Black racers’ top speed is about 4 miles per hour, which may not sound like much, but that’s fast for a snake! They can get up to six feet long, and they’re quite strong and fast. What Does a Black Racer Look Like?Īs their name suggests, black racers are large, dark-colored snakes. Let’s learn more about this interesting snake and how to identify it. Snakes play a major role in the ecosystem, so it’s important to let them be! For example, one of Florida’s most common species, the Southern black racer, may look scary, but they’re great for pest control. And honestly, all of them simply want to be left alone. Most of them can’t do worse than bite you. However, only 6 of those 50 species are venomous. After all, snakes are dangerous, right? And in Florida, you’ve got more than 50 species roaming our swamps and forests. The fear of snakes is called ophidiophobia, and it’s fairly common. Black racers reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years.īlack racer can survive up to 10 years in the wild.The Black Racer: All About Florida’s Fastest Snake Only 40% of babies manage to survive first year of their life. They need to fend for themselves from the moment of birth. Mating season of black racers takes place during the spring and summer (from March to June).įemale lays up to 20 eggs (usually 6 to 18) from the May to August. Even though it does not produce venom, bite of black racer can be very painful. It attacks and bites only in self-defense. Natural enemies of black racers are large birds (various types of hawks), snakes (king snakes and large racers) and humans.īlack racer will try to escape from humans whenever possible. Black racer is also able to lay motionless, with sharply curved body which looks like a fallen branch, when it is faced with danger. This tactic is used to intimidate predators. Instead, it presses the prey on the ground and uses its own weight and strength to crush it.īlack racer produces buzzing noise which resembles the sound of rattlesnake, by vibrating its tail in the tall grass. Unlike other constrictors, black racer does not coil its body around the prey. Its diet is based on insects, frogs, small snakes, lizards, rodents, moles and birds. It spends most of the time on the solid ground (terrestrial animal), but it can easily climb on the tree to avoid predators or (sometimes) to take a rest during the night.īlack racer is agile and very fast animal that can "run" (crawl) 4 miles per hour when it is threatened, hence the name "racer".īlack racer is diurnal animal (active during the day).īlack racer is a carnivore (meat-eater). It has large eyes with round pupils and needle-sharp teeth.īlack racer is excellent swimmer and climber. Unlike adult snakes, juveniles are beige or yellowish colored and covered with reddish-brown blotches (which provide camouflage).īlack racer has slender body covered with smooth scales. Some individuals have grey colored belly. It has white markings on the throat and chin. Despite these factors, black racers are numerous and widespread in the wild (they are not on the list of endangered species).īlack racer can reach 55 to 70 inches in length.īlack racer, as its name suggests, is covered with black scales. Greatest threats for the survival of black racers in the wild are intentional killing (out of fear) and traffic accidents. Black racer inhabits densely vegetated areas, forests, grasslands, thickets, fields and backyards in the suburban areas. It can be found in the eastern parts of the USA. Black racer is a type of non-venomous snake that belongs to the colubrid family.
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