scales but the pine snake skin should show blotches and a more bullet shaped head if the head was still attached.

 

[Don Catts]

Couldn’t be any clearer than this, thanks Al. That juvenile Black Rat Snake is a good looking snake.

 

[joc]

Anyone,

How do I identify a racer from a ratsnake in the field without picking it up?

Don

Don , usually the racer is moving about 2 x as fast as a black rat( and then some ) .The black rat has a thicker , more muscular build .Probably because the black rat is a constrictor . The black rat has a broader head / snout as well . The black rat is also a bit more aboreal , being found frequently up in trees .Racers are known to forage sometimes in bushes .Both will shake /rattle tail in leaves if cornered and both can and will bite .The black rat is a bit more docile than the racer .Hope this helps .
Joe

 

[Don Catts]

Don , usually the racer is moving about 2 x as fast as a black rat( and then some ) .The black rat has a thicker , more muscular build .Probably because the black rat is a constrictor . The black rat has a broader head / snout as well . The black rat is also a bit more aboreal , being found frequently up in trees .Racers are known to forage sometimes in bushes .Both will shake /rattle tail in leaves if cornered and both can and will bite .The black rat is a bit more docile than the racer .Hope this helps .

Joe

Joe, this helps a lot, very interesting. I guess racers are not constrictor? I always though they were close relatives. I have a picture somewhere of one in my cucumbers rapped around a rabbit. I can't believe he can swallow that rabbit. Came back about an hour later, he and the rabbit were both gone.
Thanks, Don

 

[joc]

Joe, this helps a lot, very interesting. I guess racers are not constrictor? I always though they were close relatives. I have a picture somewhere of one in my cucumbers rapped around a rabbit. I can't believe he can swallow that rabbit. Came back about an hour later, he and the rabbit were both gone.
Thanks, Don

Don , You're welcome .Correct , the racer is not a constrictor . All members of the rat snake family are constrictors .If a large black snake was wrapped around a rabbit , it was 99.99% a black rat .They consume pretty much any rodent they can . Black rats will also consume birds as well as birds and bird eggs .I have never seen it , but some people claim black rats will eat squirrels. Racers will eat almost anything they can subdue .They are highly cannabilistic feeding on other snakes , birds , rodents , lizards , frogs , and when young ,insects . No here 's the irony : the racers scientific name is : Coluber constrictor constrictor ( even though they are not constrictors !!). Sorry for rambling .
Joe

 

[joc]

Don , Another thing .Some of the "older " literature stated the racer woud even feed upon venomnous snakes as well . I'm not 100% sure this is /was accurate , maybe someone else can chime in . The racer is not immune to venom ,where as the king snake is immune .The King is a constrictor basically "specializing" in other snakes .
Joe

 

[Don Catts]

Joe, No problem ramble on, its good info. If that rat snake can eat a rabbit it can consume a squirrel. The problem is catching him and holding on to him. That would be a battle to see. If they were in a tree they would have to fall.

Don

 

[manumuskin]

Ophiophagous is an neat long term for snake eater,i have a kingsnake myself but i feed him mice.don't have the heart to feed him a snake.

 

[Don Catts]

I’m learning some new words, neonate ophiophagous etc, thanks!
Kingsnake is another beauty. I have only seen one in the wild when I lived on Atsion Road.
I read somewhere that the CornSnake is the number one pet snake

 

[manumuskin]

mine is whats known as a californis Kingsnake.Lampropeltis getula californae.The same species as our native snake only a subspecies off of it.captive bred.We've had him since he was about 6 inches long.He is now over four feet and fourteen years old.

 

[Don Catts]

Did anyone named it? My grandaughter gives everything she sees a name. I guess that’s full size for him. How long does a King Snake live? Do all snakes live about the same age? Sweetwater Clifton, the water snake that lived down under the rocks by the lake lived under that same rock for about 8 years, but he was full grown when I first saw him. He didn’t show up last year so I guess he is gone. Almost anything could have happened to him besides old age.

 

[manumuskin]

No he has no name.The larger a snake is the longer it has lived.Snakes never quit growing.they slow up but never quit.Your oldest snakes such as boas and pythons can live well over 50 years.Kingsnakes seem to max out about 20 or a little more.Crocs and gators are believed to be able to pass the 100 mark,they also never quit growing as well as tortosis which are believed to get to 150 occasionally.

 

[Tgeorge]

Back in May 2007 I that lunch with Boston Blackie …..
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There were four snakes at one time all over 6'. Not to worry, they live in my yard and are my friends, all made it home safe. No eggs were eaten and the duck went back to her nest. I was there all day keeping the snakes away. The next day the mallard left the nest and did not return.

Don

BEAUTIFUL!!! Looks like a black ratsnake. They make neat pets.