The pine woods snake is a secretive colubrid

Colubrid

A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...

 found in scattered locations across the Southeastern United States.

Description

A small reddish brown to yellowish brown snake with a whitish to yellowish, unmarked underside. A dark stripe runs through the eye. The upper labial scales (lip scales) are a whitish or pale yellow color which led to its other common name, the yellow-lipped snake. Pine woods snakes average between 10 and 13 inches (25-33 cm) at adult size.

Range

The pine woods snake is known from scattered localities in coastal North Carolina and South Carolina, most of peninsular Florida and small portions of Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana.

Behavior

Pine woods snakes are found in damp woodlands, under bark and in rotten logs and stumps. They feed on small frogs and lizards. They lay eggs.