Cosmo my new Black Racer

(Black Racer snake, or coluber constrictor)

As luck would have it, several days after catching the baby northern water snake at the river, I was searching in the leaf-covered woodlands behind my house and discovered a medium sized Black Racer, coiled up just underneath a thick tree. I slowly approached him as he began to slither away and I ended up chasing him almost into the neighbors yard and stopped when he went under a log in front of me.

I thought that it was over, that he had made it into a burrow or hole but I stood motionless for a couple more minutes, listening and looking for any sign of him. I then noticed the log at my feet and slowly uncovered it, revealing roughly an inch or two of the snakes body. I carefully reached down and pulled him out slowly, until I could see his head.

I decided to name it Cosmo (yes like Cosmo Kramer, being a Seinfeld fan) and fixed up a new home for him.

(Cosmo resting in his new home)

I was actually quite surprised that he did not attempt to bite me when I caught him. Black Racers have a bit of a reputation for biting when being handled, although he did release his bad smelling musk on me, which is a typical self-defense mechanism. Ughh.

Another typical scare tactic used by black racers, and some other non-venomous snakes, is to flutter their tails against the leaves as to make a sound like a rattlesnake.

Black Racers are non-venomous and typically eat small rodents, lizards, frogs and sometimes other snakes. Despite the name coluber constrictor they do not constrict, but actually hold the prey down with their body to subdue it.

(A Cricket Frog resting on a leaf in a creek)

Cricket Frogs, like the one above which I found in the small creek behind my house, could be considered typical food for a Black Racer.