Florida's Snakes thumbnail photo of snake identification guide cover

Pine Woods Littersnake or Yellow-lipped Snake
(Rhadinea flavilata)

NON-VENOMOUS

solid color icon
Solid-colored


Pine Woods Littersnake

photo of pinewoods littersnake showing reddish body and dark eyestripe

 Photo by Ryan Means (Coastal Plains Institute). This photo may not be used without the express written permission of the photographer

Size:

Usually 10–12 in. (max. ~16 in.)

Identification:

Body is yellowish brown to reddish and unmarked. Head is slightly darker than the body. Belly is pale yellow-cream. Lips are white, and a thin, dark stripe runs from the eye to the corner of the jaw. It is similar to brownsnakes and earthsnakes, but they lack a dark eye stripe. Scales are smooth. This snake lays eggs.

Habitats:

Found in northern and central peninsular Florida and in the central panhandle, and it may be encountered in the western panhandle. It is usually found in moist pinelands, but is also occasionally found in moist hardwood forests, and in areas where pinewoods have been converted to rangeland or urbanized. It spends most of its time under leaf litter, logs, and other debris.

Diet:

Small frogs, salamanders, lizards, possibly small snakes

map showing that pine woods littersnakes are found in northern and central peninsular Florida and in the central panhandle

Map by Monica E. McGarrity - may be used freely for education.


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