This Woman Found A Rare Rainbow Snake in Florida That Hasn’t Been Seen Since 1969
I know, a lot of you are like “Ewww snake!”. But others like me, are like “OH MY GOSH look at that beautiful snake!”. Because snakes are AWESOME! My youngest daughter is OBSESSED with snakes.
Isn’t it beautiful? First of all, snakes are not poisonous. They can be venomous though. The Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma) is, however, a non-venomous snake.
Rainbow snakes can be found in the Coastal Plain from southern Virginia to eastern Louisiana. They can be hard to find because they are a pretty shy aquatic snake.
They hide in aquatic vegetation because they love to eat eels. In fact, some people call the Rainbow snake an “eel moccasin”.
People DO find them though! For snake “herp” lovers it is an exciting find for them!
If you have an urge to try and find one, you’ll want to look near creeks, lakes, tidal mudflats, and marshes. They do burrow, so that makes it even harder to spot them.
Look how friendly they are! This is a dream snake for Herps to find! Most of the people who find them seem to do so in Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina!
At one time there was a small population of rainbow snakes in Lake Okeechobee in southern Florida, but they were thought to be extinct there now.
None had been spotted in the wild in Florida since 1969! Until now that is!
Tracey Cauthen found the 4 foot long Rainbow Snake while she was out hiking in the Ocala National Forest.
Kind of like finding the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow! How super exciting for her to be the first one to spot one in the area since 1969!
I have a feeling my daughter is going to be asking to take a road trip to hunt down the elusive Rainbow Snake!
