Western yellowbelly racer, Western racer
The Western yellow-bellied racer (Coluber constrictor mormon) is a subspecies of the Eastern racer. It is nonvenomous and is not dangerous to humans.
The Western yellow-bellied racer has a long and very slender shape. It is visually similar to the Eastern yellow-bellied racer, which is also green, blue, or brown with a recognizable yellow underside. Also named for its color, the Western yellow-bellied racer is also gray with red or brown blotches when young.
Western yellow-bellied racers are native to the Western United States, including California, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Montana, and Colorado. They prefer to live in open habitats such as grasslands, meadows, savannas, chaparral, shrubland, open woodlands, and also riparian areas, rocky areas, and fields.
These snakes spend most of their time on the ground but they are also good tree climbers. They are fast-moving, highly active, diurnal creatures. They are curious, have excellent vision, and are sometimes seen raising their heads above the height of the grass where they are crawling to view what is around them. When feeling threatened they flee from a potential predator. However, once cornered, they put up a vigorous fight, biting hard and often. They are difficult to handle and will writhe, defecate, and release a foul-smelling musk from their cloacae. Vibrating their tails among dry leaves, racers can sound convincingly like rattlesnakes. During cold months of the year, Western yellow-bellied racers hibernate in holes and hollows between rocks or in abandoned burrows. They may hibernate communally with other snakes or individually.
Western yellow-bellied racers are carnivores. They mainly feed on small rodents, other small mammals, frogs, toads, small turtles, lizards, and other snakes. They also climb trees to eat eggs and young birds. Juveniles often consume soft-bodied insects and other small invertebrates, as well as small frogs, small reptiles (including lizards and snakes and their eggs), young rodents, and shrews.
Western yellow-bellied racers breed in the spring, soon after they emerge from hibernation. Females are oviparous. They lay 2 -13 eggs in mid-summer, sometimes in communal nests. The eggs are usually laid in a hidden nest site, such as a hollow log, an abandoned rodent burrow, or under a rock. The young hatch in the early fall and are fully independent from birth. Young males become reproductively mature at around 2 years of age while females reach maturity when they are 2 to 3 years old.
Western yellow-bellied racers don’t face are not threatened at present but they suffer from continued habitat loss due to urban and agricultural development.
According to IUCN Red List, the Western yellow-bellied racer is locally common throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. Generally, the Eastern racer is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
