Florida Brown Snake Traditional Cache

This cache is located in Highlands Hammock State Park.   The park is open from 8:00 am until sunset, 365 days a year, including all holidays.  There is a fee to enter the park.  The snake series of caches will take you along the bike trail on Dam Road.  You might see a variety of wildlife along this shady and scenic trail including deer, bear, pigs, cottonmouth snakes just to name a few. 

Description Average adult size is 7-10 inches (17.7-25.4 cm), record is 19 inches (48.26 cm). Adults are small, thin, and may be rusty-brown or grayish, with a faint light mid-dorsal stripe and fleckings on the sides. There is a light band across the back of head. There is a dark spot on the upper lip scales under the eye. The belly is tannish to pinkish, with black dots along the edges. The scales are keeled and there are 15 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round.

Range:In Florida, the Florida Brown Snake occurs throught the peninsula and Upper Florida Keys, there are disjunct populations in the Lower Florida Keys. Outside of Florida, it occurs into southeastern Georgia.

Habitat: Commonly found near hardwood hammocks, pinelands, bogs, marshes, ponds, swamps, and sloughs.

Comments: HARMLESS (Non-Venomous). The Florida Brown Snake is a terrestrial burrower, found under logs, rocks, and other debris. It feeds on slugs, snails, and earthworms, but occasionally eats small fishes, frogs, and salamanders.

Comparison with other species: The Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum) may have dark lines across the back connecting the black spots along the mid-dorsal stripe. The Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) has a light spot under the eye, a light band across the back of neck (not head), and sometimes a red belly. The Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus) is solid grayish-black, with a complete neck ring and black spotted yellow-orange belly.