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Species authority page

Smooth earth snake

Virginia valeriae · Snakes · Reptiles

Smooth earth snake (Virginia valeriae): Small snake 6-13 in; gray, tan, brown or red-brown above with tiny black dots on the head and a faint pale line down the back in some. Pale yellow to white below; scales smooth or weakly keeled in 17 rows. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Virginia valeriae
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern and central United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia; not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Small snake 6-13 in; gray, tan, brown or red-brown above with tiny black dots on the head and a faint pale line down the back in some. [1][2][3]

Pale yellow to white below; scales smooth or weakly keeled in 17 rows. [1][2][3]

Compared with the rough earth snake it has 6 upper-lip scales, 2 scales between the nostrils and 2 postoculars, and an always-divided anal plate (Missouri Department of Conservation comparison). [1][2][3]

Compared with the rough earth snake: Strongly keeled back scales, 5 upper-lip scales, 1 scale between the nostrils and 1 postocular (Missouri Department of Conservation). [1][2][3]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a smooth earth snake before you act. Compared with the rough earth snake: Strongly keeled back scales, 5 upper-lip scales, 1 scale between the nostrils and 1 postocular (Missouri Department of Conservation).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Deciduous and pine woods, rocky wooded slopes, moist floodplain woodland, forest edges, old fields and wooded residential areas. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Secretive; hides in leaf litter, pulpy logs or under logs and trash; may aggregate in hibernation. [1][2][3]

Eats mainly earthworms, also slugs and small soft-bodied invertebrates; gives birth to 3-8 young. [1][2][3]

Active April to October/November in the north; surface activity peaks after heavy rains. [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

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

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.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern and central United States: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, DC, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia; not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

  3. Missouri Department of Conservation · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Missouri Department of Conservation