Ticks are usually found with their heads buried under a scale. Parasites like mites and ticks can also be a problem. They show up as crusty lesions or yellow scales around the mouth and sides of a snake. Males and females live to be about the same age.īecause pet blue racers are usually wild-caught they share many of the same health problems with other wild snakes.įungal diseases are commonly found on wild snakes. Lifespan & Healthīlue racers can live up to 10 years in the wild and slightly longer in captivity. Racers are not known to soak so their bowl does not need to be large enough for their whole body. The water bowl should be shallow enough for your blue snake to climb in and out of easily. But note that grasshoppers are not as convenient to store as mice and should not be their exclusive diet.įinally, they should have constant access to clean water. Frozen-thawed mice are widely available and can be stored easily.įor diet variety and stimulation, blue racers can also be fed the occasional grasshopper. Alternatively many snake owners prefer to use frozen-thawed mice. Mice should be pre-killed to avoid injury to your snake. They should be fed mice ( either pinkies or adults) during the day. However, they will eat them if they get the chance!īlue Racer Snakes in captivity are active hunters. Juveniles tend to eat more insects due to their smaller size.īirds and bird eggs represent a smaller portion of their diet because blue racers are not heavy climbers. This species eats more mammals in the spring and summer and insects in the fall. Their prey choice and diet change over the course of the year. This means they will happily prey on insects ( especially grasshoppers), locusts, birds, small mammals, amphibians, lizards, other snakes and eggs. In the wild blue racer sakes are opportunistic feeders. Young snakes have a dark blotched pattern on their backs (similar to juvenile rat snakes) which they lose as they reach sexual maturity. Juvenile snakes normally double in size over the course of their first year. Hatchlings are generally 7.5 to 15 inches in length ( not including their tail). Both sexes are slender snakes and are not particularly heavy-bodied like a Western Hognose. There is little size variation between males and females. Blue Racer Size Southern Black RacerĪdult blue racers range in size from 36 to 60 inches. The eastern yellowbelly racer ( Coluber constrictor flaviventris) is coffee-colored with a yellow underbelly. The buttermilk racer ( Coluber constrictor anthicus) is an unusual snake with a checkerboard pattern on its back. Some blues are a darker gray color and can be harder to distinguish from other subspecies such as the southern black racer ( pictured below).Īll 11 subspecies of racer snake have varying colors and patterns.
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