Snake identification?

WGA Member Joined: 2009-11-29 Posts: 63

Hi,
I was hoping someone might be able to identify this snake for me. We saw it yesterday in Europe Bay Woods Natural Area in Door Co. Prettiest snake I ever saw. It was only about 9" long, a beautiful bright rust color, but with a dark brown head.
Any help appreciated. I looked through the DNR's pics of the 22 species in WI and none of them seemed to match.
Thanks

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 9:56 am

Even though it does not look like the picture on the DNR PDF, it does sound like a Brown Snake. Here is a description that I found.

A very small tan snake with two parallel rows of tiny dark spots down the back; found most commonly in southern three-quarters of Wisconsin, in dense ground vegetation and debris.

WGA Member Joined: 2009-11-29 Posts: 63

Thanks for the reply. Yes, that sounds like a possibility. Here are a couple close-ups. The rust color was so rich, it looked like velvet. There was a lot of decaying wood in the area (Cedar, I'd guess) and this snake matched it perfectly.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 12:15 pm

Certainly looks like this guy...
http://www.dekaysbrownsnake.com/

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:02 pm

Team Black-Cat wrote:

Certainly looks like this guy...
http://www.dekaysbrownsnake.com/

Yes it does, except for the difference in the head. Markings are also not as defined. I wonder if this is a young one.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:06 pm

Just found these pictures of some young ones. The head is a different color on them.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 1:58 pm

Our guess: Northern Red-bellied Snake.

http://deadlykingdom.blogspot.com/2011/09/northern-red-bellied-snake.html

Description for kids: http://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Storeria_occipitomaculata/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jdeboer152/2438874051/in/set-72157606772681495/

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:59 pm

I think I'm going to side with the puffins. That's what I thought when I saw the first picture.

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:43 pm

When I was a kid we called them firebellies, but I would agree with puffins too, its a red belly

WGA Member Joined: 2009-11-29 Posts: 63

Thank you! Yes, the 2nd pic of the Northern Red-bellied that huffinpuffin sent looks just like what we saw. I believe that's it. Now I wish we'd gotten a look at the underside, though I wouldn't have wanted to disturb the little guy.
Thanks all!

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 8:14 pm

Snakes are so cool! Smile

Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2012 8:36 pm

Northern Brown and Red-bellied snakes are closely related. Same genus.
Storeria dekayi - Brown Snake
Storeria occipitomaculata - Red-bellied Snake

Looking around, there seems to be a lot of mis-identified picures of both on the Internet.

WGA Member Joined: 2009-11-29 Posts: 63

Interesting. No way to know for sure.
For those who like snakes, here's a neat little video. This looks like the snake I saw, especially if you watch to the end.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJq6WYAbBAw

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:38 am

At 2:10 in, it's obvious which one it is not.

Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 8:06 pm

Here is my snake from August 1, at Franzoi Park in the Town of Neenah:

Richard Staffen from the DNR originally thought it was a Redbelly Snake or a Brown Snake. After more research he concluded it was a Northern Redbelly Snake. I have seen one once before but that one was almost black.

Here is my favorite snake I saw this year, a Western Fox Snake at Buboltz Nature Preserve on September 12.