The non-venomous Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor) is common to Florida yards and gardens. It's black when mature, reaches four to five feet, and is the only black snake with a white chin. Slender, shy and fast, it will usually flee at the first sign of danger. Immatures up to two feet in length are gray with red-brown blotches down their backs. As they molt, they get darker until at two feet they are mostly black.
In warm weather I could always count on finding at least one black racer in the butterfly gardens at Washington Oaks State Gardens, often coiled in a sunny spot to enjoy the heat. If you have a black racer in your yard, it will become used to your presence and hang out in favorite spots. Condition yourself not to scream and jump and your black racer will also calm down and behave naturally.
Children often try to capture and keep a black racer as a pet. Not a good idea. It never seems to calm down and will refuse to eat and beat its nose against a cage or aquarium until it bleeds. Best left alone to do what it does best, hunt moths, grubs, crickets, baby rats, mice, frogs and smaller snakes. Contrary to its Latin name, black racers do not constrict but swallow prey whole.
If you do have a black racer, it's fun to watch for some unusual behaviors. Like many non-venomous snakes the racer, if cornered, will shake the tip of its tail in imitation of a rattler to ask, in snake body language, that you back off. My favorite behavior? Black racers have a habit of raising their heads and part of the front body, cobra-like, into an upright position to look around. This is not a threatening posture, but a way to see above the grass. Unlike some snakes, black racers have very large red-brown eyes and sharp eyesight since they hunt visually.
The National Wildlife Federation program to create backyard wildlife habitats recommends you build a small brush pile away from your house as shelter for all kinds of wildlife, including the black racer. Several small logs placed side by side and loosely covered with small branches and vines will be safe haven for your non-venomous neighbors. A few non-venomous snakes reduce the chances that a venomous snake will take up residence.
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