Glossy Crayfish Snake

Range

Mississippi Delta and Coastal Plain.

Description

Keeled scales. A brown to olive-brown snake with a tan stripe along the sides of the body just above the belly. Belly is cream-colored, patterned with two rows of black spots. Young patterned like adults. Adults average 14-24 inches in length.

Habitat and Habits

Glossy crayfish snakes inhabit the margins of swamps, marshes, sloughs and saturated soils of bottomland hardwood forests. This snake is active from March-October. Breeding in the spring, it gives birth to 6-14 young in August-September. Principal food is crayfish, but it also feeds on small fish, amphibians and aquatic insect larvae.