Description

Storeria dekayi is a common snake found throughout the United States and range in the entire state of Mississippi. They are small and brown, often with a noticeable lighter middorsal stripe. Adults can grow to around a foot in length. Sides may be dashed or checkered, but individuals are variable. Anecdotally, those not familiar with snakes may call them “baby copperheads,” though the are completely harmless to humans and pets. Sides of the head and neck are marked with dark blotches. Young and some adults have a light band around the neck. Their habitat consists of a variety of places including woodlands, urban areas, swamps, wetlands, and often near bodies of water (Powell et al., 2016). They can be found nearly anywhere.

Identifying Traits

• Small brown body with dark markings on side of head and neck.

Habitat

Woodlands, grasslands, wetlands, urban areas

Behavior

These snakes can be quite variable in morphology and can often be seen basking on sidewalks in urban parks, though fossorial in ecology

Diet

Various invertebrates, earthworms and small insects