Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Found these two sharing a board. Usually find worm snakes or red bellied browns, so this was a neat find.

I never find worm snakes-you're so lucky!!

I find everything else-but I want to find a wormsnake or an earthsnake-I must be doing something wrong.

Any hints on how to find them?

L

I find em a LOT over here in MO!

The majority of the worm snakes I find are in the woods. The best way to catch these little guys is to find a small clearing in the woods or even on the edge of a powercut in the trees. Need leaf litter and an area that stays damp, this gives them their food:worms, slugs, and other soft bodied insects. The area cant have lots of weeds and grass. You need to be able to put the cover directly on the leaf litter. Also the leaf litter cant be really thick, if it is, the snakes will most likely be under the cover, but under the leaves next to the ground. The ideal leaf litter would be just a couple of leaves thick, that way the worms that feed on the leaves will be present which in turn draws the little snakes in. Put some medium sized cover in place and in a few days you should have some worm snakes, earth snakes, ring necks, Dekays, and red-bellied browns (depending on what state your in).

I find that during the hot months of summer, it gets a little harder to find these little guys as they tend to go alittle deeper under rocks etc. to stay in a damp environment.

Good luck and happy herping.
Brian

I think I might know the ideal place to look but just haven't looked there yet. I live in PA-BTW. Do you think all this rain might make them easier to find? Like when worms come up out of the ground because of the rain. Just curious.

Thanks so much

L

Yep they like the forest floor moist and cool. I have a prime spot that I can find them easily. Between my house and the air/heating unit. The leaves are hard to clean out, so i just leave them there. The water drain for the air system is directed there as well, so it stays moist. I looked in there late yesterday afternoon and found 1 yearling ring neck and one very gravid female earth snake. Pretty neat little snakes, but can be hard to keep.

Brian