The Rough Green Snake is a species of colubrid snake that is native to the South-Eastern United States. This is a non-venomous snake that is completely harmless.
This species is often confused with the Smooth Green Snake, especially where their range overlaps as they are very similar in appearance. The Smooth Green Snake is also non-venomous.
Rough Green Snake Taxonomy
The Rough Green Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Corn Snakes and Milk Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
The genus that the Rough Green Snake belongs to is called Opheodrys. This genus contains only two species of snakes, which are referred to as the ‘Green Snakes’.
The easiest way to distinguish between these two species is given to us in their name. The Rough Green Snake has keeled scales giving them a rough feel while the Smooth Green Snake has a much smoother feel to it as the scales are unkeeled.
The scientific name for this species is Opheodrys aestivus. There are currently two recognised sub-species of this snake.
The nominate sub-species Opheodrys aestivus aestivus which is known as the Northern Rough Green Snake and Opheodrys aestivus carinatus which is known as the Florida Rough Green Snake.
Rough Green Snake Description
The Rough Green Snake is a small to medium sized snake in terms of their overall length. They typically grow to around 3ft in length. However, they are extremely thin and weigh very little.
As their name suggests, there are uniform green in color while their belly is typically a yellowish or cream color. This coloration provides the perfect camouflage when they are lying amongst green vegetation.
They are very similar in appearance to the closely related Smooth Green Snake but there are noticeable differences. The easiest way to distinguish between the two is by examining the scales of each species.
The Rough Green Snake has keeled scales giving them a rough feel while the Smooth Green Snake has a much smoother feel to it as the scales are unkeeled.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Rough Green Snake can be found throughout most of the South-Eastern United States with their range extending as far North as New York. They can also be found in parts of North-Eastern Mexico.
This snake has a wide geographical range and can be found in every state in the South-Eastern United States. Their range extends from the South Coast of Florida to New York.
To the West, they can be found from Kansas down to Eastern Texas. Their numbers are larger in coastal areas but they are widespread in many inland states also.
The Northern extent of their range spans across the Southern half of states such as Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
This snake can also be found in parts of North-Eastern Mexico but their range is limited to the Eastern coastline as they are cut off by Mountain Ranges.
In Mexico, they can be found in places such as Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. They can be found as far South as the regions around Mexico City.
This snake has two sub-species, the Northern Rough Green Snake and the Florida Rough Green Snake.
As its name suggests, the Florida sub-species is native to Florida while the Northern Rough Green Snake can be found throughout the rest of the species range.
These snakes like to live near bodies of water where they will spend most of their time in the trees or in low lying vegetation. They are also excellent swimmers.
They prefer to live in meadow, woodland and other forms of densely vegetated grasslands. They can even be found in parks and gardens.
They share some of its range with other species such as the Eastern Fox Snake, the Eastern Black Kingsnake and the Ornate Box Turtle.
Rough Green Snake Behaviour
The Rough Green Snake is an arboreal species that spends most of its time in the trees. However, they will come down to the floor from time to time to search for food.
This species is diurnal meaning they are mostly active during the day. They will usually sleep at night, coiled up in the tree branches.
These snakes are quite docile and are usually reluctant to bite. They would much prefer to flee into the safety of thick vegetation than stand their ground and defend themselves.
This species will brumate during the colder winter months, especially in the Northern portion of their range when it gets too cold for them. They are a solitary species but are known to use communal nesting sites.
Rough Green Snake Diet
The diet of a Rough Green Snake consists primarily of insects and other small arthropods. Most of their prey consists of terrestrial insects as these snakes spend most of their time off the ground.
Because of their very slender build, these snakes don’t really eat larger mammals but they are known to eat the occasional tree frog. They are also known to eat snails.
An interesting fact about these snakes is that they do not constrict their prey like many other colubrids. Instead, these snakes usually just swallow their prey alive.
Predators
Being a terrestrial species, these snakes are often preyed on by birds. Juveniles are an easy target for many species of birds but even adults can be killed and eaten by larger birds of prey.
The green coloration of the snake along with their yellow or cream belly help them blend into the vegetation well which gives them some protection against these birds.
This snake is even considered a good meal for other species of snake. Kingsnakes primarily eat snakes and the Eastern Kingsnake shares much of the same range as this snake. The Eastern Racer is also known to feed on them.
Reproduction
The main breeding season for this Snake is during the Spring. However, these snakes are able to breed twice a year, with the second breeding season coming over the Autumn months.
The female can lay anywhere from 2-14 eggs at a time. The eggs can be deposited anywhere the female deems suitable such as in a deep layer of soil, under a fallen log, the stump of a tree, under boards of wood or under rocks.
These snakes will even lay their eggs in the same place as other females, creating a form of nesting site. Dozens of eggs from multiple females have been found at the same nesting sites.