Non-poisonous Snakes Identification

Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides)

Average adult size is 14-20 inches, record is 27 inches. Adults are tricolored, displaying red, black, and yellow rings that encircle the entire body. Both the red and yellow rings are surrounded by black rings, thus the red and yellow rings never touch. The snout is red. The belly pattern is the same as the dorsal color - red, black, and yellow. The scales are smooth, and there are 19 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round.

Juvenile colors are like those of adults, but the yellow rings may be white.

The Scarlet king snake is often called the "false coral" because of the similarity of many colors and patterns. Again, the first color on the Scarlet King Snake is red; the coral snake starts with black. Average length 12 inches; maximum length 18 inches.

Scarlet Kingsnakes (milk snakes) can thrive in a variety of habitats. They are usually found around coniferous or deciduous forest edges, but they can also be found in tropical hardwood forests, open woodland, dry or wet prairies, savannahs, rocky hillsides, small streams or marshes, and agricultural or urban areas. These snakes do not fear human proximity.

South Central Virginia southward to Key West, Florida and westward to the Mississippi River. The species is more abundant along the Coastal Plain but has been collected inland at altitudes of almost 2,000 feet.