A selection of species found in North Carolina.
Scientific Name: Regina rigida
Photo Credits: JD Wilson
Found in swampy areas, the Glossy Crayfish Snake has two faint dark stripes running down its olive-brown body. The non-venomous watersnake eats primarily crayfish with teeth that can hold onto the hard shells. They are most active at night.
Scientific Name: Farancia abacura
Photo Credits: Eric Stine
This non-venomous watersnake has a shiny black body and red bars extending on both sides. Mud snakes live in swamps, marshes, Carolina bays, and other slow-moving bodies of water. They eat small frogs, tadpoles, and aquatic salamanders.
Scientific Name: (Pituophis melanoleucus melanoleucus)
Classification: Nongame; state listed as Threatened
Photo Credits: Jeff Hall
Scientific Name: Sistrurus miliarus
Classification: State Listed as Special
Photo Credits: JD Wilson
Scientific Name: Rhadinaea flavilata
This non-venomous snake feeds on lizards and frogs. It is shiny golden-brown with a dark head. Laying 2-4 eggs in the summer, the Pind Woods Snake is found in pine flatwoods and oak forests within rotting logs.
Scientific Name: Regina septemvittata
Photo Credits: Eric Stine
This non-venomous watersnake is gray with one light stripe on each side. The Queen Snake eats molting crayfish. It's found along rocky streams and small rivers in the mountains of North Carolina. They will spend time on tree limbs above water and swim away when threatened.
Scientific Name: Coluber constrictor
Photo Credits: JD Wilson
This non-venomous snake is solid black with a white chin. They have slender bodies and smooth scales. Eating small rodents, lizards, frogs, and insects, the Racer is active during the day. It hunts with its head above the ground.
Scientific Name: Elaphe obsoleta (Pantherophis alleghaniensis)
Classification: Nongame
Abundance: Common throughout the state
Photo Credit: JD Wilson
Scientific Name: Storeria occipitomaculata
Photo Credits: Mike Martin
This non-venomous snake eats slugs. The red-bellied watersnake is brownish black with three yellowish spots at the base of the neck, and the belly is either orange or red. They are usually found in moist woodlands, often under rotten logs.
Non-venomous watersnake
Scientific Name: Nerodia erythrogaster
Information hosted elsewhere
Scientific Name: Diadophis punctatus
Photo Credits: JD Wilson
The ring-necked snake is non-venomous. It feeds on earthworms and salamanders. The yellow or orange ring on its neck contrasts with the dark gray or black back of this snake. Found in the forest, the snake lives within rotting logs.
Scientific Name: Haldea striatula
Photo Credits: JD Wilson
Living underground in rotting logs, this non-venomous snake eats earthworms and soft-bodied insects. The snake is brown with a light-colored belly. The babies are usually darker than the adults and have a more distinct neckband.