Eastern Yellow Belly Racer

[AndrewH]

http://herpjournal.com/2002/kansas_02/K_4_27_28/fullsize/c_constrictor2_04_27_02.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3586/3509975117_e81ccf670b.jpg

Found one of these in the house (about 30" long :D).

Anyone have some feeder frogs or lizards?

Or a good snake forum? LOL

[J*Hawk*83]

NICE, so I guess you plan on keeping him? :D

[AndrewH]

Well for a little while.

(s)He's in an empty 55 gallon right now. But since they're grassland/open field habitat creators, I'll probably release him/her back into the wild.

I mostly want to "learn" about them since I've never seen one so big (looks like a giant prairie racer - same family).

[spxsk]

I have found very small (think night crawler or a little larger) snakes with the same markings in my yard every spring. So far this year I am up to about 9 or 10 so far. I have never seen one anywhere near 10" let a lone 30"!

[tsunderl]

Did you say that creature was in your house???!!!??? <Faint>
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[AndrewH]

I have found very small (think night crawler or a little larger) snakes with the same markings in my yard every spring. So far this year I am up to about 9 or 10 so far. I have never seen one anywhere near 10" let a lone 30"!

Yeah, the ones you're seeing are the prairie racers (a.k.a. Rough Earth Snake (http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/rough%20earth%20snake%2011.jpg)).

I found 12 at one time under a barrel in the backyard (been finding 2-3 in this location about a month apart, then there were tons).

The Yellowbelly looks almost exactly the same, but instead of a cream belly they have a bright yellow color. (I thought I found a giant prairie racer at first). And the yellowbellys are longer, much longer :D.

[AndrewH]

Did you say that creature was in your house???!!!??? <Faint>
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LOL, yeah. GF freaked. Cat was sitting right next to it grooming. Seems the other cat mangled it a bit before I saved it.

[J*Hawk*83]

LOL, yeah. GF freaked. Cat was sitting right next to it grooming. Seems the other cat mangled it a bit before I saved it.
Looks like you might need to let one of those Kitties go. She was more worried about her looks rather than working. :hehe:

[AndrewH]

Looks like you might need to let one of those Kitties go. She was more worried about her looks rather than working. :hehe:

Gf's cats... he's a retired stud cornish rex (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=cornish%20rex%20cats&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS266US266&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi). The female calico (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=calico%20cats&rlz=1B3GGGL_enUS266US266&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi) is the one that attacked the snake :D. She attacks everything (feet from under the bed, all house plants, any bug within 200' of the house, etc.).

[EAST_TX_RN]

I love snakes, but I don't like racers! I've had too many chase me when I was a kid! At least I thought they were chasing me at the time. The ones I used to see were called black racers, aka Southern Black Racers. I occasionally see a brown one when mowing my acreage. Off the subject but last year I was mowing near a wood-pile in the back pasture and I saw a rat snake come out and go into the woods. The wood pile was about 5 ft. from the edge of the woods and I saw this snake stretched out, covering that distance and still coming out from under the wood pile. I guestimated it was about 7 ft. long. I have seen 6 ft. rat snakes(and played with them), but none this long. I have seen black racers at least 4ft. long. Andrew, the snake you caught may be different, but most racers are pretty aggressive and don't mind biting. I highly recommend letting this one go. Now, if you are looking for a pretty snake, I think I have a copper-head or two out in my woods.:D

[oscar-lover]

I would have crapped in my pants if i saw that snake in my house...:D

[AndrewH]

I love snakes, but I don't like racers! I've had too many chase me when I was a kid! At least I thought they were chasing me at the time. The ones I used to see were called black racers, aka Southern Black Racers. I occasionally see a brown one when mowing my acreage. Off the subject but last year I was mowing near a wood-pile in the back pasture and I saw a rat snake come out and go into the woods. The wood pile was about 5 ft. from the edge of the woods and I saw this snake stretched out, covering that distance and still coming out from under the wood pile. I guestimated it was about 7 ft. long. I have seen 6 ft. rat snakes(and played with them), but none this long. I have seen black racers at least 4ft. long. Andrew, the snake you caught may be different, but most racers are pretty aggressive and don't mind biting. I highly recommend letting this one go. Now, if you are looking for a pretty snake, I think I have a copper-head or two out in my woods.:D

Most websites warn about how aggressive the racers are. They will bite and chase ;), but nonvenomous (which doesn't make it hurt any less).

I've seen several bull snakes in the 7'-8' range, but very few black racers in that size. Rare to see any native snakes that big. The Indigo Racers get big, too.

I don't plan to keep him more than a few days/ couple weeks at the most. I want to give him/her a chance to heal from where the cat got him before I put it outside.

I would have crapped in my pants if i saw that snake in my house...:D

LOL, gf was barefoot and was standing about 6" away from where it was found. She was not happy to say the least. Of course she didn't want anything to do with it (just get it outta the house), but couldn't believe I'd just pick it up and play with it.

Venomous vs. nonvenomous is pretty easy to tell the difference, not to mention I've seen lots of racer species and have played with them my entire life.

I grew up dealing with snakes all the time. I normally don't get too excited unless I hear rattles or see lots of red, yellow and black, or copperheads :D.

[spxsk]

Yeah, the ones you're seeing are the prairie racers (a.k.a. Rough Earth Snake (http://www.snakesandfrogs.com/scra/snakes/images/rough%20earth%20snake%2011.jpg)).

I found 12 at one time under a barrel in the backyard (been finding 2-3 in this location about a month apart, then there were tons).

The Yellowbelly looks almost exactly the same, but instead of a cream belly they have a bright yellow color. (I thought I found a giant prairie racer at first). And the yellowbellys are longer, much longer :D.

Thanks for the info, have always wondered what they were. I grew up with tons of snakes in the cheat grass desert around Reno, NV so I am always looking in the bushes and under things. Not so many of the scary critters here in suburban Dallas, as I found out there though.

[AndrewH]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

When I was growing up on a small farm in Mineral Wells, we moved a brush hog that had been sitting for a couple years. Needless to say we found lots of critters under it.

Never know what kind of wildlife you'll find in the country :D.

[EAST_TX_RN]

I've seen several bull snakes in the 7'-8' range, but very few black racers in that size. Rare to see any native snakes that big. The Indigo Racers get big, too..

No, no! The biggest black racer I have seen was around 4 ft. It was a rat snake that I saw that was 7 ft. I have seen several 6 footers, but never a 7 ft. rat snake!