This is a Southern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus puncatatus), harmless. He eats earthworms or slugs.
HARMLESS (Non-Venomous) and it rarely bites when handled. When startled or threatened, it may coil and raise the tail displaying its brightly-colored underside. It may emit a strong smelling musk from the glands just inside the cloaca.
The average adult of this species is 6-10 inches (15.2-25.4 cm), record is 18.9 inches (48 cm). Adults are small and slender-bodied with a black body and yellow, cream, or orange ring across the neck. The belly is bright yellow, orange, or red with a single row of half-moon spots down the center. The scales are smooth, and there are 15-17 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The pupil is round. Juvenile color is similar to that of the adult.
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The Southern Ringneck ranges throughout Florida and the upper Florida keys, excluding the lower keys. Outside of Florida, it is found throughout the southeastern US from Alabama to southern New Jersey.
Ringnecks are the snakes that are most frequently found in Florida swimming pools — they crawl in to get a drink and then cannot climb out because they are too small to reach the lip of the pool. If you find one in your pool, lift it out with the leaf skimmer or a dipnet and turn it loose in the shrubs where it can get back to eating things you do not want in your garden.
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Despite what Donald Trump (aka 💩) Might Think About Climate Change it is a Remarkably Hot Fall in the Arctic with Temperatures Running 40° Above Normal
Weather and climate records are broken all the time, but then there are truly exceptional events that overshadow all others. Such an event has been the case across Earth’s high latitudes during this last quarter of 2016, on track to be the planet’s warmest year on record. Sea ice extent and area have both plummeted to record lows for this time of year in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Such dramatic losses rarely occur at the same time, which means that the global total of sea ice coverage is phenomenally low for this time of year. The weirdness extends to midlatitudes: North America as well as the Arctic have been bathed in unusual mildness over the last several weeks, while Eurasia deals with a vast zone of above-average snowfall and below-average temperatures.
