A School Visitor

One of my loyal readers works at school with me. Today, she brought in a small snake in a sand pail for help to identify it. She had caught it in the parking lot. This picture was taken through the Saran wrap that ensured that it stayed in the pail. Thanks to the internet, we were able to determine that it is a juvenile black racer. Who knew that they look so different when they are young from the almost solid black adults? What I read is that as they mature to about 12 inches long, the spots will merge together and create the dark tone. This one was probably close to that length. It was spunky, as I have read is characteristic of this snake. They do not like to be messed with and will generally strike.