Coachwhip or Red Racer

The coachwhip or red racer is found in Southern California, southern Nevada, the southeastern corner of Utah, eastern and southern Arizona, and Baja California. Their coloration varies widely, but they usually have a general tone of pink, tan or gray with black crossbars on the neck. They range in size from 3 to 8 1/2 feet long and are very slender. When caught, they are usually quite nasty, spitting and striking repeatedly. The coachwhip below was found by Julee Brice in 1993 in her birdhouse which housed small finches. The snake was not able to get out of the birdhouse because the finch the snake had eaten created a large enough bulge that it could not fit through the wire mesh of the cage. The color variation and scale marking on this one snake is quite remarkable. The top portion, below the black banded neck, is quite pink with faint brownish bands. The middle portion, where the eaten finch is lodged, is tan with a different stripe pattern. Finally, the bottom portion is a uniform color and scale patter.

A closer shot of the same snake, particularly the lower tan portion, shows the distinctive pattern, similar to a braided whip, from which it gets its name.

We went to Julee's house for the snake and took it into the canyon and let it go. Here it is, after its release, slithering along an embankment.

Another distinctive characteristic is the raised head. They quite often have their heads raised as they slither along the ground. It makes them appear inquisitive or curious. This is Indy, a pet red racer we had for awhile, discussed below.

This beautiful red coachwhip was found along Overcrest street on our way to church one Sunday morning. Judy and the kids were in the car when I spotted it on the road. I got out and grabbed the back end of the snake and it started to hiss and repeatedly strike me They have a row of tiny, razor sharp teeth and when they bite they leave an imprint in your skin highlighted by tiny droplets of blood coming from your skin out of the tiny teeth marks. On this occasion, to keep from getting bitten repeateldy, a started to twirl around in a circle, with the snake like a swinging rope, the centrifugal force keeping the snake from biting me. I could hear Judy and the kids in the car laughing. I was finally able to grab the snake behind it head so that it could inflict no further carnage upon my hands and arms.

A close-up of the snake's head.

In the summer of 1995, along the same section of Overcrest, we caught Indiana Jones, or "Indy" for short, named after the movie which must have just come out. Indy was a rarity, a red racer with a good disposition. We kept Indy as a pet for a year. I don't recall that he ever bit one of us, but we were always cautious, mindful of my prior experience with a red racer. The picture below is of Indy in my hand. Again, you can see the color variation on the one snake.

Indy, with a better view of his head.

A close-up of Indy's head. There is something quite fascinating and complicated about the coachwhip's head. Their head markings are almost like a red-eared turtle, with distinctive eyes and, of course, the black markings below it on the neck.

The next picture is of the underside of Indy, without any markings, but with a pink coloration.

We let Indy go in May 1996. He slithers off into our canyon, head raised.

A closer view of Indy's upper body.

In May 1996, at our Ward Father & Sons Outing near the Santa Ana River in Colton, we discovered three coachwhips connected to each other. I'm not sure if they were mating, but it was quite a weird scene. Much to their chagrine, I'm sure, I caught them and was soon surrounded by fascinated boys. To my right is Matt Millett, and in front of me, from the right, is Romney Evans, Jamison Sheffer, Andrew, Ryan Richey and Jeff Paxman.

While hiking with Rick DeLong on the PCT earlier this year, in the San Felipe Hills, I had a long black snake race past me down a steep mountainside, so fast that I could barley make it out. It was just like a red racer, except it was black. In looking at the fieldguide, I find that there are occasionally black specimans and in some isolated areas, are frequently black.

Finally. the next picture is of young red racer captured in Yucaipa in September 1994. Note that the markings are much more pronounced and the reddish color, which this snake will most likely get later, has not surfaced yet.

Red racers can be extremely difficult to catch because they are so fast and because they can be so mean. However, they are fascinating and very fun to find.