Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have some family in St. Augustine and i'm planning to go down and visit them in early or late spring then go herping. I'm not very familiar with Florida but willing to explore all around does anyone know some good areas to go herping for the high yellow florida kings?

The only good area in Florida for kingsnakes is the canefields, south of Lake Okeechobee. Very very rarely does anything come out of the canefields that you could call "high-yellow".

There are other spots for better looking kingsnakes, but the snakes are rare, and most people are tight lipped about those spots.

Did you really ask a public forum for their secret spots to look for snakes?? A tad off on the ethics, anyone can pick up a field guide and figure out habitat requirements. Hint. The best way to find such spots are to ask if anyone lives around where you are visiting. From there you build a friendship over time(years) and if you are both patient and lucky(lets not forget honest)you might get him to show you some of his "not-so-secret"(IE Public)spots. Suffice to say that the hobby has seen its share of shady guys, shoot one guy on here stole my whole collection(>$15K)so its hard to find anyone willing to help you without knowing you well. Stick around the forum and act intelligent with thick skin and grease the proper wheels, there are some good guys left around here in spots. About your trip, best to get up early and work hard to learn how to find them yourself. You will find it much more rewarding in the long run! I mean, if you are cheating, just go buy one....

Well I can understand that. Omg 15K worth of snakes?!? I'm sorry to hear that, thats very sicking, but honestly man I'm not here to cheat anyone, I myself love snakes and their beauty not for money but for enjoyment. I actually been around these forums for 6 years or so and finally decided to make a account. I was just asking if anyone knew of some good spots (doesn't have to be their "secret spot" lol)to look for kings cuz I'm from PA and do not know Florida at all except for a small section of St. Augustine and thats all city! I've seen and caught just about everything here in PA and theres not so much lol, so I thought I give Florida a try after seeing Dmong's and Bluerosy's beautiful normal brooks kings and all of floridas other snakes. It is very rewarding to find great spots yourself but since i would be driving sum 1,200 miles to place I know nothing about I would like to have a idea of where a good area would be to look, you know what I mean?..please dont mistaken me for some crook whos spying to take someones collection, I'm just another one of your fellow herpers

No problem buddy, nothing personal at all. If you are driving 1200 miles I think it would be refreshing to get out of the car and look around every once in a while. Florida is pretty well picked over, but there might be fewer commercial collectors than ever...who knows. Another way to hunt is to find and read as many books on the subject as you can. And there you will find the problem, once the spot is there in print it gets hits hard and its much more difficult to find ANYTHING never mind a "collectable" piece.

Yeah I have done alot of researching online and in books and i kinda figured that where those spots were nothing is gonna be left. Thats why i was asking here for some ideas from the pros and newbies. I'm really not a collector unless i would find something of stunning beauty, but I'm more of a photographer than anything, a picture says a thousand words

Finding something rare and unusual in Florida is going to be difficult. Consider that every commercially bred snake found in Florida is already known for basically every concievable morph! The only exception I could think of would be an albino Indigo. The best you could hope for is a very nice looking locale-type. Nothing wrong with them either, especially if you find one yourself! Good luck!

Figure out what species are in the area you are visiting and what their habitat requirements are. It just may mean you driving around several hours on the outskirts of the city in the more rural and undeveloped areas. Find some dirt roads to go road cruising at night. Look for the same areas that produce snakes for you in PA (ie, ground cover, water, etc.). Check areas being cleared for neighborhoods. Some may be cleared lots with lots of debris for cover and blacktopped roads to cruise. I use the same herping skills when in a different area. Its second nature to me to flip boards, look in drain pipes and ditches, and keep my eyes peeled when driving at night during warmer weather. Drives the wife and kids nuts LOL!!