Is the scarlet kingsnake venomous?

The scarlet kingsnake is harmless. Harmless. But never use the colour rule to decide whether to pick up a small ringed snake: use it to decide to leave it alone with less alarm. Handling is how coral snake bites happen.

How do you identify a scarlet kingsnake?

Red bands touch black bands. On a coral snake, red touches yellow. Red snout. A coral snake's snout is solid black.

Where do scarlet kingsnakes live?

They are found in 10 US states, in habitats including woods and suburban.

Scarlet Kingsnake

Harmless

Lampropeltis elapsoides · also called scarlet milk snake

The scarlet kingsnake is the classic coral snake mimic, and it is the snake almost every 'I found a coral snake' report turns out to be. It is small, brilliantly coloured, secretive, and completely harmless. Two features separate it from the real thing, and both can be checked from a safe distance.

Venom: Harmless. But never use the colour rule to decide whether to pick up a small ringed snake: use it to decide to leave it alone with less alarm. Handling is how coral snake bites happen.
Adult length: 14–20 inches (36–51 cm)
Markings: Bright red, black and yellow rings — but the red rings are bordered by black on both sides, and the snout is red. Rings usually fade or break on the belly.
Habitat: woods, suburban
Family: colubrid
Range: 10 US states

How to identify a scarlet kingsnake

Red bands touch black bands. On a coral snake, red touches yellow.
Red snout. A coral snake's snout is solid black.
Usually smaller and more slender than a coral snake, and found under bark and rotting pine logs.
The rhyme — red touches yellow, kills a fellow; red touches black, friend of Jack — works in the United States and nowhere else.

What it does when it sees you

Highly secretive, spending most of its life under bark and inside rotting logs. Rarely seen in the open.

What the scarlet kingsnake is confused with

One test settles each of these.

Eastern coral snake →

Red touching yellow and a black snout mean coral snake. Red touching black and a red snout mean scarlet kingsnake.

Where it lives

Alabama Florida Georgia Kentucky Louisiana Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee Virginia

Before anything else

Back away and leave it alone. A snake that can see you leaving has no reason to bite. Most bites in the United States happen to people who picked up, cornered, or tried to kill a snake.
Never handle a snake to identify it. Every identification on this site can be made from a photo or from several feet away.
If someone is bitten, call emergency services now. Keep the limb still and below the heart, remove rings and watches, and go to hospital. Do not cut, suck, apply ice, or use a tourniquet — all of these make outcomes worse.
Do not try to catch the snake for identification. A photo from a distance is enough, and hospitals treat symptoms rather than species.

In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.

Not sure it was a scarlet kingsnake? Identify it step by step →