Maturity is reached in approximately 2 years. The 8-10" (20–26 cm) long juvenile racers hatch in the early fall. Around a month later the female will lay anywhere from 3 to 30 eggs in a hidden nest site such as a hollow log, an abandoned rodent burrow, or under a rock. Mating takes place in the spring, from April until early June. They are usually not far from an area of cover to hide in. Most racers prefer open, grassland type habitat where their keen eyesight and speed can be readily used, but they are also found in light forest and even semi-arid regions. It spends most of its time on the ground, but it's a good tree climber and may be found in shrubs and trees where bird nests can be raided for eggs and chicks, as well as small adult birds such as finches, canaries, and thatchers. Habitatįrequently near water but also in brush, trash piles, roadsides, swamps, suburbia it is the most common snake in residential neighborhoods in Florida. Vibrating their tails among dry leaves, racers can sound convincingly like rattlesnakes. They are difficult to handle and will writhe, defecate and release a foul smelling musk from their cloaca. However, once cornered they put up a vigorous fight, biting hard and often. Aptly named, racers are very fast and typically flee from a potential predator. They are curious snakes with excellent vision, and are sometimes seen raising their head above the height of the grass they are crawling in to view what is around them. Most smaller prey items are simply swallowed alive. Despite their specific name, constrictor, they do not really employ constriction, instead simply subduing struggling prey by pinning it bodily, pressing one or two coils against it to hold it in place instead of actually suffocating it. Juveniles often consume soft-bodied insects, such as crickets and moths. Some subspecies are known to climb trees in order to eat eggs and young birds. Their diet consists primarily of small rodents, frogs, toads, lizards, and other snakes. Racers are fast moving, highly active, diurnal snakes. As they grow older, the dorsum darkens, and the juvenile pattern gradually disappears. Juveniles are more strikingly patterned, with a middorsal row of dark blotches on a light ground color. All subspecies have a lighter-colored underbelly: white, a light tan, or yellow in color. "Runner" is sometimes used instead of "racer" in their common names. Most are solid-colored as their common names imply: black racers, brown racers, blue racers, or green racers. The patterns vary widely between subspecies. A typical adult specimen will weigh around 556 g (1.226 lb), with little size difference between the sexes. DescriptionĪdult Eastern racers can typically vary from 50 to 152 cm (20 to 60 in) in total length depending on the subspecies, but a record-sized specimen measured 185.4 cm (73.0 in) in total length. Accessed on 24 June 2023.They are primarily found throughout the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains, but they range north into Canada, and south into Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Coluber constrictor foxi - Schmidt, 1953: 187.Bascanion foxii Baird & Girard, 1853: 96.Holotype: USNM 4445, immature ♀, collected by C.Subspecies: Coluber constrictor foxii Name Ĭoluber constrictor foxii ( Baird & Girard, 1853) Coluber constrictor foxii Taxonavigation Taxonavigation: Colubroidea
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