Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi
I have never seen a Scarlet kingsnake in Miami and in last week saw 2 of them (real small 3/4 inch or so baby).
Is this their egg hatching season?
Will they stay in the area as adults ? I hope so
what does something so tiny eat? The area anoles are big

First one I saw crossing my driveway early in am still dark after it rained second one just as small I saw couple blocks away by friends yard at 5 pm still light and warm.

Keep in mind in yrs never saw any now in a a week I see 2 .

Thanks

Hi Julie remember that scarlet snakes are more common and usually are found out and about. Did you pick it up and look at it? If the belly is white then you have a scarlet snake and when the bands go all the way around then you have a scarlet king. I have found way more scarlet snakes especially when I was cleaning pools everyday.
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i'm not over weight i'm under tall

Hi
After looking at the other posts pics I think maybe thats what they were real nice looking. I didnt know Scarlet kings in Miami so never thought could be that . I didnt touch them as afraid it could be a coral snake but it wasnt red touch yellow but didnt want to risk it.
It was nice to see them even if Scarlet snake as real pretty never saw any before

Thanks

Most Scarlet King hatchlings are somewhere between 5-7" inches at hatching. They typically hatch in the early-mid summer months. Their favored prey items, baby anoles, skinks, and other very small snakes are also hatching out at this time which works out perfectly for them. I also suspect what you might have seen there were Scarlet Snakes(Cemophora coccinea) which, as Charles stated earlier, look extremely similar to true Scarlet Kings(Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides), which by the way, Scarlet Kings are actually one of 25 subspecies of Milksnake.

Here is a pic of a newly hatched Scarlet King I produced many years ago, and a pic of an adult as well. There are a good number of these little milks in the wooded areas of Miami, and surrounding areas, but they are EXTREMELY secretive, and spend much of their time hiding in rotted logs and leaf litter, fouraging mainly at night, as does the Scarlet Snake.

best regards, ~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Not the Graybanded pic!,.....hate it when that happens!..LOL!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo!

~Doug

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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Here's a cool one I produced a few years back...

...and I would add that there are certainly SK with plain bellies.
Some nearly as white as cemophora.
Not all have bands that totally encircle the belly. I know of a place in central FL. where that is the norm rather than the exception. Localized at times but surely not that odd. You've seen this too right?
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Hi
Real nice . Is there a market for such small snakes that you never see?

I have seen many baby ringnecks (some in my garage) ,garters-water snakes think adult Fl kings (drab looking no color)

I would never take one out of the wild as they belong there just looked at them (ringnecks I scopped up in container let them go over my fence which is just a field with canal)

Thanks

I've seen a few that had very faded red bellies that have sort of a beige line down the middle with incomplete body rings, in the south Florida area, but I can't say I have ever heard of their bellies being only a creamy beige coloration. That seems pretty odd indeed, but then again, I've only lived in central Florida a couple years, and haven't seen any elapsoides in the field here myself. I'm sure you have seen many more from the central Florida area than I have. If you ever get a chance to take a belly shot of one of those creamy bellied wierdos, by all means, show it to me, I'd love to see one.

later dude!, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Will do.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

This one from last weekend kinda shows what I mean.

There are way better examples for sure.
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

man!,.......you captured that dude last weekend?.......awesome!

BTW,.......we have to hook-up one of these days and go herpin'!

I see some of what you mean about the ventral pattern.

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Hi
Great looking snakes . I think it could have been a Scarlet snake funny how in a week I saw 2 . It was hard to tell
I think it could be because golf course 2 blocks away is having trees removed and lots construction as they are extending the course . Thats only thing I can think of because saw 2 in a week while never saw one before in yrs.
I didnt touch them the one in my driveway I just made sure it went to the grass and left it alone one in my friends yard we saw for few seconds only.
It was nice to see them as never knew in area.

Thanks

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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Mark,.....what's YOUR take on these dudes as far as feeding, did you feed them eggs of any type, or offer liquified egg in a tiny bowl, as I've often read about?

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

I have fed them mostly anole eggs. They will take gecko eggs too and snake eggs and turtle eggs for that matter! The ones I fed gecko eggs..the eggs are harder than anole eggs and sometimes they regurged them..I dunno exactly why..
Also a feeder will take just about anything scented w/ his preferred food. So... I have fed strips of beef heart (scented and unscented) and pinkies to my scarlet snakes.
Breding was straightforward as my other snakes..
But ya know what? I always forget to get photos of the babies!
Idiot. I know.
I did get pics of another FL endemic I hatched last season though not a snake..

by the way..scarlets love glass liz eggs too!
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

That's way cool, hatching out glass lizards! Most of the kings and milks around here relish these!
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Todd Hughes

Mark,......I dig ALL of what you're sayin'. like you said, I bet they regurged because those gecko eggs are so darn hard and thick.

I caught a super tiny Scarlet Snake a few years ago, and until I really looked close, would have swore it was an elapsoides. Can you imagine how many of these get misidentified by most of the "common" folk!

I also agree, they must find "Glass Snake" eggs by the bushels under trash piles, etc...man, those things are as common as rocks in many places, Bet they are a BIG item on the Scarlet's menu. Did you find the eggs you hatched that neonate from? That must have been one of the extra eggs you were feeding to your Scarlets, and decided to hatch one for the heck of it!,..correct?

anyhooo, thanks for the info!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

...in her nest box.

I hatched them all (10) and just couldn't feed them or the eggs to any of my snakes..
:Mark
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Surrender Dorothy!

crimsonking.piczo.com/

Mark,...I understand that completely dude!

cool photo too!

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Is that a baby glass lizard? Think the adults are drab?

thanks

Yes, a "legless lizard"

~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Cute thats another reptile I have never seen infact dont think ever saw a common skink.

Rain of Florida was a scarlet snake...doesnt mean anything,lol.J

yes I think it was that but hard for me to tell as need a picture to compare it with.

I do know it wasnt a coral as red didnt touch yellow whatever they were they were pretty and glad they are around.

Its kind of sad to see the field with lots trees,etc near local golf course being torn up as golf course being extended . I imagine many scarlets now on the move as it was dense overgrown real wild huge field with puddles