Racer
Authored By: Wilson
Coluber constrictor
RACR
Status
The Racer is abundant rangewide.Description
The Racer is a long (91–185 cm), slender, black snake. Adults have a dull black dorsum and, except for a white chin, they have a dark gray venter. Juveniles up to one year of age have a distinct brown or dark gray series of blotches fading to a dull brown or gray toward the posterior one third of the body. Eleven subspecies are recognized.Distribution
The Racer ranges from Maine and British Columbia south toward Florida and Guatemala. It occurs throughout the United States, except for the arid Southwest.HabitatS
Racers are active, diurnal snakes which occur in nearly all of our terrestrial habitats. They are most common in open pine woods, forest edges, and bushy margins of streams, swamps, and lakes. Additionally, they are commonly found in early successional pine stages, windrows, brushy dunes, maritime forests, farmland, bottomland hardwoods and upland meadows. Individuals often hide under boards, around old home sites, old sawdust piles, and other similar surface debris.Special Requirements
This snake requires shelter in the form of stumps, natural cavities, or surface debris.Breeding Habits
Coluber constrictor mates in spring, and females lay 4–25 eggs during June or July. Eggs are usually deposited in humus, sawdust piles, rotting logs or stumps. The young hatch in late summer.Food Habits
Racers eat a variety of prey including snakes, small mammals, lizards, birds, frogs, toads, and insects.Management Suggestions
Because of the great adaptability and abundance of this species, no specific management measures are considered necessary at this time.Additional References
Auffenberg 1955; Brown and Parker 1984; Fitch 1963; Mount 1975; Plummer and Congdon 1994; Wright and Wright 1957.Encyclopedia ID: p2003
