Southern Black Racer

“The southern black racer spends the winter in dens with many other types of snakes.”

The southern black racer lives in the United States and Mexico. This snake is not venomous but uses its great speed to escape predators and other threats. Though it’s known as a constrictor, it doesn’t kill its prey like other constrictor snakes like boa constrictors. They are carnivores eating rodents, birds, bird eggs, and lizards. This snake has a habit of lifting its head and long neck several inches off the ground to scout out its surroundings.

4 Southern Black Racer Amazing Facts

• A female can lay up to 23 eggs in one clutch.
• These reptiles can swim, climb trees and move across the ground at a very fast rate of speed.
• Baby black racers have gray or brown scales with a red splotch pattern for the first year of life.
• This is a shy, skittish snake that moves away when it feels threatened.

Where to Find Them

The southern black racer is sometimes called the North American black racer. These snakes live in the southeastern section of the United States including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina. However, the territory of this snake isn’t restricted to the southeast. It also lives in northern areas of the United States including the states of Maine and Minnesota. They also live in Mexico in Belize and Guatemala.

Southern black racers live in a prairie habitat as well as in scrubs, pinelands, and sandy areas and even venture into the backyards of homes in the suburbs.

Specifically, these snakes live underground, beneath piles of leaf litter or in thickets. They are usually found near water. These reptiles are expert swimmers.

The cold weather months are spent in brumation. In the month of October, the snakes go underground into dens containing other species of snakes. The entrance to this type of den may be located on a hillside or between two rocks in a pineland. They emerge in March and are especially active during the spring breeding season.

Types of Racer Snakes

Southern black racers are members of the Colubridae family. This is the largest family of snakes. Within that family, there are several species of racer snake. These include:

• Buttermilk Racer (Coluber constrictor anthicus) – This snake inhabits the southern area of the United States namely eastern Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. Like other racers, they are not venomous and are 30 to 60 inches in length.
• Tan Racer (Coluber constrictor etheridgei) – The territory of this snake overlaps the territory of the southern black racer. The tan racer snake is found in the southern part of the United States in Texas and Louisiana. Adults reach a length of 30 to 60 inches.
• Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii) – Blue Racers live in the United States in the states of Michigan and Wisconsin as well as in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. They are known for the bluish-gray scales. At four to six feet in size, they are about the same length as southern black racers.
• Everglades Racer (Coluber constrictor paludicola) – This snake earned its name because it’s found in the Everglades in Florida as well as in other areas within the state. These snakes usually grow to a length of four and a half feet.

Scientific Name

Coluber constrictor is the scientific name of the southern black racer snake. The Latin word Colubridae means serpent and constrictor points to the way this snake kills its prey. Its other name, North American racer, is more descriptive because this snake lives in areas other than the south. It is in the Colubridae family and the class Reptilia.

Its subspecies include:

• Coluber constrictor anthicus
• Coluber constrictor etheridgei
• Coluber constrictor foxii
• Coluber constrictor paludicola

Population and Conservation Status

The population estimate for this snake is 1,000,000 mature adults and likely more. Its numbers are considered stable. The IUCN Red List has this reptile categorized as Least Concern.

Appearance and Description

An adult southern black racer snake has solid black scales on its upper body along with a white chin. It has round pupils, a slender, thin body, and scales are smooth. The total length of this snake can be two to five feet, but some of these racers are six feet.

As a note, a baby southern black racer measures just six inches upon hatching. Look at a baby southern black racer and an adult. Their coloration makes them look like two different species of snake. The coloring and patterns of baby racers allow them to blend in with their pineland or scrub environment. As they age, they quickly take on the solid black scales and white chin of an adult.

How to identify a southern black racer:

• Mostly solid black scales with a white chin.
• A slender body and head with smooth scales.
• Round pupils.
• Tremendous speed.

Discover the largest black racer snake ever recorded.

History and Evolution

All racer snakes have evolved to be notably fast. Being quick in the wild obviously gives many survival advantages to an animal species. Racers adapted to move faster than their prey and also faster than their predators.

Snakes at some point in history had legs, just like a lizard or some other reptile. It is interesting to think about how legs evolved for some species for millions of years only to become unnecessary for snakes. You can still see vestigial legs on some species of snakes. For multiple reasons such as avoiding predators and being closer to food sources, early snakes adapted to sleek on the ground, trees, and water and ultimately not use their legs as much.

How Dangerous Are They?

Southern black racers are not venomous snakes. They are shy and use their great speed to escape humans, animal predators, or any other threat. But, like most snakes, if a southern black racer is cornered or feels it has no escape from a situation, it is able to inflict a painful bite.

If a person gets a bite from a North American racer, then it’s important to wash the injured area with soap and warm water. Cleaning the area cuts down on the chance it will become infected. This snake’s bite is known to be painful so putting an ice pack on the injured area can relieve the pain. If the area doesn’t begin to heal in a few days or it becomes red or develops a rash, it’s a good move to visit a doctor about it.

Behavior and Humans

Southern black racers are active in the daytime. They are out hunting for mice, birds, lizards, and bird eggs. They are very plentiful in certain states including Florida and Louisiana. These reptiles are useful in keeping rodent populations from becoming unmanageable. So, if this snake is seen on a farm or another piece of property, it should not be considered a pest.

It’s not unusual to see this snake moving around in a suburban, wooded backyard or crossing a street bordered by fields or woods. If they are spotted by a human, they try to get away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, these snakes are often run over and killed by cars and trucks. They are fast but not always able to get out of the way of passing traffic.