Blue Racer Snakes

     The blue racer snake is one of the few species of blue snakes in the world. They are recognizable by their white underbelly and metallic scales that range in color from gray-green to bright cyan. Blue racers are not readily available at most reptile stores. 

     They adapt to a wide variety of habitats and climates. In the United States they can be found near the Great Lakes from Minnesota to Southwestern Ontario and Indiana. Their range in Canada is limited to a small population on Pelee Island. Their population is decreasing due to habitat loss, construction and human activity. This has led the snake to be listed as endangered in Canada. Currently they are not considered endangered in the United States. 

     Blue racers can be flighty and prone to biting and they can slither at speeds of up to 4 miles per hour! By comparison a walking speed of 3 to 4 miles per hour is typical for most people. By the way, for anyone interested in walking speeds of people by age and sex you can check it out on Healthline HERE.

     Modern army doctrine states an average speed of 2.5 mph along roads and 1 mph across the countryside. A normal days march would aim for 20 miles in a day, no matter how long it took.In my day that was with 40 pounds of combat gear, but some guys (machine gunners, mortars, radio men, etc) carried much more. But I have digressed. 

     When threatened blue racers will first try to outrun their attacker. If that fails they may vibrate their tail against vegetation to make a buzzing noise and strike repeatedly. Because of the buzzing noise they are often mistaken for rattlesnakes.

     Although nonvenomous they have a lot of curved teeth that causes a painful bite and so should be approached cautiously in the wild. They are aggressive and can strike from a long distance and do not tolerate being picked up. In addition to biting, they will musk and twist their bodies around to make themselves difficult to hold. It's best to leave them alone. 

     Blue racers may chase you to try to get you out of their territory. They might only chase you three or four feet but it will dart out at you and put up an act to defend its territory. Their habitat can occupy an area extending up to 25 acres, but a large number of them can live in the same area, as the species is not territorial by nature. 

     Adult blue racers range in size from 36 to 60 inches. There is little size variation between males and females. Both sexes are slender. Babies are generally 7.5 to 15 inches in length (not including their tail). 

     These snakes are diurnal so like humans they are most active during the daytime. Blue racers like to be on the move and so will not spend much time basking in the sun. They will share burrows with other species and will also hibernate with other snakes in rocky crevices and old animal burrows. However, in captivity they are not social and should be kept by themselves.