Learn How To Find And Identify A Coral Snake Look Alike!

It is quite natural to confuse between snakes that are physically identical and show behavioral similarities.

Without adequate knowledge and insights about the characteristic features of the real and the fake, you will never be able to distinguish between them with your bare eyes. Hence, with the help of factual data, this article has been curated for you to discover how to set apart a coral snake look alike from the real one.

Barring a handful, the majority of the snakes localized in the American continent are absolutely harmless.

However, problems arise since these snakes have an eerie resemblance with the highly poisonous coral snake. Since gardens and backyards are frequently scouted by snakes, it is necessary for the owners to be careful while handling them.

Being able to differentiate between the real and fake coral snakes is actually easy, considering that you know where and what to look for.

These harmless snakes have similar color patterns and behavioral instincts that lead to misidentification. Precisely, a nose and tail exhibiting black color with prominent fangs that are always visible, scales of red and black with yellow bands in between are the basic physical features of a coral snake.

On the contrary, a non-venomous coral snake look alike usually has a red nose and a black, triangular head without fangs, black bands separating red and yellow patches, and a tail featuring all three colors.

If you like this article about coral snake look-alikes, don't forget to check out what do snake eggs look like and how do snakes move to discover fun and interesting facts about them.

Which non-venomous snakes are coral snakes often confused with?

Some of the non-venomous snake species that are generally confused with a venomous coral snake are the Florida Scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea), the scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides), Pueblan Milk snake, red rat snake (Pantherophis guttatus), the sonoran shovel-nosed snake (Chionactis palarostris), etc.

The color pattern and behavior exhibited by these snakes resemble that of coral snakes which makes the task of setting them apart extremely tricky.

The Florida scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea) is native to Florida. It has deep red scales all over its body with black and yellow rings on them.

A pointy red nose accompanied by a white belly are features that set the Florida Scarlet snakes apart from a coral snake. They are generally found burrowing underground.

The scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides) is native to Florida, South and North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. It is also painted in the same color combination on its entire body up to the tail.

It has a blunt nose that is red in color and a partially white belly with shades of red and black. Rotting trees and hollows inside barks are places where Scarlet kingsnakes prefer to nest.

The red rat snake (Pantherophis guttatus) can be located all over America and is a subspecies of the corn snake. Red and yellow scales dominate the entire body without the occurrence of black bands.

How to tell the difference between a king snake and a coral snake?

The scarlet kingsnake and coral snakes are inhabitants of the Southeastern United States. Identifying the differences between a scarlet king snake and a coral snake in the wilderness can be tricky since they exhibit similar color combinations and behavioral patterns. Both have red, black, and yellow colors on their body with a similar pattern of banding.

There is a popular rhyme that you can use to differentiate between these two banded snakes. The rhyme goes something like this, "If red touches yellow, it's bad for a fellow.

If red touches black, friend of Jack".

Simply put, the rhyme is based on the coloration found on the skin of the two snakes. The ring pattern found on the scarlet king snakes is red, black, yellow, black whereas a deadly coral snake exhibits a red, yellow, black, yellow ring pattern.

Therefore, coral snakes are determined by adjacent red and yellow rings while scarlet king snakes by a black band in between each red and yellow stripe. Again, a scarlet kingsnake has all three colors on its tail while a coral snake has only black and yellow bands without the red patches.

Furthermore, a coral snake has a short, black nose while a scarlet king snake has a pointy, red snout. In the case of behavioral instincts, both prefer to hide under logs, rocks, and piles of leaves.

However, a scarlet king snake can be found climbing trees, unlike a coral snake that seldom climbs.

Moreover, a coral snake wags its tail and shakes its head back and forth like a timber rattlesnake to alert its predators. This type of defensive behavior is hardly observed in a scarlet kingsnake except that it rarely wags its tail and makes hissing sounds for reasons unknown.

How to identify a coral snake?

A native of the Southeastern United States and member of the elapid group of snakes, the coral snakes have a distinct, noteworthy color combination which is often confused with several harmless species of snakes that are localized in the same geographical region.

Hence, being able to distinguish between them is necessary for people with gardens and/or backyards that house these venomous snakes.

Two of the famous coral snakes include the eastern coral snake and the Texas coral snake. The easiest way to identify this poisonous snake is by observing the banding pattern formed on its skin.

A coral snake is determined by the exhibition of red, yellow, black, yellow band pattern, or, adjacent red and yellow bands.

Furthermore, they have a blunt, black head with a black and yellow banded tail. It is often compared to pit vipers since coral snake bites are extremely deadly.

This banded snake generally measures up to 3 ft (90 cm) in length and ranges between 1-2 in (25-50 mm) in breadth.

This solitary snake prefers to live in solitude and spends most of its time hiding under rocks and logs, piles of leaves, and inside hollow barks. It has a carnivorous diet and indulges in feeding on fellow reptiles like other smaller snakes, lizards, frogs as well as birds, and rodents.

Snakes That Resemble Coral Snakes

6 out of 50 snake species found in Florida are often compared to pit vipers for being extremely venomous with a deadly bite. Some of the harmless species of snakes that resemble coral snakes are the Florida scarlet snake, scarlet kingsnake, red rat snake, the Sonoran shovel-nosed snake, Pueblan Milk snake, and so on.

Despite the abundant population of harmless snakes, a natural phenomenon known as the Batesian Mimicry is commonly observed in them. The Batesian Mimicry is an evolutionary mechanism wherein a harmless snake grows a similar color pattern to that of a dangerous animal to avoid predation.

This defense mechanism is a major contributing factor for the similarity in the color pattern of these snakes.

Even though they tend to look identical, close observation will reveal that the banding pattern is different in non-venomous snakes in that black bands separate the other two color bands from between. Moreover, they have red, pointy snouts and tails that have all three colors.

Where do coral snakes hide?

Apart from roaming alone in forests and/or open fields. They are also found scouting gardens and backyards. It is necessary for garden owners to distinguish between the coral snakes and their look-alikes to avoid unwanted accidents. Identifying their nesting sites can help you to stop such mishaps from occurring.

Coral snakes are shy in nature and prefer to live in solitude. Being reclusive in nature, they tend to keep themselves hidden underground inside burrows.

In particular, the coral snakes hide in piles of wood, rock, brush, and dry and/or fallen leaves. They are also found resting inside hollow barks of trees and under logs. Rain and breeding seasons are the only times when it can be seen roaming outside, on the ground.

Understanding Behavioral Differences Between The Snakes

Coral snakes and their look-alikes show similarities in their behavioral instincts as well. You can distinguish between them just by identifying the different behavioral displays that they exhibit.

Most of these snakes have identical behaviors. They are solitary creatures that mostly spend their time hiding underground inside burrows and have a similar diet. However, coral snakes shake their head and tail to alert predators and have a distinctive bite that is not seen in the look-alikes.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for coral snake look alike then why not take a look at when do snakes hibernate, or coral snake facts.