Common name: DeKay's brownsnake
Scientific name: Storeria dekayi
How to identify them
These short, thick-bodied snakes are gray or light brown and marked with a light stripe down the middle of the back. The stripe is bordered on both sides with two rows of small dark spots. Their bellies are white or light pink with dark spots along the edges of the belly scales.
Where they live
Common brown snakes live in the surface litter (like leaves) of many habitats. You can find them in oak savannas, prairies, southern lowland hardwoods, marshes, old field, and under trash in vacant city lots.
What they eat
They eat slugs, earthworms, and snails.
Did you know?
If you try to pick up a brown snake, it will flatten out its body. It also gives off a smelly musk that comes from scent glands located at the base of its tail.