I am not from Florida, but I have looked for snakes there a few times. I do not have my field guide handy, but I have some knowledge of snakes. I would be 100% certain it is not venomous so you can relax. It looks like a kingsnake to me. I am judging by the markings that I see on its nose and on its body. I'm not sure what the specific species is, but I'd say it is definately a member of the Lampropeltis genus (Kingsnakes/Milksnakes). Being that it is a kingsnake they make great pets. They will feed on mice and lizards both of which are easy to obtain in FL. If your snake eats mice keep feeding it mice. Mice are easier to come by all year than are lizards.

I would recommend instead of keeping the snake...let it go in the yard. Kingsnakes eat other snakes even venomous ones. Hopefully the king will take refuge nearby the house and keep a nice area of your yard snake free. Plus it will help keep the mice population down around your house.
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14 Leopard Geckos 5.9.0
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0
1 Graybanded Kingsnake 1.0.0 (on vacation in my house)
1 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 1.0.0
1 Trans Pecos Rat Snake 0.0.1 (currently has eye infection)
1.0 Ambystoma sp. "Axolotl"

[ Hide Replies ]

• help identifying? - tragic, Mon Mar 29 11:48:43 2004
• RE: help identifying? - 4everherpn, Mon Mar 29 19:14:59 2004
• RE: help identifying? - rearfang, Mon Mar 29 19:28:39 2004
• That is a Desert Kingsnake (L. g. splendida). /np - chrish, Tue Mar 30 16:45:33 2004
• How do you know it's a desert king and not another getula [NP] - CamHanna, Wed Mar 31 11:27:35 2004
• RE: That is not a splendida Chris - rearfang, Wed Mar 31 14:41:12 2004