Smooth Green Snake

Opheodrys vernalis

Smooth Green Snake

SGSN

Status

This is a relatively rare or uncommon snake in the South but is abundant in parts of the Midwest. North Carolina state lists this species of one of special concern. Texas state lists it as endangered.

Reasons for Current Status

It is listed as endangered in Texas due to its very limited range and precariously small populations,. Some researchers feel it has probably already been extirpated from Texas.

Description

The Smooth Green Snake is a small (30–66 cm), unpatterned, smooth-scaled, green snake with a yellow to white venter.

Distribution

Opheodrys vernalis is found from the Maritime Provinces of Canada west to Minnesota and southeastern Saskatchewan and south to northeastern Illinois and northern Virginia. Disjunct colonies are found in southwest Ohio, southern Illinois, Iowa, northern Missouri, the Dakotas, Nebraska, eastern Wyoming, northeastern Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, along the Gulf Coast of Texas, and in Chihuahua, Mexico.

Habitat

The Smooth Green Snake inhabits mesic habitats such as wet meadows, prairies, bog and marsh edges, and open woodlands. They are usually found on the ground under logs, boards, rocks, or similar surface objects.

Special Requirements

Opheodrys vernalis requires open woods or meadows with abundant surface cover in the form of boards, logs, and rocks. They often are common in old dumps where hiding places and insects are plentiful.

Breeding Habits

Mating occurs from May to August. Nesting takes place from June to September. Communal nests of two or more clutches are fairly common (Blanchard 1932; Cook, 1964). Clutch size ranges from three to thirteen but averages between four and six.

Food Habits

Its diet consists primarily of insects but includes spiders, centipedes, millipedes, slugs, snails, and salamanders.

Management Suggestions

Management practices which substantially alter the ground litter will destroy the Smooth Green Snake’s microhabitat. Snags, logs, and similar structure should be left to provide shelter for this species. The common use of pesticides in some areas reduces prey items and can have a direct effect on the snake.

Additional References

Ernst and Barbour 1989; Conant and Collins 1991.