Ring-necked Snake of Louisiana

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Mississippi Ring-necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus (Linnaeus)

The Ring-necked Snake is a small, harmless snake that lives in forested areas all over the Southeastern United States. It spends most of the daylight hours hiding under logs, but is active at night during the warm months of the year. Ring-necked Snakes are egg-layers and the females brood their eggs. Because of it's diet of earthworms and small reptiles and amphibians, it is often adversely affected by environmental alterations that destroy natural habitats or when pesticides are introduced into the ecosystem.

Contents at a Glance

The Mississippi Ring-necked Snake is the only species that occurs in Louisiana.
Ring-necked Description, Habits and Habitat
Reproduction

Ring-neck Snake in Spring
Snakes of the Southeast
Ring-necked Snake according to Wiki

more...

The Mississippi Ring-necked Snake is the only species that occurs in Louisiana.

Ring-necked Description, Habits and Habitat

A small, moderately short (up to 30 inches) snake with a black or slate gray back with a bright yellow neck band and belly. The belly usually has small black spots, the dorsal scales are smooth, in 15 rows and the anal plate is divided. Babies look like the adults.

The Mississippi Ring-necked Snake is the only species occuring in Louisiana. It occurs over most of the state, except the Marsh and is very rare in the Prairie, the Atchafalaya and Tensas basins and the Longleaf Forest south of the Red River.

E. Ring-necked snake, Diadophis punctatus
F. Pine Woods snake, Rhadinaea flavilata

*Photo Reference: Dundee and Rossman, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana, LSU Press, 1989

Habitat and Habits

The Ring-necked Snake needs cover and is usually found under logs in forested areas. It can also be found in stumps, beneath boards, railroad ties, bark on fallen trees and brick piles. These small snakes often travel long distances, up to a mile has been recorded and they often travel 200 feet. However, they do not like to cross roads. They are active in the warm months, particularly at night. When picked up or handled it will often coil its tail and display the bright undersurface. They rarely bite humans and are considered harmless. In rare cases when they bite, a burning sensation is sometimes reported. These small snakes eat earthworms and insect larvae as well as small lizards and salamanders.

Reproduction

Mating occurs in spring and fall. Ring-necked snakes are egg layers. During courting, male will rub his mouth along the neck of the female and bite her on the neck ring. Interestedly, females can store sperm from fall matings through the winter and fertilization will occur in spring. Females lay from two to ten oblong eggs, which they brood. Good nesting sites are often shared by several females. The eggs hatch in about 7-8 weeks.

Ring-neck Snake in Spring

The photograph below was taken in late March in southeastern Louisiana. We think that this may be a female that will lay her eggs soon. She is much fatter and wider than most Ring-necked snakes.

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Snakes of the Southeast

This is a "must have" book for all snake lovers who live in the Southeastern United States. It has fabulous photos, maps and accurate information about each species of snake.

Snakes Of The Southeast (Wormsloe Foundation Nature Book)

by: Whit Gibbons, Michael E. Dorcas, J. Whitfield Gibbons

Amazon Price: $16.47 (as of 12/15/2009)

Ring-necked Snake according to Wiki

The Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus) is a member of the colubridae family. It is found throughout much of the United States, central Mexico, and south eastern CanadaStebbins, R.C., 2003. Western Reptiles and Amphibians. Third edition. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.. Ring-necked snakes are secretive, nocturnal snakes that are rarely seen during the day time. They are slightly venomous but their non-aggressive nature and small rear-facing fangs pose little threat to humans who wish to handle them. They are best known for their unique defense posture of curling up their tails exposing their bright red-orange posterior, ventral surface when threatened. Ring-necked snakes are believed to be fairly abundant throughout most of their range though no scientific evaluation supports this theory. Scientific research is lacking for the ring-necked snake and more in-depth investigations are greatly needed O'Donnell, R.P., K. Staniland, R.T. Mason. (2007) Experimental evidence that oral secretions of northwestern ring-necked snakes (Diadophis punctatus occidentalis) are toxic to their prey. Toxicon 50:810?815.]. It is the only species within the genus Diadophis, and currently fourteen subspecies are identified, but many herpetologists question the morphologically-based classifications.

read the rest of the Wikipedia article

Ring-neck Snakes Predators and Defense

Extensive research has been done on this species. At least eight species of terrestrial snakes prey upon Ring-neck Snakes. Other predators include five species of birds, six native mammals, bullfrogs and toads.

When disturbed their first line of defense is to try to escape. If the log under which they are hiding is turned over, they may momentarily flip over, exposing the bright yellow, orange, or red belly and then quickly turn over and crawl into the dark soil. The maneuver tends to confuse or distract a predator and allow the dark colored snake to escape. These snakes also produce a strong musky odor.

Buy Ring-necked in Fleabane by naturegirl7

Encyclopedia of Snakes

The New Encyclopedia of Snakes

by: Chris Mattison

Amazon Price: $23.10 (as of 12/15/2009)

Conservation

These interesting little snakes require woodland habitats with a broad range of prey so they are vulnerable to environmental changes that destroy natural habitats or that introduce pesticides into the ecosystem.

Reference: Dundee and Rossman, The Amphibians and Reptiles of Louisiana, LSU Press, 1989 and Gibbons and Dorcas, Snakes of the Southeast, U. GA Press, 2005

Snakes of the United States and Canada

by: Carl H. Ernst, Evelyn M. Ernst

Amazon Price: $56.00 (as of 12/15/2009)

Ring-necked Snake Flickr Photos

Ring-necked snake

automatically generated by Flickr

Northern Ring-necked Snake Video

This video shows a northern Ring-necked Snake which is similar to the Mississippi Ring-necked snake of Louisiana.

Ring-necked Snake of Louisiana

Mississippi Ring-necked Snake, Diadophis punctatus (Linnaeus)

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

The Mississippi Ring-necked Snake is the only species that occurs in Louisiana.

Ring-necked Description, Habits and Habitat

Reproduction

Ring-neck Snake in Spring

Snakes of the Southeast

Ring-necked Snake according to Wiki

Ring-neck Snakes Predators and Defense

Encyclopedia of Snakes

Conservation

Snakes of the United States and Canada

Ring-necked Snake Flickr Photos

Northern Ring-necked Snake Video

Snakes on Amazon

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