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Kinds of Pink or Red Snakes

Spotting the bright red flash of a snake's scales as it slithers past is enough to give anyone a fright. Snakes often have bright red or pink colors as a warning to potential predators, including humans, that they are dangerous. However, some snakes that are not poisonous use this technique to fool predators into thinking that the snake is more deadly than it really is. Despite this fact, you should be sure to give any bright red or pink snake a wide berth until you confidently determine its species.

Corn Snake
- The corn snake is a nonpoisonous American snake that lives throughout the southeastern states and the lower Midwest. It gets its name from its often checkered or spotted scales that resemble colored Indian corn. It often has bright pink, orange or red scales and looks similar to the poisonous copperhead snake. However, the copperhead usually appears darker and browner than the typical corn snake. Corn snakes eat a large range of small animals, including smaller snakes and lizards. They prefer dry, sandy areas such as pinewoods that typically host a number of small mammal burrows.
Coral Snake
- The colorings of the eastern or common coral snake serve as a classic warning to predators. The coral snake is highly venomous and its scales alternate between bright red, yellow and black stripes. While no human deaths have been reported from a coral snake bite since the 1960s, great care should be taken around this reclusive snake. It lives primarily in the coastal areas around the Gulf of Mexico, including all of Florida. These snakes eat frogs, lizards and smaller snakes and prefer wooded sandy and marshy areas where they burrow underground.
Scarlet Kingsnake
- The scarlet kingsnake is a classic mimic snake, whose markings resemble the highly poisonous coral snake. The scarlet kingsnake, however, is not venomous. It has bright red bands of scales striped with black and white or yellow. The red stripes in a kingsnake will only touch black stripes, while in a coral snake the red stripes touch the yellow or white stripes. The scarlet kingsnake lives throughout the Atlantic Coastal plain and some live in the Appalachian states as well.
Red-Bellied Black Snake
- The red-bellied black snake looks exactly like its name implies. Its back and side scales are a dark black or brown color, while it has a bright red underbelly. This snake is highly poisonous, although it usually only bites if actively provoked. It lives throughout the moist areas of Australia, preferring to live near streams, lakes and other wetlands. It survives by eating frogs, mice and other small creatures.

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