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This little guy was gliding down our driveway when we got home tonight. The way he was moving made me think snake initially, but it was too dark to really see him. He's very long & thin. I pulled out my phone and used the flash to snap some photos of him and he was really reflective in the other photos, so we assumed maybe he was a very large earthworm and we went on in the house. I pulled up the photos when I got on my computer and this particular photo (the clearest of all of them) looks more like he's a snake because I'm quite certain I see scales and a white belly. I'd love to know what kind he is. His tail seemed odd shaped, not pointed like my kingsnakes, but kind of flat & stumpy. He's still out in the yard, but I doubt I could find him again to get any better photos.

I live in Round Rock, TX, which is just slightly north of Austin, TX (to give you a good location).

Thanks in advance!

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Holly
Round Rock, TX

1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Belle Gunness)
1.0 Vietnamese Golden Gecko (George Chapman)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Kids (Justice & Trevor)

It was just suggested to me on Facebook that it could be a glass lizard. What do you guys think?
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Holly
Round Rock, TX

1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Belle Gunness)
1.0 Vietnamese Golden Gecko (George Chapman)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Kids (Justice & Trevor)

It is hard to be absolutely sure from the photos, but I would suggest one of two things based on the shape/color and the amount of rain you got this week.

1. The color size and shape leads me straight to a Rough Earthsnake (Virginia striatula). They are small, brown like that, have a skin texture like that and are very common even in residential areas of Central Texas. They also are commonly seen after rains.

2. The other thin that kind of bugs me is that it almost looks like there is a blunt tail visible in the photo at the bottom. This could be a damaged tail on an Earthsnake, or it could mean this is a Texas Blindsnake (Leptotyphlops dulcis). But Leptotyphlops are more shiny pink than brown. But Blindsnakes also come to the surface after rains (I found one outside of San Marcos just last night after all their rain.)

I would go with Rough Earthsnake, and I would suggest getting your snake IDs from this site and reserving Facebook for what it is good for.....and other than data mining, I can't think what that would be.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I don't have good photos of either species for comparison, but here's what I do have...

Rough Earthsnake

Texas Blindsnake

Zooming in to look at the tail end of your snake makes me feel more like it might be the blindsnake.

Do you have other photos?
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I do have more photos, they're just way more out of focus than that photo. I hope you can also tell his size easily from the grass & rocks in the photos. Here are the rest of them:

My phone couldn't focus on him very well in the dark; the only light we had available was the flash. His tail was definitely nubby so he very well could be a Blindsnake. I actually posted it on Facebook because my former sister-in-law is quite the reptile buff and I wanted her opinion. One of her fellow herpers commented on the photo with the suggestion of the glass lizard.

I was pretty excited to see the little guy because he's the first snake that I've seen in my yard since we moved here from Florida. I wish I could have gotten a better photo. Oh to have a flashlight & my good camera in my hands at all times, lol. The next time we have a good rain, I'll wander the yard a bit and see if I can find him or another one and get a much clearer photo.
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Holly
Round Rock, TX

1.0 Florida Kingsnake (Eddie Gein)
0.1 Lavender California Kingsnake (Belle Gunness)
1.0 Vietnamese Golden Gecko (George Chapman)
1.0 Orange Marmalade Cat (Oliver)
1.0 Black Cat (Shadowfax)
1.0 Tennessee Walking Horse (Durango)

2.0 Kids (Justice & Trevor)

That's a Texas Blindsnake. Earthsnakes aren't that shiny or that shape.

It is very common to find Blindsnakes in your yard (or even your house) after heavy rains like we've had in the last week.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas