Page 42 - Arkansas Snake Guide
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WOODLAND SNAKES
SUZANNE COLLINS
Smooth Earth Snake
Virginia valeriae
Range Ozark Plateau, Ouachita Mountains and Coastal
Plain. Absent from Crowley’s Ridge and Mississippi Delta.
Description Smooth or weakly keeled scales. A plain-
colored snake, body is brown, gray or red-brown. Belly
is white, cream-colored or light yellow. Young resemble
adults. Adults 7-10 inches in length.
Habitat and Habits This small snake is active from
April-October in moist forests with ample rocks, logs or
leaf litter to hide under. It breeds in spring or fall and gives
live birth in late summer to 2-14 young. Like many other
small woodland snakes, it eats earthworms, slugs and soft-
bodied insects. Much of this snake’s former habitat has
been converted to other uses for human activities.
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