When I moved my trash can to drag it to the curb, the biggest worm I had ever seen, ever was hiding underneath it! When I looked closer, the “worm” was actually a gorgeous pine woods snake, Rhadinaea flavilata. (Alternate names include the yellow-lipped snake and brown-headed snake.) Like most snakes, this one didn’t want…
Tag: snake
Green Tree Python
This gorgeous snake is native to New Guinea, parts of Indonesia, and Australia. As its name suggests, the green tree python (Morelia viridis, also Chondropython viridis prior to 1993) is a bright green snake which lives in trees. It hunts small mammals and reptiles. Being tree-dwelling, they have a characteristic resting pose, wherein they drape…
Timber Rattlesnake
I am quite grateful for thick exhibit glass when photographing venomous snakes; this gorgeous timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens would almost certainly not have posed quite so well without it. Also known as the canebrake rattler, the timber rattler grows to be about 36-60 inches long. It is…
Southern Black Racer
The southern black racer snake (Coluber constrictor priapus) is a black snake with light markings around the mouth, chin, and throat. It reaches approximately 20-56 inches in length. This small, fast snake is found throughout Florida (except for the Everglades and Cape Canaveral). Outside of Florida, it is found throughout the eastern United States, from…
Brown Water Snake
Meet the brown water snake, Nerodia taxispilota, a semi-aquatic snake which lives all over the southeastern United States. It’s one of the most common snakes in Florida. Averaging 30-55 inches long, these snakes live in (as you might guess) watery habitats, including rivers, cypress stands, swamps, lakes, ponds and canals. They are excellent climbers and…
African Rock Python
The largest known snake in Africa, this beautiful thing can get up to 25 feet long. Photo taken at the Brevard Zoo, Melbourne, FL.