Pine Woods Snake

(Rhadinaea flavillata)

Color Photograph: Jeff Boundy, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Pine Woods Snake (Rhadinaea flavillata)

Identification: Snake 10 to 16 inches in length. A small snake. Body color red-brown to gold-brown. Upper labial (lip) scales yellow, sometimes with dark flecks. Top of the head darker than the rest of the snake. A dark stripe runs through the eye to the corner of the mouth. Back of the body with a faint, broad stripe, sides sometimes with hints of side stripes. Belly yellow to white. Scales smooth and anal plate divided.

Geographical Variation: None.

Range (see map below): The Pine Woods Snake is a species of the Southern Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from North Carolina in the north, southward through most of Florida, and westward along the Gulf Coast to extreme eastern Louisiana.

Habitat: Wet pine woodlands, marshy areas, hammocks, and coastal islands.

Food: Frogs and lizards.

Behavior: This species kills its prey with a toxin. The toxin is not harmful to humans. It is highly secretive and hides in rotten logs or stumps, or is found under forest litter. It is most often seen in the spring when rains raise the water levels.

Reproduction:  Clutches of 2 to 4 eggs are laid between May and August.

Pine Woods Snake (Rhadinaea flavilata)

Similar Species:

The Pine Woods Snake is distinctive and easily identified by its small size, golden to rich red-brown color, the yellow coloration of the upper jaw, and the black line running through the eye to the rear edge of the mouth.

Similar Species

No Similar Species