Stats

Lifespan: 4-10 yrs
Size: Tiny
Diet: Carnivore
Activity: Nocturnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Slithering
Breeding: Live birth
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

A tiny, secretive woodland snake of eastern North America, rarely longer than a pencil, with a smooth gray-to-brown back and a belly the color of a ripe tomato. When threatened it sometimes curls its upper lip in a defensive grimace rather than striking.

Life cycle

1.
hatchling
A miniature snake emerges from the egg or from its mother (live-bearers), already venomous or strong-coiled in some species.
2.
juvenile
A juvenile sheds its skin, grows quickly, and hunts smaller prey than the adults.
3.
adult
Fully grown at adult length and pattern.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Storeria
Species: Storeria occipitomaculata