Baby snakes are plentiful in autumn | ECOVIEWS
Labor Day and St. Patrick’s Day have an environmental aspect in common. Each one represents a seasonal guidepost of increased snake activity.
Many U.S. snakes emerge from winter dormancy in March, increasing the chances of their encountering people. From late summer to early fall, more snakes will appear on the landscape than will be present for the remainder of the year. I identify as many snake photographs in September as I do in March. The most common mystery snakes are baby racers.
Most people in the eastern half of the country are familiar with black racers (a/k/a racers), the smooth, shiny snakes that can reach lengths of 5 feet.
A racer escapes predators by moving fast. Many people catch glimpses of them crossing roads, slithering across hiking trails or visiting suburban yards.
A fast-moving, solid black snake with a white chin is usually an adult black racer. On the other hand, even experienced naturalists often misidentify baby racers because they do not look at all like the adults. Juvenile racers have distinct markings on the back and sides and often have reddish or purple coloring. The pattern persists for several weeks, gradually becoming a solid body color.
Racers are not venomous, but they will bite if you pick them up. Other than a horseshoe-shaped mark seemingly formed by pinpricks (and maybe some drops of dried blood), you will have naught, physically, to show for your effort.
On the other hand, you will have bragging rights for having caught a racer in the first place. They are among the speediest snakes anywhere.
Because of their belligerent behavior, racers are not a favorite of herpetoculturists, people who keep reptiles. Racer defiance toward people starts after hatching and persists for most of them in captivity.
Like all snakes, racers are carnivores, but without a specialized diet. They have been known to eat insects, birds, even small turtles. Given the opportunity, a black racer will readily eat a smaller snake. I can vouch for that.
As a teenager in Alabama, I once found a clutch of snake eggs in a sawdust pile and knew immediately what they were. Although most snake eggs are white and leathery, racer eggs have calcium nodules on the shell that look like grains of salt. I took the eggs home, put them in a cage and covered them with damp paper towels.
One day I was greeted by a baby racer emerging from its shell and crawling around. An hour later a second one appeared. And shortly after that I watched in wonder as the first racer ate the second one. A true cannibal.
When black racers are hunting rodents, lizards or other prey in a pasture or on a lawn, they sometimes employ a distinctive tactic known as periscoping. Large coachwhip snakes display the same behavior They lift the head and front of body up so they can see above the grass or other vegetation. By rotating the head from side to side they can search in an arc as they crawl forward.
Snakes cannot hear airborne sounds, but racers and coachwhips have unusually large eyes and are the quintessential visual predators. Black racers and coachwhips are not active at night; they prowl around exclusively during daylight hours.
Another behavioral feature of black racers that has been documented more than once is that they will sometimes roll over and play dead if attacked by a housecat. If the cat is removed from the scene, the snake will gradually turn right side up then rapidly disappear into the closest vegetation. Many snakes will play dead when confronted by a predator, but this threat response in black racers has only been noted in confrontations with cats.
Along with rat snakes, racers are the most common large snakes to be found throughout much of the country. Appreciate one if you see it. You may only get a fleeting glance before it is gone.
Whit Gibbons is professor of zoology and senior biologist at the University of Georgia’s Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. If you have an environmental question or comment, email ecoviews@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Baby snakes are plentiful in autumn | ECOVIEWS
