Rough Greensnake
Opheodrys aestivus · Greensnakes
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No venom, and one of the mildest-tempered snakes in the country.
How to identify
- Head
- Small narrow head with a large eye; pale yellow-white chin.
- Pattern
- Bright leaf-green above, pale yellow to white below, with a slightly ridged texture.
- Eyes
- Round pupil in a fairly large eye; no heat-sensing pit.
- Pits
- None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
- Tail
- Long and whip-thin; no rattle.
- What it does
- Sways slowly among leaves; almost never bites.
About the Rough Greensnake›
A gentle, almost weightless snake that lives in shrubs, vines and streamside branches, where its green color and slow swaying make it nearly invisible among leaves.
It hunts caterpillars and spiders by creeping through foliage rather than on the ground, and it rarely bites even when handled. After death the green fades to blue, which is why museum specimens look wrong.
The details
Size Usually 20–32 inWeight Well under 0.5 lbLifespan 5–8 years
Typical range›
Southeast and lower Midwest: New Jersey south through Florida, west to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri.
Activity›
Day active in warm months, almost always up in vegetation near water.
Diet›
Caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, spiders and other insects.
Reproduction›
Lays eggs, usually 3–12, in summer, sometimes in shared nests.
Found in parts of 23 states›
Ranges are approximate. It may be found in only part of a state, or be rare there, and snakes can turn up outside of them.
