Scarlet Snake

Scarlet Snake: Cemophora coccinea

I encountered a scarlet snake in Palmetto park, SC. On march 21. This little specimen was on the edge of the walkway amongst some leaf litter. I did not uncover this specimen myself, as a little boy had already uncovered it. Since scarlet snakes are generally nocturnal, I suspect the snake had been hiding beneath the leaf liter on the ground before he was found. At first I wasn't sure if it was a scarlet snake or a scarlet king snake as it's underbelly wasn't visible at the time. However, knowing that it was mimicking the coloration of a coral snake and not actually venomous I felt confident in picking it up to get a closer look. Upon inspection I found that it's belly lacked coloration. A sure sign of it being a scarlet snake rather than a scarlet king snake. The bands of red, black, and yellow didn't continue across it's belly. Instead it's belly was gray and without pattern. This particular specimen was about a foot. Which is about average for this species; as they're usually around 14 to 20 inches. The size of the snake indicates that it was a full grown adult. Young scarlet snakes are usually about 5 to 7 inches at hatching. Little is known about the scarlet snakes reproductive habits, because of their secretive habits. Females are known to lay 2 to 9 eggs in them early summer, and hatchlings directly resemble adults. Scarlet snakes prefer forested habitats with dry sandy soils that enable borrowing. These fossorial snakes are most often found under logs, rocks, or leaf litter. These snakes are rarely seen above ground, except at night or after heavy rain. They feed on small snakes, lizards, and mice. They also eat snake eggs. Since I encountered this snake around 4:00 PM, I'm assuming the little boy had unearthed this snake since it probably wouldn't have been roaming around above ground during the day. These snakes are not known to bite when picked up. I found this to be true when I picked up this specimen, as it wasn't too aggressive. After examining it, I put it back down in the leaf litter away from the trail. When I released it it slithered away under the leaves and out of sight. As these creatures are pretty elusive I was very excited to have encountered one myself.

Kailey Walsh.