Redbelly Snake

Storeria occipitomaculata

Redbelly Snake

RBSN

Status

The Redbelly Snake is common throughout the Piedmont and Mountains but becomes less common in the sandhills and Coastal Plain.

Description

The Redbelly Snake is a small (20–40 cm), and the ground color ranges from gray to reddish-brown. Most specimens have three light-colored nape or neck spots and a red or orange undersurface. Three subspecies are recognized: occipitomaculata, obscura, and pahasapae.

Distribution

Storeria occipitomaculata ranges from Nova Scotia to north-central Florida and westward to the Dakotas, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Habitat

This secretive snake spends much of its time under logs, bark, rocks, or other similar shelter. It is most abundant in mesic, forested habitats where soil is heavy and topography hilly or mountainous (Mount 1975). Additionally, it occurs in pine flatwoods, sandhills, swamp margins, open deciduous forests, and residential areas (Martof and others 1980).

Special Requirements

The Redbelly Snake requires mesic soils with abundance of ground cover.

Breeding Habits

This snake is ovoviviparous, with litter sizes ranging from one to twenty-one.

Food Habits

The diet of this snake includes insects, snails, worms, isopods, and other small invertebrates.

Management Suggestions

Since this snake occurs in such a variety of habitats, including urban areas, no specific management plans are considered necessary at this time.

Additional References

Blanchard 1937; Brodie and Ducer 1989; Semlitsch and Moran 1984; Wright and Wright 1957.