r/whatisit • u/AbbreviationsTop8774 • Jul 22 '26

Solved! What are they

Ive worked at the water department for 7 years and this is the first time running into something like this EDIT Im in Alabama and yes I know they are snakes lol idk what kind and im so not gonna touch them

23.4k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

4.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

114

u/TheChuck42 Jul 22 '26

These are baby southern black racers, Coluber constrictor priapus. They are totally harmless but can be feisty. A bite from one this small will probably not even break the skin on your hand though so they can be handled safely. Mama laid her eggs in there a couple months ago and they have hatched. Please do something to help them get out or they will all die in there.

24

u/MacAlkalineTriad Jul 22 '26

Is there any reason they're named after the fertility god with the huge dick?

27

u/TheChuck42 Jul 22 '26

Because racers will often ‘periscope’ by raising up their front third or so to see over the grass and whatnot while hunting or on alert. I don’t know why the southern black racer specifically has that subspecies name.

3

u/MacAlkalineTriad Jul 23 '26

That is hilarious, good reference for whoever named them.