Creature Encounter: Rainbow Snake

This is, hands down, my greatest personal find of my herpetological career. By some insane miracle, I was actually able to find and catch a rainbow snake (Farancia erytrogramma)!

This particular snake was found at Back Bay Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Virginia. The area is popular with many naturalists for its incredible species diversity; for herpetologists, the refuge is a treasure trove for many species of snakes (during my first visit, we encountered more than 30 snakes in just under 3 hours!). Uncommon snake species can often be seen in the park, such as eastern milk snakes, mud snakes, hognose snakes and, of course, rainbow snakes.

I was traveling through the marsh with my herpetology class when I made the discovery. We had just reached the birding station, a small pavilion that overlooked an open wet meadow. We began spreading out in the field, looking for any signs of life. My eyes were peeled primarily for cottonmouths since they are incredibly common in the park; rainbow snakes are so freakishly uncommon that the thought of encountering one had never even crossed my mind. I was about 30 yards from the pavilion when I saw just a few inches of exposed scales in the grass (I'm amazed I didn't miss it!). What struck me immediately was the color; the snake was primarily dark blue with 3 red stripes and what looked like a yellow belly. There was no question in my mind what this was and I quickly pounced on the snake before it could speed away. Rainbow snakes are incredibly docile and don't bite, though they may try to poke you with their pointy tail, as this one did. I was able to handle it for a few minutes (and show it to my bewildered professor) before setting it on its way. I snapped a few shots as it returned to the brushes.

Rainbow snakes are freakin' gorgeous and photos (especially mine) do not do them justice! Their bluish scales are iridescent and shine like an oil sheen in the light, and their vibrant red and yellow scales make them unmistakable beauties. But the reason why this find is so spectacular to me is because of just how rare this animal is. In the wild, it is incredibly aquatic, and not often seen on land. They are very rare due to their specialized feeding needs; rainbow snakes feed almost exclusively on eels. What's really insane is that this is not a species you are likely to ever see in captivity at a zoo; because of their bizarre feeding patterns, they generally do very poorly in captivity. The only good way to see one is to find one in the wild!

I've scoured the same location many times since with no luck. The rangers at the refuge have told me that a rainbow snake is generally only spotted once or twice a year at best. How I was lucky enough to spot one I will never know! It just goes to show that you always gotta keep your eyes peeled; you never know what will show up!

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