Description: The Carolina swamp snake is a small, shiny black snake with a bright red or reddish-orange belly. It has smooth scales and its head is not much wider than its neck.

Habitat: Carolina swamp snakes are perhaps the most aquatic snake in the Carolinas and are found in cypress ponds, swamps, Carolina bays, and other shallow water bodies with dense aquatic vegetation. These snakes are very secretive and rarely, if ever, bask in the sun. If they do leave the water, it is usually at night during heavy rains.

Range: The Carolina Swamp Snake are found in the Coastal Plain regions of southeastern United States.

Found in these States: NC | SC

Diet: Carolina swamp snakes eat a variety of aquatic prey, including leeches, small fish, tadpoles, and salamander larvae. They are active feeders during day and night.

Reproduction: They give birth to 2 to 13 young between August and October, and the babies look like miniatures of the adults. Carolina swamp snakes feed during pregnancy and directly transfer the energy gained into their offspring, a process called income breeding.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: