North GroundHuntNorth Ground Hunt — return to North Ground
Species authority page

Worm snake

Carphophis amoenus · Snakes · Reptiles

Worm snake (Carphophis amoenus): Small, slender, glossy snake 7-14 in (up to about 15 in) that looks like an earthworm; uniform chocolate brown to grey-brown above. Pink to white belly that extends partly up the sides; small, narrow head barely distinct from the neck with tiny eyes; smooth shiny scales. 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
Carphophis amoenus
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern US from southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, through Connecticut and southeastern New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to northwestern Georgia and Alabama and west to the Mississippi River; not recorded for Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Small, slender, glossy snake 7-14 in (up to about 15 in) that looks like an earthworm; uniform chocolate brown to grey-brown above. [1][2][3]

Pink to white belly that extends partly up the sides; small, narrow head barely distinct from the neck with tiny eyes; smooth shiny scales. [1][2][3]

Short tail ending in a sharp spine-like tip that it presses against fingers instead of biting; may release musk. [1][2][3]

Hatchlings are 3-4 in, patterned like adults but darker with a brighter pink belly. [1][2][3]

Compared with the northern red-bellied snake: Connecticut DEEP notes the worm snake is sometimes confused with it; the worm snake is uniform brown above with a pink belly, a tiny head and a spined tail tip. [1][2][3]

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a worm snake before you act. Compared with the northern red-bellied snake: Connecticut DEEP notes the worm snake is sometimes confused with it; the worm snake is uniform brown above with a pink belly, a tiny head and a spined tail tip.[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Moist deciduous, mixed or pine woodland with loose, damp, well-drained soil, deep leaf litter and decaying wood, often along woodland edges or near wetlands and farm-field margins; occasionally gardens. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Secretive and mostly underground; found under leaf litter, rotting logs, flat rocks or debris; surface activity peaks in spring and early summer, often after rain, and it may be active day or night. [1][2][3]

Active roughly March-October in the north (May-September in southern New England); goes deep underground in cold or dry weather. [1][2][3]

Specialist earthworm predator that also takes soft-bodied insects; females lay 2-8 eggs in rotting wood or under rocks in June-July. [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 US from southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, through Connecticut and southeastern New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, to northwestern Georgia and Alabama and west to the Mississippi River; not recorded for Canada.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

  3. Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia