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Identify this Snake

13 years ago

I just got done mowing my lawn and ran into 2 of these small snakes. Unfortunately my weedwacker met them before I even saw them. I have seen the same snake species in my yard before. Generally they are around dirt/soil. The color of them is really similar to earthworms.

I live in central Texas area if that helps. I also put a quarter next to these 2 I accidentally hit with my weedwacker today to show their size. They are not very big at all. Anyway, now that I keep seeing these, should I worry about it? I know they are harmless but I have now seen 5 in the past 4 weeks.

Thanks,

Mike

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Comment (1)

S.A.McKenzie
13 years ago
These unfortunate little snakes are Rough Earth Snakes(Virginia striatula), and are indeed harmless as you've already guessed. I'm not sure, though, why you'd wonder if they'd be something to "worry" about, if you knew they were harmless already. All snakes are beneficial to us to at least some degree, even the venomous species, as they, too, eat rodent pests. There are no snakes which are a real threat to agricultural or other human endeavors native to the US, as in none that eat our crops or plants or livestock, aside from the occasional chicken egg devoured by a Rat Snake. These little snakes feed primarily on earthworms and slugs, and in eating the latter, do gardeners a big favor!
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Is it bad luck to say that I've gone my whole life without seeing a copperhead or any other poisonous snake? (except at the zoo) I know we have them in Missouri and not doubting anyone that's seen one. Maybe I've just been lucky. I spent soooo much time outdoors when I was young. We went hiking in the woods a lot and had cattle so I was around pastures hauling hay and such. Maybe I was just lucky but I'm going to say to Pam not to worry. Poisonous snakes are not very common. But - instinct tells me not to wall through brushy areas around ponds or anything marshy looking. Maybe that's why I've never seen one. lol I do see a lot of garter snakes but they're small and easy to identify so not scary since there are no poisonous snakes with stripes like that. Turtle0soup - I just noticed you're in Georgia. Gardenweb also has a Georgia Gardener forum (you posted in the Ozarks forum). It may be a snake that we don't have here. If you don't get an answer there, you could try the Pest forum or Southern Gardening forum on Gardenweb. Here is a link that might be useful: Georgia Gardener
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Sharon, I am a devoted snake lover and hate to see dead snakes posted like this, but I always consider the bigger picture and benefit of responding positively. Amylynn had a serious concern if the snake was dangerous or not. If she didn't, she wouldn't have posted it here. Remember, the real "snake haters" of the world will kill the snake and not really care if was venomous or not because "the only good snake is a dead snake". They don't post questions. The people posting questions are trying to gain information so they can make more informed decisions in the future. Criticizing people here for seeking information may be counterproductive. Hopefully, Amylynn will NOT kill the next racer she finds because of the help she gained here. So even though this racer died, it may have died for a cause.
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I concur with fhfchrish....ditch the glue traps! Those things are extremely barbaric and result in very slow, drawn-out suffering of captured animals, especially reptiles, which take a long time to die, but which also have very advanced sensory nervous systems, meaning that they feel pain very acutely. If you wouldn't do this to a puppy or kitten, it's just as wrong to inflict this torture on a reptile. IF you accidentally capture a snake or lizard on a glue trap, you can spray PAM cooking spray on it or pour cooking oil on it to dissolve the glue and gradually let the animal work itself loose, but often by the time they are discovered they have seriously injured themselves trying to escape.
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Eastern Hognosed Snake (Heterodon platirhinos). Harmless toad-eaters. That snake looks suspiciously skinny at the posterior end of the body. Might be a female that just finished nesting. They lay eggs in burrows or hollow logs, etc. The babies are cute as all heck!
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