Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Farancia erytrogramma
Rainbow Snake

Jasper Co., South Carolina. May 28, 2000

Back in South Carolina for the second time, we wanted another rainy night in hopes of seeing another Mud Snake.  We got the rainy night, but got a Rainbow Snake instead!  Smaller, and not quite so pretty, but still a very interesting creature, another eater of sirens and eels and other creatures from the wet.  They are inoffensive serpents that never offer to bite, but like the Mud Snake, will press their sharp spiny tail into your skin. They are also difficult to photograph, never holding still for even a few seconds.