Peninsula Ribbon Snake
Thamnophis sauritis sackenii

Liberty Co., Florida.  March 20, 2006
 

It was a cool morning in the Apalachicola National Forest, but the sun was out and the temperature was creeping up towards 60F.  I was driving the sand roads along the forest edge, looking for artificial cover to turn over, when I spotted a small snake in the road.  Fortunately the snake was still sluggish from the cool overnight temperatures, and I was able to secure it for some photographs. Notable is the white spot on the scale anterior to each eye.

One interesting note to this discovery was the absence of a any nearby water source.  This snake was out for a lengthy crawl.