DeKay's brown snake facts for kids
Quick facts for kids DeKay's brown snake |
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| Storeria dekayi | |
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Storeria
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dekayi
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The Storeria dekayi, often called the De Kay's brown snake or just brown snake, is a small, non-venomous snake. It belongs to the Colubridae family. You can find this snake in North America and Central America.
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Where Do Brown Snakes Live?
De Kay's brown snakes live in many places. They are found in Southern Ontario and Quebec in Canada. They also live across most of the eastern United States. Their range extends through Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and possibly El Salvador. These common snakes prefer wetlands and land habitats. They can live from sea level up to about 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) high.
What Does a Brown Snake Look Like?
Brown snakes are usually brown or gray on their backs. They have a lighter stripe down the middle. This stripe is often outlined by small black spots. Their bellies are lighter, either light brown or pink. They also have tiny black dots on the ends of their belly scales.
Adult brown snakes are usually less than 12 inches (30 cm) long. The longest one ever found was about 19+3⁄8 inches (49 cm). Their scales have a ridge, which means they are keeled. Female snakes are usually longer than males. They also have more belly scales. Males, however, have longer tails and bigger heads.
Brown Snake Homes
These snakes often like to live near people! You might find them in cities more than in the countryside. They can also live in wetlands, grasslands, and forests. But they are most common where humans are. They prefer moist areas because their favorite foods live there.
How Brown Snakes Have Babies
Like some other snakes, brown snakes give birth to live young. They do not lay eggs. They become old enough to have babies when they are two or three years old. Mating happens in the spring, after the snakes wake up from their winter sleep. Females usually give birth to 3 to 41 babies in late summer.
What Do Brown Snakes Eat?
De Kay's brown snakes mostly eat slugs, snails, and earthworms. In the southern parts of their home range, they eat more earthworms. But in the northern areas, slugs are their main food. They have special jaws that help them pull snails right out of their shells! Sometimes, they might accidentally eat other tiny creatures like woodlice or millipedes. This usually happens if these creatures are stuck to a slug or worm they are eating.
Brown Snake Life and Habits
Brown snakes are food for bigger snakes, large frogs, toads, and birds. Many mammals also hunt them, like weasels and even housecats. When a brown snake feels threatened, it might coil the front part of its body. Then it sways it from side to side while trying to escape. They also release a bad-smelling musk when they are scared.
These snakes are shy and like to hide. You won't often see them out in the open. They usually hide under rocks or logs to stay safe and comfortable. They might also burrow into the ground. They are most active from about March to October. However, you can sometimes find them year-round.
How Did the Snake Get Its Name?
The name dekayi honors an American zoologist named James Ellsworth De Kay. He found the very first brown snake specimen on Long Island, New York. The name Storeria honors another zoologist, David Humphreys Storer.
This snake is special because both parts of its scientific name honor people. It's the only North American snake like that!
Images for kids
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A Dekay's Brownsnake's head, in detail.
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