Red-bellied Snake
Storeria occipitomaculata
Size
7–10 in
Status
Uncommon
Venomous
No
Region
Statewide, woods
One of Indiana's smallest snakes, with a bright red belly and gentle nature. Harmless and easily overlooked in the leaf litter.
Identification
A tiny slender snake, brown to gray above, with a plain red to orange belly and usually three light spots just behind the head that can form a faint collar. Adults are only 8–10 inches. It sometimes curls its lip in a harmless bluff.
Habitat & Diet
Lives in woodlands and their edges, sheltering under logs, bark, and leaf litter. It feeds almost entirely on slugs and earthworms.
Conservation in Indiana
Uncommon to locally common but easily missed due to its size and secretive habits. It benefits from moist, undisturbed woodland floors.
Similar Species & Taxonomy
The plain brown or gray back with three pale nape spots and a bright red belly separates the Red-bellied Snake from the closely related Brownsnake, which has a keeled brown back and a pale, unmarked belly. A small snake (family Colubridae; watersnakes and their kin are often split into the family Natricidae) of the genus Storeria, alongside the brownsnakes. Indiana's are the Northern Red-bellied Snake.
United States Range Map Distribution
Distribution in Indiana
