Almost stepped on a snake today while outside. It was mostly red, with bands of white that were bordered in a small black line. It was 18"-24" long, I think, and quite thin. Any idea what type of snake this was? We live on a wooded lot.
Milk was my first thought, but I was hoping for it to be a native wild snake.
from the links, it looks like scarlett and milk snake are the same thing (scarlett is a type of milk snake)??? is that correct?
This one is pretty close, too:
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z257/americanwildlife/Reptile/Red_milk_snake.jpg
Non poisionous, right?
Almost stepped on a snake today while outside. It was mostly red, with bands of white that were bordered in a small black line. It was 18"-24" long, I think, and quite thin. Any idea what type of snake this was? We live on a wooded lot.
Yep, non poisonous. Only venomous snakes in MD are the Copperhead and Rattlesnake.
THERE ARE NO COTTONMOUTHS IN SoMD.
I know we don't have the venomous coral snake in this area, but it helps to remember this rhyme when identifying snakes which resemble it, such as the scarlet kingsnake and milk snake:This photo is probably cloest to what I saw (although I'm not sure if the head color is accurate, I dont remember that)
http://rainforestpet.com/images/Milk Snake.jpg
I know we don't have the venomous coral snake in this area, but it helps to remember this rhyme when identifying snakes which resemble it, such as the scarlet kingsnake and milk snake:
Red touching yellow can kill a fellow
Red touching black is a friend of Jack.
As you can see in the pics you linked to, the scarlet king and milk snakes have red bands that touch black bands. The coral snake, however, has red bands that touch yellow bands. Again, coral snakes do not live around here. The do live in southeastern U.S. and southwestern U.S.
Thanks!Due keep in mind that "yellow" is a very broad term in relation to the snake colors for eastern kings/milks/scarlets/corals.. the "yellow" can actually range anywhere from a noticeable yellow to a pale cream color or almost white color.