Brown Snake or Dekay's Brownsnake
Storeria dekayi • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Natricinae, Genus: Storeria, Species: S. dekayi
Eastern and central North America, ranging from southern Canada through the eastern United States down into Mexico and parts of Central America.
Look up Brown Snake or Dekay's Brownsnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Natricinae, Genus: Storeria, Species: S. dekayi
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, due to its wide distribution, high adaptability to human-altered environments, and stable populations.
Physical Description
Slender body with light brown or grayish-brown coloration, featuring a distinct pattern of dark spots along the back and sides, sometimes forming a vertebral stripe. A dark vertical bar is often present on the side of the head near the jaw. Scales are keeled.
Size & Dimensions
The specimen shown is likely a juvenile or small adult, approximately 20 to 30 cm in length. Typical adult size ranges from 23 to 38 cm, with a maximum recorded length around 52 cm.
Habitat
Found in a wide variety of habitats including deciduous forests, wetlands, fields, and heavily urbanized areas such as suburban gardens and parks. Often hides under rocks, logs, leaf litter, and debris.
Diet & Feeding
Primarily feeds on soft-bodied invertebrates, with a strong preference for slugs, earthworms, and snails, using active foraging techniques in moist microhabitats.
Reproduction
Ovoviviparous (gives birth to live young). Mating typically occurs in the spring, and females give birth to litters averaging 10 to 20 live young in late summer.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern, due to its wide distribution, high adaptability to human-altered environments, and stable populations.
Cultural Significance
Acts as an important natural pest controller in gardens and suburban yards by managing populations of slugs and snails that damage plants.
Notable Features
Highly urban-tolerant species frequently encountered in human-dominated landscapes, specializing in a diet of terrestrial mollusks which few other snakes exploit to the same degree.