Black racer Facts
Black racer Facts
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| Interesting Black racer Facts: |
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| Black racer can reach 55 to 70 inches in length. |
| Black racer, as its name suggests, is covered with black scales. It has white markings on the throat and chin. Some individuals have grey colored belly. Unlike adult snakes, juveniles are beige or yellowish colored and covered with reddish-brown blotches (which provide camouflage). |
| Black racer has slender body covered with smooth scales. It has large eyes with round pupils and needle-sharp teeth. |
| Black racer is excellent swimmer and climber. It spends most of the time on the solid ground (terrestrial animal), but it can easily climb on the tree to avoid predators or (sometimes) to take a rest during the night. |
| Black racer is agile and very fast animal that can "run" (crawl) 4 miles per hour when it is threatened, hence the name "racer". |
| Black racer is diurnal animal (active during the day). |
| Black racer is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based on insects, frogs, small snakes, lizards, rodents, moles and birds. |
| Unlike other constrictors, black racer does not coil its body around the prey. Instead, it presses the prey on the ground and uses its own weight and strength to crush it. |
| Black racer produces buzzing noise which resembles the sound of rattlesnake, by vibrating its tail in the tall grass. This tactic is used to intimidate predators. Black racer is also able to lay motionless, with sharply curved body which looks like a fallen branch, when it is faced with danger. |
| Natural enemies of black racers are large birds (various types of hawks), snakes (king snakes and large racers) and humans. |
| Black racer will try to escape from humans whenever possible. It attacks and bites only in self-defense. Even though it does not produce venom, bite of black racer can be very painful. |
| Mating season of black racers takes place during the spring and summer (from March to June). |
| Female lays up to 20 eggs (usually 6 to 18) from the May to August. Babies are 6 inches long at birth. They need to fend for themselves from the moment of birth. |
| Only 40% of babies manage to survive first year of their life. Black racers reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 to 3 years. |
| Black racer can survive up to 10 years in the wild. |
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