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Lampropeltis triangulum syspila
A brightly colored, medium-sized (2 feet long), nonvenomous snake with smooth scales. Red Milk Snakes usually have 20-30 orange-red dorsal blotches bordered in black.
Usually found under rocks on rocky, south-facing hillsides including glades. It may also be found along the edge of forests where there are rocks and logs. This species is secretive and seldom seen in the open.
The Red Milk Snake is often mistaken for a coral snake, a venomous species that does not occur in Missouri.
Spotted on Apr 20, 2008
Submitted on Apr 10, 2011
9 Comments
Gorgeous!
Beautiful specimen Neil. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Carol! This is an older spotting, but I just added an additional photo and better descriptive notes.
WOW! Absolutely gorgeous!
One of my favorite ssp. that I have yet to see in the wild.
I trust you, it just looks like a Scarlet Snake. Of course I didn't take a look at the ventral side. Serves me right for assuming. Awesome Snake, I've seen precisely one Milk Snake in the wild.
Thanks. Scarlet snakes are extremely rare in Missouri. This is definitely a red milk snake. On scarlet snakes the snout is reddish/orange. Red milk snakes usually have a gray/mottled snout.
Interesting. Our Milk Snake has markings that extend around the body. I didn't realize yours was different. Very Cool.
Very cool, I've only seen one