Look closer, however, and you'll find unmistakable differences. The scarlet snake has a red snout, and its red and creamy yellow bands are separated by black ones. On coral snakes, the snout is black, and red and yellow bands touch. Also, unlike the coral snake, the scarlet snake's colored bands don't encircle its body. The scarlet snake's belly is an unblemished cream color.
Scarlet snakes occur throughout most of Arkansas.
They inhabit forests and adjacent lands with loose, well-drained soils that favor their burrowing habit. They sometimes come aboveground at night or after a downpour, but you'll seldom see one unless you dig it up or discover it beneath an overturned rock. Scarlet snakes eat other reptiles and their eggs and, occasionally, rodents.