Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Tiny Smooth Green Snake

By: Tom Berg

Snakes are interesting creatures.  Many people don’t like them or are frightened by them, but snakes are very beneficial and they are a vital and natural part of the ecosystem.  One fascinating species of snake in the United States is the Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis).  As you might guess, this snake is a beautiful bright green color.  Since it is green, it is sometimes called a grass snake.

The smooth green snake is a tiny snake, too, usually reaching a maximum length of only 20 inches or so.  Many individuals are only 10-14 inches long and are thinner than a pencil.  They get their name from their smooth dorsal scales, which differ from the closely-related Rough Green Snake which has ridged scales.

Smooth green snakes prefer to live in grassy meadows, remnant prairies, marshes, railroad right of ways and vacant lots.  They are found in many of the upper Midwestern and northeastern states and southeastern Canada, and also in places like Virginia, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Colorado and Mississippi.  However, in my home state of Indiana they are only found in the extreme northwest corner of the state, and they are listed as an endangered species here.

These small, gentle snakes are endangered in Indiana mainly because of habitat loss (most of their natural prairie habitat is gone) and because of the widespread use of insecticides.  Because of their small size, their diet consists mainly of small insects like ants, tiny caterpillars and small grasshoppers.  They also eat many small spiders.  Their insect diet makes them vulnerable to becoming poisoned by eating insects that were exposed to toxic pesticides.

Smooth green snakes are not aggressive and they only very rarely bite.  When threatened, they usually try to hide or escape.  They are very good at hiding in the grass and weeds since their green coloration provides the perfect camouflage.  Once winter comes, though, they go into hibernation until spring.  They should be emerging from their dens very soon!

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