Recently, I was doing some gardening, actually pulling tufts of grass up by the roots from around the border of my raised-bed gardens, when a noticed that there was a small snake in the grass clump I had just uprooted. The snake was very small and brown. At first, I almost mistook it for a night-crawler. It turned out to be a northern red-bellied snake of about seven or eight inches in length.
According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game website, this diminutive snake eats snails and slugs. As it happens, the border to my raised bed garden is made of wood and when we have wet weather, small black slugs can be found on the wood. All the sources I found include small slugs as the preferred menu item for the northern red-bellied snake although a number of sources add other various prey to the snake's diet. It's worth noting that the sources don't agree exactly on what those other items might be. At any rate, eating slugs from around my garden earns this little snake my favor.
The northern red-bellied snake doesn't grow more than 16 inches in length and is completely harmless to humans and pets. Because of its small size and tendency to hide under woody debris (where it's primary prey resides), it is not often seen. In fact, this specimen that I found accidently while working in my garden is the first of its species that I have ever encountered.
The red-bellied snake is viviparous which means that it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Sources vary on the maximum litter size ranging from highs of 14-23 although average litters are much smaller by all accounts, with about six to nine baby snakes being the average estimate.
The specimen that I found living in my yard was brown with a pinkish belly with an almost blue border separating the pink belly from the darker area of its body. While not typical, this coloration is well within the range for this species. The belly can range from red to orange to pink, while the upper body may be brown, grey or black with four darker stripes running along its length. Some of these snakes have 3 pale dots around the nape of the neck, but the one I found in my yard did not.
According to the Michigan Society of Herpetologists. the northern red-bellied snake can often be found around dumps that contain wood scraps or sheet metal that provide good habitat for slugs. If present, they can be found by flipping over bits of wood or sheet metal that is lying on the ground.
The one I found in my yard was in tall moist grass growing against the sides of my raised bed garden which is made with wood that frequently has little black slugs patrolling its surface after a rain or a heavy night dew fall.
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| Northern Red-bellied Snake Photo by Brad Sylvester. All rights reserved. |
According to the New Hampshire Fish and Game website, this diminutive snake eats snails and slugs. As it happens, the border to my raised bed garden is made of wood and when we have wet weather, small black slugs can be found on the wood. All the sources I found include small slugs as the preferred menu item for the northern red-bellied snake although a number of sources add other various prey to the snake's diet. It's worth noting that the sources don't agree exactly on what those other items might be. At any rate, eating slugs from around my garden earns this little snake my favor.
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| The red-bellied snake is quite small with a maximum length of about 16 inches. Photo by Brad Sylvester. All rights reserved. |
The red-bellied snake is viviparous which means that it gives birth to live young rather than laying eggs. Sources vary on the maximum litter size ranging from highs of 14-23 although average litters are much smaller by all accounts, with about six to nine baby snakes being the average estimate.
The specimen that I found living in my yard was brown with a pinkish belly with an almost blue border separating the pink belly from the darker area of its body. While not typical, this coloration is well within the range for this species. The belly can range from red to orange to pink, while the upper body may be brown, grey or black with four darker stripes running along its length. Some of these snakes have 3 pale dots around the nape of the neck, but the one I found in my yard did not.
According to the Michigan Society of Herpetologists. the northern red-bellied snake can often be found around dumps that contain wood scraps or sheet metal that provide good habitat for slugs. If present, they can be found by flipping over bits of wood or sheet metal that is lying on the ground.
The one I found in my yard was in tall moist grass growing against the sides of my raised bed garden which is made with wood that frequently has little black slugs patrolling its surface after a rain or a heavy night dew fall.
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| The underside of the red-bellied snake may be pink, red or orange. Photo by Brad Sylvester. All rights reserved. |
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