Toby - My Black Racer

Toby is certainly a very curious snake, as long as I don't touch him, he will take pinks off the tongs, he let me do this whole photo shoot today while he was getting ready to shed, He even came up and "sniffed" the camera a couple times.

Raised him since birth, I think Toby is very handsome. I have only picked him up a very few times. This snake wants absolutely nothing to do with handling, so I don't even try. He bites, musks and is so damn fast that I'd be afraid of losing my grip. 100% "do not mess with me" attitude. (Love it)

Getting him started was difficult, for the first two months he would only eat live Anoles, it got expensive fast. Once he decided to take pinks he grew very quickly, He's 18 month old now and still growing.

Just hatched...







a few months old..

Sounds like he's got the typical Racer 'tude .

Handsome boy you got there Wayne

beautiful Racer. there amazing snakes

Beautiful racer you have there. I just love me some racers and coachwhips. A little trick you might try that may change his 'tude about being handled. Next time he is ready to shed take him out, place him on the floor mist him down real well then use your hands to help him shed. For some reason this seems to put them into a trance like state and really changes their attitude about being handled.

The last time Toby saw the floor, I had to tear my living room apart to get him back.

I've dealt with racers before. yes, they bite and go haywire if you try to hold them. Try handling a 5 foot adult and you have a live wire in your hands.

Fact is, I've caught these animals in the wild and tamed them. There really is no 'taming' a snake, its just that after so much handling, you become a part of their environment. Just use leather gloves and something to cover the arms, maybe a sweatshirt with a denim jacket over it. Keep it away from your face, and hold it gently. Make sure it doesn't get away. I did this and tamed a foot long racer in 3 days. I was handling it with no gloves by the end of the week.

He's going to be 2 years old this spring, he still looks like he has some growing to do.

Is this species a slow grower, or do they just keep on growing?

I have never kept one from childhood to adulthood, but when it comes to snakes, they mostly grow quickly when they are young. I would assume he will grow fast. The body and head proportions will even out and you'll have a large animal of roughly 4ft.