coral...or some other kind of snake?

"Brad, there's a snake by the bookcase!" That's what I heard one evening last week while I was in our bedroom studying. Rebecca was on the phone and spotted our uninvited guest making its way behind the bookcase in our living room. I came out to see this snake, expecting a little guy no bigger than a few inches. I must say I was surprised to see what looked like a coral snake of about 3 feet! Before I could do anything else, I had to go back to the bedroom to get our camera as I wanted to make sure I had photos of this guy. In the meantime, Rebecca jumped up on a chair and continued her conversation on the phone, now giving a play-by-play on what the snake was doing. After I got a few shots with the camera, I notified Curtis, our neighbor next door, and he, too, came and took some pictures. Finally, I went over to the Parkers' house to fetch a machete. Luke Parker informed me that there was a way to tell the difference between a coral snake and its non-venomous cousin...but I wasn't about to take chances. After a few quick swings with the machete (and a little damage to our cement floor), the snake's head rolled to the side. Rebecca and I did go online afterward and found that here in S. America it is pretty near impossible to tell the difference between the coral snake and its imitation.