Backyard Snake Identification - Ask Extension
We found and killed this baby snake in our backyard, not the first one of its kind that we have found. Friends tell us it looks like a copperhead. ...
Knowledgebase
Backyard Snake Identification #157129
Asked October 15, 2013, 12:07 PM EDT
We found and killed this baby snake in our backyard, not the first one of its kind that we have found. Friends tell us it looks like a copperhead. Please help with identification.
Richland County South Carolina
Expert Response
It is a harmless DeKay's Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi). This species is a small chestnut to dark brown snake
averaging 25-30 centimeters in length as adults. The belly is cream to pink. It has two
rows of dark spots along the back that fade toward the tail. Dark bars may
connect the dorsal spots, giving the impression of a ladder-like pattern. The
area within this pattern is usually lighter in color than the sides, often
giving the impression of a central stripe.
Copperheads (as well as rattlesnakes and cottonmouths) are
pit vipers. The most notable feature unique to pit vipers is the loreal, or
sensory pit, located between the eye and the nostril on each side of the head.
These pits detect heat and help the vipers locate warm-blooded prey or
predators, even in complete darkness. Other snakes in Indiana lack these
sensory pits. The pupils of pit vipers are elliptical (i.e., vertical
“cat-like”) slits in bright daylight; pupils of non-venomous species are round
or oval. Pit vipers also have a single row of scales under the anterior portion
of the tail, while nonvenomous snakes (e.g., Colubrids) have a double row of
scales on the entire underside of the tail (the tails in snakes is the part
that is “downhill” from the cloaca, the opening for all waste and reproduction).
Pit vipers are relatively heavy-bodied and have thick, broad, spade-shaped
heads that are distinctly wider than their narrow necks. However, the shape of
the head may not offer a definitive way to differentiate some non-venomous
snakes from their venomous cousins. Non-venomous species such as Watersnakes
and Hognosed Snakes can be rather stout and may flatten their heads when
threatened. Many snakes are brownish with bands, spots and blotches. Almost all are harmless and help us by controlling yard and garden pests.
