Smooth Earth Snake

The Smooth Earth Snake is a small, unassuming colubrid found across the eastern and central United States. Like its close relative the Rough Earth Snake, it spends most of its life hidden underground or beneath surface debris.

It is entirely harmless to humans and non-venomous, relying on its cryptic lifestyle rather than defense to survive.

• Small, slender body, typically 18-33 cm (7-13 in)
• Brown, gray, or tan dorsal coloration, usually plain or with faint speckling
• Smooth dorsal scales, distinguishing it from the keeled-scaled Rough Earth Snake
• Rounded snout, less pointed than the Rough Earth Snake
• Pale belly, sometimes with faint dark flecks

The key identification feature separating this species from the Rough Earth Snake is scale texture: smooth here versus keeled in the Rough Earth Snake.

This species inhabits deciduous forests, forest edges, and open woodlands with loose, moist soil and abundant leaf litter or rotting logs. Its range spans much of the eastern and central United States, and it is often found under rocks or debris while burrowing through soil.

The Smooth Earth Snake is fossorial and secretive, most often encountered under cover objects during the day or moving on the surface after rain. It feeds chiefly on earthworms and soft insect larvae. It is docile and non-defensive, and gives live birth to small litters of young in late summer.