Red-Bellied Snake Missouri Department of Conservation

Description

The red-bellied snake is a small woodland species. It is gray or reddish brown, normally with 4 narrow, dark stripes, a faint light stripe along the middle of the back, or some combination of this striping. Some individuals may have a distinct, even bold, red or orange stripe running along the back; this stripe may be rather wide. The head is usually darker than the body, and the nape of the neck has 3 light spots, which occasionally fuse to form a tan collar mark behind the head. The belly is orange, red, pink or occasionally yellow. Similar species: The red-bellied snake is a close relative of Dekay's brownsnake. The red-bellied snake used to be divided into several subspecies, including the northern red-bellied snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata). Subspecies are no longer recognized within this species. The red-bellied snake is sometimes mistaken for a young copperhead and killed because of unwarranted fear. Copperheads, however, are stout-bodied and have hourglass-shaped markings on the back, vertical pupils in the eyes, a sensory pit between each nostril and eye, and, sometimes, especially in young copperheads, a yellow tail tip.