Help ID and care

[dryespo]

My girls found this snake.. We live in a rural area north of Dallas Tx.
It looked a little contourted when I found him(sp), maybe injured. I think it's a rat snake, but not 100% sure.

Any way its small, maybe 9-10 inches just thicker than a pencil.

What would this guy eat..? Also will he drink water or get it from food.

any help or ideas would bve apprecaited.

[morti]

I have been wrong before, but I think what you have there is a juvinile black racer.

It's survival rate will be much higher if you release it where you found it.

[Aaron_NSBM]

no idea what it is... but it should eat atleast a mouse fuzzy. give it a water dish to soak in and drink if it wants to get a drink.

[dryespo]

When we found him, he was twisted around a piece of branch on the bottom of a dry creek bed in the woods. It looked like a very small punchure wound about half way down his body. Maybe a bird talon or just got poked some how.
It's been cool out and he has been very slow and docile when handleing..
My goal was to warm him up, get him to eat, see if he gets a little more active. Then I would release him. It's been 2 days now, still sluggish. Kinda burrys his head in the chips. Sometimes the last half or third of his body is belly up, like in the photo. Is that normal?

[morti]

Normal? No.

Can you fix it? Probably not.

It really has a better chance of survival if you let it go.

[Arra]

I'd have to agree with Morti on this one. Take him back where you found him and release him.

I know you're trying to do good by him, but in my humble opinion that would be the best for him at this point.

[Xeikeness]

I'll have to concur as well. Wild animals, fit or not, belong in the wild. If he is injured, you'll need a vet exam to prove it, and the stress of that along is liable to kill him. The stress of being held captive could kill him. I'd put money on that he will not eat while he's captive, either.

Let him go, where he's in the world he knows. If he's to survive, he will.

[telefrag]

we don't have black racers in TX, we have C.c.flaviventris in the DFW area, which is what that is.
It looks pretty messed up, like it got nabbed by something, or stepped on, rock fell on it, etc,etc...

hard to say what its chances are wild or captive.