North Carolina Trip Report October 2023

Perhaps the most exciting finds of the trip for me were these two exceptional eastern king snakes (Lampropeltis getula). While making my way back up the eastern coast of North Carolina for home the weather began to shape up perfectly for snake hunting. I was able to flip the individual pictured on the left under a board at a site that I mapped on the fly. The individual in the middle was found on the barrier island of North Carolina in what would formerly be consider the range of the now sunk eastern king snake subspecies: the outer banks king snake (Lampropeltis getula sticticeps). This was an exceptionally large and healthy individual that was unfortunately going into a shed cycle. We came upon this individual basking just outside of a large fallen log which had another eastern king snake shed coming out of the entrance- a probable shed station for individuals in this population. I also was fortunate enough to turn up this flawless eastern glass lizard in a rubble pile. This was a very rewarding encounter in that I was able to capture some solid field guide shots of the individual all while managing to keep it in one piece. For those outside of the hobby, it is very common for eastern glass lizards to autotomize their tail very readily in an attempt to evade predators.