Ha. I was walking out the front door one morning this week, and was about to go down the steps when my wife said, “What is that?” I looked down and saw this hatchling black racer. He was all the way up on my porch (15 feet up from the ground), coiled up nice and calmly. The cats were on the porch with him and seemed to not even notice.
Anyway, in case anyone’s ever wondered what a baby black racer looks like, here you go.
great pic, lee!
Very cool picture. I like snakes 
Are you sure it’s a black racer? Looks like a banded water snake to me.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Water snake.
Stonoman
It’s a black racer. Believe me. I know my snakes. I’ve been fascinated with reptiles my whole life and used to keep a bunch as pets. When I was in college, I hung out with the VP of the SC Herpetological Society and the herpetologists at the College of Charleston. I have caught almost every species that exists in this state. I actually found a clutch of black-racer eggs one time and kept one until it hatched. I’ve found a bunch of these babies before. When they are adults, they are virtually solid black on the back, but when young, they have the pattern that you see in the picture. They actually still have it as adults, but the black obscures it so that it’s very hard to see. This one was released into a bush.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc.
https://stricklandmarineinsurance.com
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
Do you happen to know Steve Bennett?
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Sounds familiar, but I’m not sure. I sometimes have trouble with names. I haven’t seen a lot of those reptile guys for many years, except for Roarke Ferguson, who was a very good friend of mine for about 25 years until he recently passed away. I miss him. He was the director of Alligator Adventure for a while. I always thought a cobra or a croc would take him out, or maybe a bear, since he was always getting close with the most dangerous animals, but end the end, it was his health.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc.
https://stricklandmarineinsurance.com
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
I’ve caught my fair share of snakes but never would have known that was a racer, though proportionally it’s the best fit. I’ve always found water snakes to be much fatter and cottonmouths much much fatter.
First, Most, Biggest
quote:
Sounds familiar, but I'm not sure. I sometimes have trouble with names. I haven't seen a lot of those reptile guys for many years, except for Roarke Ferguson,
Steve has been one of the top snake, turtle and lizard men (herpetologist) for the SC DNR for many, many years. He and I grew up together in Thunderbolt, and caught many a fish, snake and gator together. Went through school, cub scouts, boys scouts…infant to adulthood together.
This is him with your friend Roarke in a SC DNR video…If you know one you about had to know the other.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm44AA_14ew
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
Yep, that’s Roarke. He came to my wedding in 1992 and to my kids’ birthday parties over the years. He’d bring monkeys and stuff (NOT TO THE WEDDING, HAHA.) He and fished together, played tennis, and hunted the forest together for snakes–close friends ever since I was in college. He and Dr. Seashole started the SC Herpetocultural Society back in the early 90’s, and I was a member for a couple of years. The last time Roarke called me, he was asking me if I had a box turtle because some kids wanted one. He was always giving turtles and stuff to kids. A few months later, his girlfriend called me and told me that Roarke was gone.
I used to donate critters to his reptile center. He also adopted one of my german shepherds when my other female was being too alpha for the smaller one.
Some of my fondest memories are from the times when Roarke had a pet Cougar in his apartment. Haha. That thing was cool. he let it run loose in the place, and it flat-out tore the place up. It would sit on the back of the couch and lick the back of my head like a lolly pop. He also had a baby tiger for a while until some lady called the Department of Agriculture on him.
He was a good friend, and it was pretty tough on me when his girlfriend called and told me that he had passed. It’s rare to find a friend that keeps calling you just to talk or invite you to come hang, never losing touch over a 25-year span. Alabamafan was a friend of his, too.
I never recall meeting Steve, though. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I didn’t, and I don’t doubt that they were friends, as Roarke knew a lot of people and was commonly doing things with the DNR. But as often as I was at Roarke’s place, I don’t recall meeting your friend Steve.
Then again, I never met Brook Burke or any of the Swimsuit Illustrated models, but Roarke called me chuckling like a school boy a couple of times because he did some TV shows with some of them (Animal Planet or something.)
You should see the videos he made of him handling the 20-foot
Larry, I knew there was something about you that seemed to be in common with me. You’re a fellow swamp tromper.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc.
https://stricklandmarineinsurance.com
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
quote:
Originally posted by gotchacoveredHa. I was walking out the front door one morning this week, and was about to go down the steps when my wife said, “What is that?” I looked down and saw this hatchling black racer. He was all the way up on my porch (15 feet up from the ground), coiled up nice and calmly. The cats were on the porch with him and seemed to not even notice.
Anyway, in case anyone’s ever wondered what a baby black racer looks like, here you go.
Gotcha Covered,
Lee Strickland
Strickland Marine Insurance Agency, Inc.
https://stricklandmarineinsurance.com
843-795-1000 / 800-446-1862
I know what one looks like in a pot of grease. I love to eat snakes. Good stuff.
RBF
quote:
Originally posted by Richard Beer Froth[quote]Originally posted by gotchacovered
I know what one looks like in a pot of grease. I love to eat snakes. Good stuff.
RBF
DH, that’s got to be the worst you’ve posted. I do dislike snakes and feel no remorse for killing one. But I’d have to have run out of tree bark, grass. beetles, and my belly rubbing a hole in my back bone before I’d ever eat a snake.
quote:
Originally posted by Fred67quote:
Originally posted by Richard Beer Froth[quote]Originally posted by gotchacovered
I know what one looks like in a pot of grease. I love to eat snakes. Good stuff.
RBF
DH, that’s got to be the worst you’ve posted. I do dislike snakes and feel no remorse for killing one. But I’d have to have run out of tree bark, grass. beetles, and my belly rubbing a hole in my back bone before I’d ever eat a snake.
Eat my Wife’s cooking for 20 years, and that snake will taste like a delicacy my friend…
RBF
Question?? Needed to look for knife I’d left in trailer in yard , pitch dark so I’m crossing yard “fresh mowed” with flashlight
and walked up on about 3-4 ft snake very similar markings to one in picture above. Strange , as I neared it coiled up somewhat into
striking position, head tilted up and back with mouth wide open , tried to give wide berth but it would turn and keep me in its front.
I don’t normally carry my pistol in yard but I’m gonna start.
Anyone have idea what kind it might have been???
[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
quote:
Originally posted by Fred67quote:
Originally posted by Richard Beer Froth[quote]Originally posted by gotchacovered
I know what one looks like in a pot of grease. I love to eat snakes. Good stuff.
RBF
DH, that’s got to be the worst you’ve posted. I do dislike snakes and feel no remorse for killing one. But I’d have to have run out of tree bark, grass. beetles, and my belly rubbing a hole in my back bone before I’d ever eat a snake.
You may want to expand your culinary palate with this before dinner cocktail for a full on snake experience:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_wine
RBF
I’m tellin your wife about the cooking comment
“I am not involved in this thread, only helping Fred understand who he is dealing with.”
quote:Without a picture, it's hard to say because people see and remember things differently. The mouth-wide-open-and-tilted-back part is a call-sign of the cottonmouth, but racers will do that sometimes, too (but they look very, very different from cottonmouths, and by the time they're 3 feet long, they have virtually lost their juvenile markings.) They'll also rattle their tails. While I would not consider the markings similar, some who haven't had much experience with snakes might consider the markings of a cottonmouth to be similar to the ones seen in the picture, although they are quite a bit different to the eye that frequents them. The adult rat snake's markings are closer to the ones in the pic than the cottonmouth's are, but cottonmouths are very distinct and easy to identify if you've ever seen one before.
Originally posted by gail winsQuestion?? Needed to look for knife I’d left in trailer in yard , pitch dark so I’m crossing yard “fresh mowed” with flashlight
and walked up on about 3-4 ft snake very similar markings to one in picture above. Strange , as I neared it coiled up somewhat into
striking position, head tilted up and back with mouth wide open , tried to give wide berth but it would turn and keep me in its front.
I don’t normally carry my pistol in yard but I’m gonna start.
Anyone have idea what kind it might have been???[http://www.militaryappreciationday.org
When you see “Old Glory” waving in the breeze, know that it is the dying breaths of our fallen hero’s that makes it wave.
author unknown
Again, people see things differently, so it’s almost impossible to ID a snake from an eye-witness account. The best advice is for you to steer clear if you aren’t sure what it is
quote:
Originally posted by PeaPodI’m tellin your wife about the cooking comment
“I am not involved in this thread, only helping Fred understand who he is dealing with.”
I would be more than happy to have you over for dinner sometime… Bon Appetit…
RBF
I’ve eaten snake a few times and it’s actually pretty dang good. If you like frog legs or alligator you would like snake.
quote:
Strange , as I neared it coiled up somewhat into striking position, head tilted up and back with mouth wide open , tried to give wide berth but it would turn and keep me in its front. I don't normally carry my pistol in yard but I'm gonna start. Anyone have idea what kind it might have been??????
Sounds like a water moccasin to me also. Many snakes will coil up, flare their heads out, rattle their tails and pretend to be bigger and badder than they really are. Most will not turn to face you, not even poisonous snakes, they will try to evade, but moccasins can be aggressive and are one of the few that will do that. Moccasins are also one for the few who rear their head back and open their mouth.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper