Red-bellied snakes are small, distinctive snakes found throughout North America, including many of the United States and southern Canada.
Regularly present in abandoned hills and other small burrows, these snakes are known for his or her brightly coloured scarlet bellies that contrast with the remainder of their scales. But the million-dollar query is, are red-bellied snakes venomous?
No, red belly snakes usually are not venomous. They eat their usual prey, snails and earthworms, whole and are completely harmless.
Red-bellied snakes are small, easy to miss, and completely harmless to humans. Even in the event that they have bitten you, they’re far too small and thin to do any real harm. You can learn more about these tiny but interesting snakes below.
Physical description of the red-bellied snake
Red-bellied snakes are a small species and adults rarely exceed one foot in length.
Thin, wiry and agile, these snakes often range in color from brown to light brown, but gray and black varieties exist. Thin, faint, and similarly coloured bands of scales run along all the length of the spine on the dorsal side of the snake.
But as you would possibly expect, these snakes have brightly coloured undersides, because the name suggests.
The red belly snake’s distinctive red belly ranges in color from coral or salmon red to fiery scarlet or vermilion.
Is the red-bellied snake poisonous?
No, the red-bellied snake will not be venomous or poisonous in any way. Its typical prey, earthworms, snails and other small, slow creatures can barely fight back and do not even should choke them to feed.
Do not confuse with…
For the sake of clarity, it’s value noting that the North American red-bellied snake, Storeria occipitomaculatasometimes called the red belly, is it not venomous and is indeed completely harmless to humans.
There is, nonetheless, a snake with the same name, the red-bellied black snake, Pseudechis porphyriacuswhich comes from Australia.
The latter snake is way larger and indeed highly venomous, injecting a nasty but survivable combination of neurotoxins and mycotoxins.
The red-bellied black snake averages no less than 4 feet in length, has a far more athletic construct, and is glossy black in color with reddish-orange sides darkening to a dull brick-red ventral side.
Very common and located along the east coast of Australia, be careful for it when you visit underground because it is liable for most venomous snake bites.
You haven’t got to fret in regards to the dangerous red-bellied snake in North Americabut when you are in Australia or anywhere else on this planet, it might probably be a very different story!
Red belly habitat
Within their range, red-bellied snakes are often present in moist and simply traversed soils, often in woods and forests, in and around wetlands, and closer to humans in gardens, compost piles, flower beds, flower pots, and the like.
Red-bellied snakes are small and comparatively weak, and are unable to dig their very own burrows, which they still depend on for survival.
As such, they appropriate other but abandoned holes in the bottom, often anthills or other animal burrows, and sometimes holes left by human activity resembling the driving of spikes and other such things.
Do red bellies bite?
Rarely, if ever, on defense. When brutalized or otherwise threatened, red-bellied snakes release the standard melodious musk from their anal cavity, flatten their body, after which writhe as if their lives trusted it.
Unless this disgusting countermeasure convinces a predator to drop them, they’ve an odd habit of twisting their mouths very very like a dog, exposing their teeth. Despite this, they rarely bite defensively.
Does a red belly bite hurt?
Maybe a bit. These snakes have sharp teeth, but they’re so small and weak that their bite will not be thought to do much damage aside from some scratching or a really small cut to the skin.
Reported bites are quite rare, even when the snakes are touched, so there will not be much data on the severity of their bites.
What is the probability that red belly snakes will attack humans?
Very unlikely. As detailed above, even in probably the most severe extremes, these snakes are unlikely to bite and defend themselves.
They are so small and their teeth so small that they can’t depend on biting even in desperate self-defense against any mammal or larger creature.
Are red bellies dangerous for pets and other animals?
NO. Red-bellied snakes pose absolutely no threat to pets or any livestock, unless you retain worms, snails, or tiny little insects as pets!
Should you kill red-bellied snakes?
No, and there isn’t a need. These snakes are as harmless because it gets, they pose no threat to you, your loved ones, your pets, your livestock, or every other creature except their usual prey of snails, worms, and other crawling things.
No, they could appear insignificant, these snakes, like all others, have a job to play within the environment and function prey for other snakes and other animals, so you must not kill them by hand.
If the red-bellied snake is a nuisance for any reason, you possibly can simply shoo it away or toss it in a box or other container for relocation.
