Where it lives
Mix of open and wooded land: hardwood forest, old fields, farmland near woods, barnyards and rural buildings; hibernates in deep crevices or underground. [1][2]
How it behaves
Diurnal in spring and fall and nocturnal in summer; active late April to October in the north. [1][2]
Proficient climber and swimmer; eats birds and eggs, small mammals, lizards, frogs; adults eat mainly endotherms, young mainly ectotherms. [1][2]
Emerges from hibernacula mid-April to early June; overwinters communally in rocky talus, ledges, basements, cisterns and wells, and may migrate between hibernaculum and summer range. [1][2]
Limited legal take
Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.
Where legal take is listed
- Pennsylvania — reptile take · 2026 Summary Book of Fishing Regulations, p.18 Reptiles and Amphibians
Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.
Where it is found
East of the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Seaboard Fall Line in Virginia, north to Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation · reviewed 2026-09-30
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation