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Western threadsnake

Rena humilis · Snakes · Reptiles

Western threadsnake (Rena humilis): Very small, thin, earthworm-like snake; light purple, pink or brown. Tail ends in a small spine; eyes are non-functional (often called a blind snake). 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
Rena humilis
Family
Leptotyphlopidae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas to southern Baja California and Colima, Mexico; from below sea level to about 1,520 m.
Biology

How to identify it

Very small, thin, earthworm-like snake; light purple, pink or brown. [1][2]

Tail ends in a small spine; eyes are non-functional (often called a blind snake). [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Deserts and desert grasslands to brush-covered slopes: sand dunes, washes, rocky hillsides, canyon bottoms, riparian zones and areas near springs, sometimes gardens. [1][2]

Prefers loose soils for burrowing. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Secretive and fossorial; found under rocks, wood or debris, among roots or in crevices, often in loose damp soil. [1][2]

Appears on the surface at night, especially after warm-season rains. [1][2]

Eats ants and termites (following ant pheromone trails to nests), other small insects and their larvae and eggs, spiders, centipedes and millipedes. [1][2]

Lays 2-6 eggs in July-August; females may stay with eggs and may nest communally. [1][2]

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

Southern California, southern Nevada and southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and western Texas to southern Baja California and Colima, Mexico; from below sea level to about 1,520 m.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Nevada Department of Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Nevada Department of Wildlife