Ringneck snakes are small – 10 - 15 in (25 - 38 cm) – slender snakes that are generally grayish with a yellow or orange band around the back of the neck and a yellow or orange underside. Two subspecies are found in our region. The northern ringneck snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsi) inhabits the mountains and generally has a complete neck ring and unpatterned underside. The southern ringneck (D. p. punctatus) is found in the Coastal Plain and often has a broken neck ring and underside that is marked with a single row or black spots. The northern ringneck is also generally larger than the southern. Although usually grayish in coloration, both subspecies may range from nearly black to tan and both have smooth scales and round pupils. Females are larger and have proportionally shorter tails than males.
The ringneck snake has one of the largest geographic ranges of any species of snake in North America and is represented by several subspecies. Ringnecks are found throughout the eastern two thirds of the United States from southern Canada to Florida, across the desert southwest and along most of the Pacific coast. Ringnecks are found throughout Georgia and South Carolina with the northern subspecies (D. p. edwardsi) inhabiting the mountains and the southern subspecies (D. p. punctatus) being found in the Coastal Plain. Ringnecks from the Piedmont are intergrades between the two races.
Ringneck snakes can be found in virtually any habitat but seem to prefer wooded areas. In the Piedmont and Coastal Plain ringnecks are particularly common in moist areas including river floodplains, moist hardwood forests, and wetland edges. In mountainous regions ringnecks are often found in more open habitats where they frequently take refuge under rocks.
Welcome to Watch For Snakes #10, this great series was originally placed by FLmassage1 in 2008 sadly he is no longer playing so I decided to keep this great series alive by adopting them and making a few changes from his original hides.
You are on a 12.1 miles journey through the wonderful Florida Everglades which will give you 10 great hides on key spots of this trail.
I will strongly recommend you to do this great journey on bike, but for the most extreme geocachers it will be a great hike as well.
ON December 31 of 2010 a group of 9 geocachers and three geo k9 decided to help me fix and replace this whole series at one shot. Needless to say it was an amazing way to close a caching year!
Rangergirl141, soflfamily, McPhenius, radioman84, ikolor, HurricaneJuan & Hazel, Kato and Ruby
The repair crew!
Suggested gear for this cache
*Bug repellent
*hiking footwear
*hiking pole or stick
*Water
*Bike
*Hat
* Tire repair kit ( BIKES )
*Camera
*Essential “the will to hike/bike and know your Everglades”