Kinda hard to tell without seeing its head, but I'd say it's a corn snake. It also looks like it will be shedding its skin soon. After that, its colors and patterns will be brighter and bolder.

Camera shy......about ten inches long, was sunning himself till I came along.

It could be a pygmy rattlesnake. Use caution. Get a picture of the head if possible.

I've killed 4 or 5 pygmy rattlers over the years at my house.

I dunno...
I've seen a lot of pygmy rattlers in my time, but never one climbing a tree.
On the other hand, corn snakes and yellow rat snakes seem to spend a lot of time WAY up in trees.

Would someone who knows more than I do correct me if I am wrong, but wouldn't you have heard the rattle when the snake was disturbed ? Or do they not make noise ?

What you have there is a type of Rat Snake, possibly the Red Rat Snake, aka Corn Snake. At only 10 inches it is still a youngin and has not yet come into its full color. It is fairly halmess unless you are a rodent. These are among the more docile snakes and usually tolerate mild handling... not that I'm suggesting you run out to play with it. As I tell my kids: Treat all snakes as if they were poisonous. Admire them. Observe them. But leave them alone.

For future reference, a shot (as in picture!) of the head can go a long way toward quickly ruling out the venomous ones. Though, I know all too well that sometimes snakes simply refuse to pose for a decent picture.

Here is a link that might be useful: Corn Snakes

This post was edited by Leekle2ManE on Sun, Jun 30, 13 at 17:07

Thx....with the amount of undisturbed foliage we have, knew there had to be critters in there. Not to worried about it, was happy to get to see it!

I'm so glad you didn't kill the snake visiting your yard. All snakes, even pygmy rattlesnakes, play an important role in Florida's ecosystem. Following is from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission-

What should you do when you come upon a snake? Just stand back observe it. Snakes don't purposefully position themselves to frighten people. They'd much rather avoid encounters and usually will flee. You can try to figure out what kind it is by using this article or one of the other references listed. Some snakes, such as the Eastern indigo snake, are designated as endangered or threatened species and are protected.

There is no good reason to kill a snake except in the unlikely situation of a venomous snake posing immediate danger to people or pets. Snakes usually bite people only if they are molested; it's their only means of self-defense. Even a poisonous snake in the woods or crossing the road poses no threat and should be left alone. Also, most larger snakes travel in large areas, so one you see in your yard today may be far away tomorrow.

That's actually a juvenile Southern Black Racer...they don't turn black until they go through a few sheds and get to a couple feet long. I come across these all the time as I spent my free time as a young Floridian "snake hunting"...the first time I found one I was just as puzzled as you.

I disagree with all...
I think it is a baby black racer. I see them in bushes all the time. I had a picture but can't seem to find it any where.

ahh...brian you beat me while I was looking for a pic ;-)

I found it ...finally!

Haha sorry Laura! Great pic though!

It's GORGEOUS! I have several different snakes living/eating in my yard and I love them all - I would never intentionally harm one. A couple of years ago, I was digging weeds and dug into a nest of Pygmy rattlesnakes - I was heart-sick that I cut one in half.

Nothing dies in this garden except lubbers........if I do happen apon something that feels the need to bite me, Fl.Hosp. Only a few blocks away..:)

Not a pygmy rattler. You have a garden companion. Pygmies do not have a rattle. They do shake their tail before striking. Sometimes it makes a similar noise by disturbing the brush with its vibrating tail. Because of children, dogs, and my bare feet, all poisonous snakes that I may find in my yard are doomed. I do know they play an important part of the ecology. But I refuse to allow injury or death by poisonous snake. I know I am not 100% safe from that issue. But is it my preference to manage my property as described. Over the last 20 years I've also killed 3 or 4 coral snakes. One real big. The most toxic venom in the US. Not the most deadly due to a small mouth. Another issue about the coral is there is no reliable FDA approved anti venom. Drug company stopped after years of losses by providing the stuff. So we get stuff from Central America.

Pygmies have a rattle...it's just so small and quiet that 99% of the time you would not hear a warning...and the rattle isn't developed to the point of making any noise until they are nearly full grown.

Are you sure the 'real big' coral snake was indeed a coral snake? I guess your definition of a 'real big snake' could very well differ from mine, but Corals aren't known to get much bigger than 2 - 2 1/2 ft in length and that really isn't all that big when it comes to snakes. A 'coral' bigger than this is quite likely a King Snake.

40" measured. Which in my book is a large coral. The record is 47 1/2". I keep a Florida fish and game photo and is always instantly available of all florida poisonous snakes. I would never leave that decision to chance. I like King snakes and all non poisonous snakes. Actually I like the poisonous snakes also. But not at my house.

40" measured. Which in my book is a large coral. The record is 47 1/2". I keep a Florida fish and game photo and is always instantly available of all florida poisonous snakes. I would never leave that decision to chance. I like King snakes and all non poisonous snakes. Actually I like the poisonous snakes also. But not at my house.

This coral snake was in a friend's yard. Animal Control was called, who then sent a Sheriff's deputy. Then the deputy showed up and was told how big the coral snake was, he assumed it was a King Snake that had been misidentified... until he caught it.
This guy measures just a few inches over 3 feet.

Wow, I didn't know that they grew that large! Bet that deputy was surprised when he confirmed what it was. What happened to the snake?

The deputy was poking around in the bush that the snake had hidden in... casually saying, "Yeah... a lot of people call about coral snakes, then come to find out it's just a King Sna... oh, S%&T!" He jumped back and his hands started shaking because the thing went right over the toe of his shoe. He never fully regained his composure in my presence.
I asked where he was taking the snake, he said, "We just take them to the other side of I-95 in Port St. John and turn them loose."

I have told every. single. person. I. know. who lives in PSJ this same story, always ending with, "I'm so glad I don't live there any more!"
LOL! (It's about five to ten minutes away, so that's funny!)

great story Shear! thanks for sharing.

shot this pic years ago, still living in the bird house....was about six inches from them with my macro lens.....praying please don"t move.....:)

What a cool shot, wallisadi!

That is the largest coral snake I've ever seen. I don't think they look anything like a scarlet king snake.

Papa Jim

I think to people who pay attention they probably really stand out from the similarly colored King Snakes, there is one King subspecies that is VERY similar in color. But to me the colors of the Coral are just so much more vibrant than a King's.

And of course with the eastern coral snake the black nose is always a dead give away.

Papa Jim

I try to not remember which is king and which is coral. I'd rather get certain ID with pictures. I keep a picture of all florida poisonous snakes very handy. My luck I'd get the poem backwards...

On September 8, 2012, I almost stepped on this guy.

I let him (or her) be and had a couple more sightings last fall, but haven't seen it in a long time.

I just watch my step, and hope for the best.

We have a black racer that hangs out in the garden, and just had to relocate a yellow rat snake because it found the chicken coop and was eating all the eggs. I like snakes, and I think they are great to have around. I like my boys more though, so the coral I found on my front porch in front of the door a few years ago got the axe. Well, the hoe actually, but you get the point.

Coral Snakes get well over 2-2 1/2 feet. I watched a crazy friend of mine snatch one up by the tail that was easily 3 1/2 feet. It's funny that you would say that a large snake with that color scheme would likely be a kingsnake because scarlet kingsnakes and scarlet snakes are the two native coral snake "look-a-likes" in Florida and both are very small species...in fact a scarlet kingsnake over two feet would be a much more surprising find to me then a coral snake over three feet.

All this talk about snakes is making me crazy LOL
I had to read all the post cus I'm trying to brake from this nutso fear of them. Now I can actualy look at a picture of one LOL.
I move out to the woods in cantral Florida about a year ago, Yesterday there were not 1 not 2 but 5 very healthy all over 3ft long black racers hanging out by my pool, thought I was going to die,but I made it
Won't be going in the pool any time soon
Carmen

We have so many snakes in our back yard! One I call "The Old Guy." I have no idea how old it is, or the sex, or even for sure what kind. (REALLY long and REALLY black. Kinda hefty, not slender.) But every year we find nests of hatched eggs or piles of babies that have just hatched and are hiding. I try not to scream when I see them, because I'm not afraid of them... but I ~hate~ the way they always startle me!

remember this one....."snake in the house?"

Can anyone tell me what this snake is? I'm down in Costa Rica and there are a few of these around..not causing any problems, but I'd still like to know if they're dangerous or not. I'm thinking no, but any advice would be welcome, thanks.