Hatching Black Racers??????

[jitami]

How fun I wanna come live at your house

[jamromhem]

technically if the were hatched in your house they aren't wild caught are they? seeing as they were born in captivity at that point.

[dlgambill]

Help! I found a nest of eggs in my compost pile, and I'm pretty sure they're black snakes (is that the same as black racers?). I want the eggs to hatch, but I don't want them to hatch and then live here at the farm. Can I move the eggs into a big box to let them hatch, then relocate them to the woods? My biggest worry is keeping the temperature right for them. Also, once they hatch, when and where can I release them?

[Mom2Four]

technically if the were hatched in your house they aren't wild caught are they? seeing as they were born in captivity at that point.

True but the TWRA officer I asked about hatching them, and the 2 that know I have them told me they would appreciate it if I let them all go.. LoL Guess they have a don't ask don't tell policy...

[Mom2Four]

Help! I found a nest of eggs in my compost pile, and I'm pretty sure they're black snakes (is that the same as black racers?). I want the eggs to hatch, but I don't want them to hatch and then live here at the farm. Can I move the eggs into a big box to let them hatch, then relocate them to the woods? My biggest worry is keeping the temperature right for them. Also, once they hatch, when and where can I release them?

I left mine outside, covered just like they were when the Mama laid them, as I figured she knew what she was doing. Put some of the compost in a rubber maid container, drill itsy teeny holes in the top of it, ( I used the shoe box sized container) and then cover them with a damp paper towel, and a dark t-shirt piece of cloth or a little compost or something like that.. Make sure the box stays damp but not too damp, basically mimic where they were.. Also do not place the box in direct sunlight, mine was on the front porch on a table, it got a wee bit of sun in the afternoons, but never really direct sunlight..(then the inside of the box would get too hot if it did) They box will sweat and condensate and that is ok.. You won't have to re-dampen everything as often that way..
Also, when you move the eggs, make sure you mark the tops with a sharpie or something and leave them that side up in the box, turning them over will kill the embryo inside.
Mine leaked a week or so before they hatched.. I talked to a herpetologist and found out why. The pores open if they get to moist and that is the reason for the leakage, so don't do like me and cut a slip and try to help the little bugger out. I thought they were hatching.. actually the eggs were just weeping.. If left outside at the temperature they would be in nature they do not hatch as early as incubated eggs, mine took almost 75 days.. You don't know when yours were laid, but my guess is they will probably hatch within the month, since most snake eggs hatch in August and September in the wild. You can release them as soon as they are hatched if you want. Once they started hatching mine hatched over a 5 day period, and once they slit the egg it took some of them up to 48 hours to come all the way out into the world.

Good luck, have fun, it was really an amazing event to watch..

[Charis]

Anyway, we are talking about getting my daughter a corn snake for a beginner snake, we will see. I am studying up on different species and how hard they are to keep, etc...

I have 3 corns & am snake-sitting a ball python for my cousin at the moment. I like my corns a lot, but have to say temperament wise, the BP is the best snake I've owned up to & including the garters I've had in the past. There are a few care things about them I don't really like, for one thing they can be picky eaters, but overall I'd recommend one as a beginner's snake over a corn, for a child anyway. Just my two cents.

[Mom2Four]

I have 3 corns & am snake-sitting a ball python for my cousin at the moment. I like my corns a lot, but have to say temperament wise, the BP is the best snake I've owned up to & including the garters I've had in the past. There are a few care things about them I don't really like, for one thing they can be picky eaters, but overall I'd recommend one as a beginner's snake over a corn, for a child anyway. Just my two cents.

Thanks, I was looking at them too.. My hubby is not on the snake boat yet.. They don't offend him, but he doesn't want one loose in the house either.. His biggest rule is nothing that gets longer than he is tall.... He says he couldn't sleep at night if there were a snake bigger than him in the house...

[Lovok]

I remember reading in a library book when I was a teen that Black Racers are really nervous, aggressive critters, and aren't the best choice for a snakie pet. Yet, it sounds from the threads that this isn't necessarily true. I do remember a time when i was still in high school & living w/ my folks, there was a good sized Black Racer that used to hunt for mice and chipmunks around our house. I knew it was a Racer because it was shiny and jet black- no markings whatsoever, and an almost lily white belly. One evening it was in the yard, & of course Mom freaked out and told me to "do something with it". I went out to catch it, and it bolted at first, then it just stopped, turned around, and stood it's ground, striking out at me. It was so bizarre, because it wasn't cornered, it's eyes weren't clouded at all, and I wasn't that close to catching it. It was like it just suddenly thought "Well, that's enough of THIS sh*t!" and turned aggressive, which kinda reinforced what I had read.

Do you suppose what was meant, that wild caught Racers don't adjust unless you catch then real young, or breed them? I still still recall that the book said that they just always look for an escape, don't like to be handled and are "biters", and are tough to get to eat in captivity.

[Didymus20X6]

It may be they still won't make great pets. These haven't matured, and from what Mom2Four says, they're not planning on keeping them anyway.