Hobbies And Interests
Appearance
Texas and Eastern coral snakes are identical in appearance and size. Both snakes have stout black heads with bodies encircled by wide red and black rings, with bright yellow rings separating the red from the black. Although this doesn't help differentiate the two, it's much more important to remember the color scheme on these extremely venomous snakes to distinguish them from the similar-looking but nonpoisonous Scarlet Snake and Scarlet Kingsnake. On coral snakes, the red and yellow bands meet; on the non-poisonous snakes, red is separated from yellow by a black band.
Range
Although the Texas and Eastern coral snakes appear the same, their geographical ranges are, for the most part, not contiguous. Texas coral snakes inhabit southwestern Texas, Louisiana west of the Mississippi river, Arkansas and New Mexico, along with parts of Mexico. The Eastern coral snake can be found in the southeastern states, from South Carolina through the Florida Keys and into southeastern Texas.
Prey
Both Texas and Eastern coral snakes feed mainly on lizards and smaller snakes, including venomous species. On occasion, their diet will include small birds, fish and frogs. When eating, both species attack their prey by grasping it with their small but powerful jaws, piercing it with their fangs, and injecting it with lethal poison.
Poison
Both the Texas and the Eastern coral snake have permanent fangs equipped with very poisonous venom. When confronted by humans, both species tend to flee, unlike more aggressive varieties of snakes such as vipers. Even so, coral snake bites do occur and can be dangerous. If you're bitten by a coral snake, seek medical help immediately.