Northern Red-bellied Snake

Description:

Red-bellied snakes have different color phases from tan to charcoal, but their bellies are typically orange/red/pinkish. They're small and you should read the reference I've linked to learn more.

Habitat:

Missouri Ozarks, forest, leaf-litter.

Notes:

I've got a red-bellied already posted, but this one was rolling its lips (defensive maneuver?) and I thought you guys would appreciate it. Obviously its very scary and you should be shaking in your boots to see it (lol). A bunch of them will do this when they're being handled, none of them ever tried (ha) to bite me, and I haven't ever seen behavior like this in other snakes. It's pretty cool. And I'm not the first person to note it, read this, its pretty good: http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/ac...