Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need help identifying several baby snakes I have found slithering around my Dallas, Texas yard. They are tiny - about 6 inches long and about as skinny as a worm. They are dark grey and have a black dot on the top of their head. It has been raining a lot here so I am not sure if that has anything to do with it. We do have a creek less than a mile away from our home as well.

My main concern is that I have seen 3 of them and all on different sides of my house. My fear is that there is a HUGE mamma somewhere that is not going to be happy as I continue my gardening througout the summer.

Please help me determine what kind of snake this could be so that I can take the right precautions if necessary.

Thank you!!!

Can't be absolutely certain without more info or a photo i.d.
This much is sure: Not venomous...unless size description is off. None of your snakes that are dangerous are born that small & without markings on the body. The snakes are not necessarily babies. Could be Flat-Headed snakes, Tantilla gracilis.

~~Greg~~

Also, keep in mind that mother snakes aren't protective of their young. Some live bearers will be protective for the first few hours, but other than that they will have little regard for their young.

We'd really need a picture to give a positive ID.

I was looking through a website on snakes of Florida, and I saw this one which somewhat matches your description. It says it is located in other southern locations, so is possible that this is in texas, the Brahminy Blind Snake, Scientific name: Ramphotyphlops braminus. The link is below, picture posted even further down.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Ramphotyphlopsbraminus.htm

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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)

Brahminy Blind Snakes have not been recorded in TX (yet?).

I suggest you try looking at pics on Terry Hibbitts website of herps of the DFW area. Click on the checklist and scroll down and look at some of the snake pictures. Remember that some babies will look a little different than the adults, but it will give you some general pointers (and belay your fears of it being something dangerous).
Herps of the DFW area

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Chris Harrison

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback...I looked them up on the internet and that is exactly what they are! From what I understand they are actually good for my garden becasue they eat slugs....I will actually look forward to seeing my new wild friends now!

Last summer when I was staying in Fort Worth I did a little bit of gardening for my neighbors there. I saw those exact snakes everywhere. They are EXTREMELY common there and probably have been living there for a long time and you never knew it. They tend to be subterranean (underground). The high amount of rain is probably forcing them out of the ground.

Do not be afraid of these snakes. They are completely harmless to you and your pets. They are actually very beneficial to your garden. One of their natural prey items is slugs. THAT IS RIGHT THEY EAT SLUGS! I believe when I looked them up in a Snakes of Texas book I found at the Fort Worth Zoo herp library I had determined them to be Flathead Snakes. They are a small snake that grows to maybe 10 inches.

I had a fun time convincing my roommate that they were actually good for his garden. When I caught one and fed it a slug he needed no more convincing. Have fun with your cool unknown yardmates.
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10 Leopard Geckos 4.6.0**
1 Gimpy Leo 0.1
1 Stub Tailed Leo 0.1*
2 Tokay Geckos 2.0.0*
2 Ball Pythons 2.0.0*
1 Black Kingsnake 1.0.0*
4 Baird's Rat Snake (Thanks Vadoni!) 2.2.0
***1.0 Loma Alta***1.2Hawkeye 04 stock***
2 Gray Ratsnakes 0.1.1
3 Dekay's Snake 0.1.2**
1 Bullsnake 1.0.0*
1.0 Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum*
1.1 Green Tree Frogs (H. cinerea)*
2.0 Gray Tree Frog (H versicolor)*

0.0.1 Red Milk
1.0.0 Mexican Black/California King Hybrid
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor
*indicates possible breeders
**have bred

Thanks! I appreciate the feedback! I look forward to seeing them now!