Every season hundreds of homeowners, commercial applicators, professional gardeners, and nurseries continue to choose Nature's MACE Animal Repellents. 1998. The rough earth snake is fossorial, hiding beneath logs, rocks, or ornamental stones, in leaf litter, or in compost piles and gardens. Habitat/Range: Smooth earth snakes are usually found in forested areas where they stay hidden. Although it has teeth, the rough earth snake normally does not bite. Earth snakes are secretive snakes, having gray, brown or red color on their backs, while a yellow to cream coloration on their belly. Facts, Control and Identification. They live mostly in Eastern Texas and Virginia, Southern Florida and Missouri. Conant, R. and Collins, J. If you have ornamental shrubs and bushes around your property, ensure they grow pretty high above the ground, with its bottom free from grass. Diet: Primarily eats earthworms, but also slugs, snails, and soft-bodied insects and their larvae. HARMLESS Description: Plain brown to gray in coloration, with a cream to yellow underside, this small snake has a snout that tapers to a point. Virginia valeriae. The Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO. Viviparity is the most extreme form of matrotrophy, whereas oviparity is the most extreme form of lecithotrophy.[7]. It feeds almost exclusively on earthworms, although slugs, snails, sow bugs, insect eggs and larvae have also been found in the stomach. If you own a garden, you are very likely going to have frequent encounters with earth snakes. Unlike other species of snakes, female earth snake do not lay eggs. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1766, as Coluber striatulus. Eastern wormsnake has smooth scales and a sharply contrasting belly. Choose a name you can trust to protect your property against pesky animals! They source their meals from insects, slugs and earthworms. Habitat 5 The rough earth snake is fossorial , hiding beneath logs, rocks, or ornamental stones, in leaf litter, or in compost piles and gardens. Description: A small, keel-scaled snake (7.0 to 10.0 inches in length) which is gray, brown, or reddish- brown and has a pointed snout. All Rights Reserved. To keep your kids safe, erect snake-proof fences around your home. When fully grown, earth snakes measure between 7 and 12 inches. Ring-necked Snake has a yellowish ring around neck and a bright yellow belly. Can be found under flat debris such as boards and old sheet metal roofing. Send us an email or call 800-760-0544, Have questions or comments? [5] Young individuals often have a light band on the neck, which is normally lost as they mature. Best places to see in Tennessee: Under cover of stones or woody debris in the Metropolitan area of Memphis. Virginia striatula . DeKay’s Brownsnake has dark spots on the back and no loreal scales. Its scales are keeled and the anal plate is divided. The belly is tan to whitish and is not sharply defined in color from the back, unlike in the wormsnake (Carphophis amoenus) or the red-bellied snake (Storeria occipitomaculata). 2006. Belly is cream-colored or light gray. Males have a longer tail than females. Hammerson, G.A. Send us an email or call Woodland, hillsides, and piles happen to be their habitat. Cats are known to prey on the rough earth snake, killing and living their lifeless bodies on their owner’s patio or walk way. It can reach very high densities in urban gardens, parks, and vacant lots.[6]. If necessary, the rough earth snake can be safely picked up by hand and relocated. This specie of snake is mostly active between March and October. Females are ovoviviparous (give live birth) and deliver 2-9 young during late summer or early fall. The species is found in a variety of forested habitats with plenty of ground cover, as well as in many urban areas. The pointed snout of the rough earth snake helps in burrowing in moist soil where prey are found. It has a round pupil, weakly keeled dorsal scales, and usually a divided anal plate. Newborns are about 10 cm (4 inches) in total length. As an added measure, all crevices and cracks must be sealed, while also keeping landscapes trimmed at all times. The rough earth snake is fossorial, hiding beneath logs, rocks, or ornamental stones, in leaf litter, or in compost piles and gardens. [3], The rough earth snake is found from southern Virginia to northern Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to southern Texas, and north into south-central Missouri and southeastern Kansas.[4]. Glue traps, used for trapping rats and mice can also be used for catching rough earth snakes. 616pp. A keel scale is a reptile scale that is not smooth and has a ridge in the middle, whether or not it extends to the top of the balance. Unlike the rough earth snake, De Kay's brown snake retains these markings into adulthood. Also, S. dekayi has a rounder snout than H. striatula. H. striatula is a small, harmless, secretive, fairly slender snake, 7-10 inches (18–25 cm) in total length (including tail). Not considered threatened as these snakes have adapted to human environments in large cities. Young earth snakes have a … The rough earth snake bears live young. Breeding information: Courtship and mating occurs in April and May. If your property has been taken over by the rough earth snake, the best way of dispelling them is by engaging the services of a pest management professional (PMP), as they have the expertise and knowledge to solve the problem. Peterson Field Guides: Reptiles and Amphibians (Eastern/Central North America). Physical Appearance. Formerly it was scientifically known as Virginia striatula, this is a non-aggressive snake. In reality, the distinction between these two terms is not very sharp, and the diversity of reproductive modes is better thought of as a spectrum or continuum between matrotrophy (embryonic nutrients come directly from the mother) and lecithotrophy (embryonic nutrients come mostly or completely from egg yolk). B., Camp C. D., Gibbons, W., and Elliot, M. J. They build their nests loose soil and rock crevices. © 2020 Nature's Mace. Using fake owl sounds, hawk or ultrasonic sounds aren’t effective because the rough earth snake can’t pick up the sound frequency. Send us an email or call 800-760-0544, Have questions or comments? Females are a little longer and heavier than males, with relatively shorter tails. Many sources refer to snakes that give birth to live young as either ovoviviparous or viviparous. Its response when harassed is to remain motionless, or to try to escape. Rough earthsnake Haldea striatula. 800-760-0544. H. striatula is most likely to be confused with De Kay's brown snake (Storeria dekayi), which is a little larger and is light brown with dark markings on the back and neck. The colors vary, sometimes reddish-brown or … Bushes and shrubs are snakes’ favorite hiding spot. Keeled scales differentiate the rough earth snake from the similar smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae), as well as from the wormsnake. Status in Tennessee: Range is very limited in Tennessee; appears to be fairly common in the Memphis area. Haldea striatula (formerly Virginia striatula), commonly called the rough earth snake, is a species of nonvenomous natricine colubrid snake native to the southeastern United States. Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia, University of Georgia Press, Athens, GA. 575pp. It can reach very high … Habitat: Found in a variety of habitats including rocky hillsides, pine and hardwood forests, forest edges, and suburban and urban areas. As a safety measure, always wear safety gloves when removing trapped rough earth snakes because glue traps either kill or wound them. Rough earth snakes are not harmful as they do not produce venom. Dorsally, it is brown, gray, or reddish, and essentially has no pattern. H. striatula eats invertebrates. Subscribe to Receive Exclusive News and Promotions! [8] H. striatula is not venomous and does not constrict prey; rather, it swallows prey without subduing it. Feeding/Diet: They feed mostly on earthworms. Vegetation and debris should be properly mowed as they provide excellent habitats for snakes. They only inflict superficial wounds with their bites, and will only do so when threatened. Photo by JD Willson. The rough earth snake is generally not aggressive towards humans, is not venomous, and is harmless if encountered. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Missouri. Young earth snakes have a light coloration at the back of their head. Most recently, the generic name was changed back from Virginia to Haldea in 2013. The rough earth snake is found from southern Virginia to northern Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to southern Texas, and north into south-central Missouri and southeastern Kansas. Rough Earthsnakes are secretive, burrowers that spend most of their time under rocks, leaf litter, logs, or trash. They give birth to 2-13 live young in mid- or late summer. LIFE HISTORY AND ECOLOGY: Although secretive in nature and rarely seen above the ground’s surface (fossorial), rough earth snakes are most active from March to late October. Send us an email or call   800-760-0544, Have questions or comments? OUR DATA: We use the most recent data from these primary sources: AnAge, UMICH, Max Planck, PanTHERIA, Arkive, UKC, AKC.