You can report locations of these snakes on the FWC website.
For those who reside in Florida or will be going to Florida this year, the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission has guidelines to help them survey snakes in the state.
For those herpers in Florida who wish to report sightings, the FWC has guidelines that you can follow to help their efforts. Visit the MyFWC website here and click the links for the Florida pine snake, eastern diamondback rattlesnake, short-tailed snake, and southern hognose snake for more information.
Every year, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission performs snake surveys in the state in an effort to find southern hognose snakes (Heterodon simus), short-tailed snake (Lampropeltis extenuata), Florida pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus), and eastern diamondback rattlesnakes (Crotalus adamanteus).
In 2014, researchers with the state’s upland snake survey didn’t find a single southern hognose snake, but this year they were able to locate a southern hognose snake as well as two eastern hognose snakes. The commission performs these surveys to determine current distribution and the status of these species.
The researchers with the commission found 13 Florida pine snakes during the first month of the 2015 survey, in all four survey locations that they had set up. They also found two diamondback rattlesnakes and the southern hognose snake. While the three species are of special concern to the FWC, other species that they find are also counted during their surveys.
John Virata keeps a western hognose snake, a ball python, two corn snakes, a kingsnake, and two leopard geckos. His first snake, a California kingsnake, was purchased for $5. His first pet reptile was a green anole that arrived in a small box via mail order. Follow him on Twitter @johnvirata
