Starting in central Florida, the first critter I came across was a pygmy rattlesnake This was followed not long after by an EDB - only my third sighting of this species...

The next day, following a brief downpour, I turned a corner and was met by the distinctive markings of a coral snake crossing the road. I have looked high and low for this species in Florida without success so was delighted to finally find one. Up to this point I hadnt thought much about completing a grand slam of vens, but having ticked off 3 of the 6 venomous species my mind started to tease that this might be achievable.

I managed to turn up a few more pygmies, racers and coachwhips before heading further to the far north of Florida. Despite being fairly cool it was not long until I found my lifer canebrake rattlesnake, and another followed shortly after.



Almost as if the animals knew my self-imposed challenge, a small cottonmouth crossed the road at night to get me to within 1 species of the 'slam'. A few rough greens, a monster red rat and a crayfish snake all made an appearance in between.

A final destination in north west Florida was to provide the location for the last species in the puzzle, a copperhead. After arriving early in the day and prospecting a few areas, I settled on a promising stretch of road. Come nightfall I didnt have to wait too long before a number of copperheads started to appear. I only bothered to take pictures of a single specimen but it wasnt until near the end of the photo session that I realised the model I had used was missing an eye! Thankfully I had useable shots of the 'good' side as well as the bad.

And so ended a most enjoyable and fruitful trip to the sunshine state. I did stop off at one further location on my way back to my base in Sarasota but managed to turn up next to nothing. Still, I wasnt complaining, as I had managed to turn up almost 50 snakes across the few days, including 4 new species of reptile for me. Much thanks goes to Jake Scott and Dan Wakefield for their advice and assistance - it wouldnt have been possible without them.
Below are a few other photos of critters I saw on the trip.





