Tri color milksnake plus#

Location in Ohio: central portion of the south, especially Shawnee and Pike State Forests. Photo courtesy of Jeromi Hefner, license: CC BY 2.0Įastern Smooth Earthsnake (Virginia valeriae valeriae)Ĭolor of back: gray or reddish to yellowish brown, sometimes with a faint stripe going down the middle of its back. Northern Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi dekayi) - view of the top of its headīoth the Northern and Midland Brownsnake head have dark brown marks on the side of their heads. Northern Brownsnake (Storeria dekayi dekayi)Ĭolor of back: brown with two parallel lines of dark spots running down its back Color of head: Dark brown on top, with thin, brown marks on the sides of the head The distribution of the population in Ohio has something of a “T” shape it is found in most of northern Ohio, and in a band that runs from north to south through the center of Ohio. The two species do interbreed producing what are called intergrade offspring with characteristics of both parents. However the Midland Brownsnake also has some dark lines crossing over its back creating a ladder-like look. Location in Ohio: southern third of the state.īoth the Northern and Midland Brownsnakes have two dark lines running down their backs. Midwestern Wormsnake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)Ĭolor of back: pinkish-brown, brown, dark brown Color of belly: light pink to coral pink Photo courtesy of John Sullivan, license: CC BY-SA 3.0 These scales are fused for the Midwestern wormsnake, while they remain separate for the Eastern wormsnake. The only real difference between the Eastern and Midwestern wormsnakes has to do with the scales on the top of the head from the eyes to the snout.

It is believed that the pointed tail may be used in digging into the earth. Some people think this is a stinger, but it is not. The tail of both species tapers to a sharp point. The head is very small and pointed with tiny eyes. The top is brown or pinkish-brown, with younger snakes being a darker brown than older snakes. The belly scales tend to be somewhat translucent so it may be possible to make out some of the snake’s internal organs while looking at its belly. Location in Ohio: most of Ohio except for the far east and far south most common in Lucas and Hamilton countiesīoth of the wormsnakes below have pink bellies the color may vary from light pink to coral pink.

Photo courtesy of Todd Pierson, license: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0Ĭolor: The back is brown or gray with large, dark spots on each side the belly is reddish with smaller dark spots running down each side. The upturned nose that gives the snake its name is used to dig up its prey, usually toads.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency has a nice photo of the snake playing dead here. It releases a foul-smelling musk and may have a bowel movement. To make its act as convincing as possible, it even tries to smell like a corpse. Some people who feel threatened by this play-acting end up killing the snake, so in those case the strategy sadly backfires.Īs a second line of defense, the Eastern Hog-nosed snake will play dead by flipping over on its back with its tongue hanging limply from its open mouth. When alarmed it flattens its neck, puffs out its body, coils and strikes aggressively at the perceived threat. I am singling out the Eastern Hog-nosed snake here because it does such a convincing job of behaving like a venomous snake. Pretends to be Venomous, but it’s not Family Colubridae The venomous water moccasin or cottonmouth does not occur in Ohio.

Tri color milksnake plus#

Location in Ohio: eastern half of state (excluding far north) plus the southwest corner of state Two Northern Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen) Photo courtesy of Mike Van Valen, license: CC BY-NC-SA 2.0