Description: This is a small nonvenomous snake reaching a maximum total length of about 13 inches. It is brown or gray with an irregular pattern of tiny black flecks. The belly and chin are cream in color. The adult females are larger than the males. Juveniles are patterned and colored as the adults.

Habitat: This species is found in rich deciduous woodlands, fields, pastures and gardens where the soil is loose enough to burrow into. Rotting logs and stumps are a favorite shelter. It is found in forested regions of deciduous hardwoods, mixed hardwood-pine associations, and in second growth areas. It is most frequently found in short, grassy slopes with sandstone rocks, especially in areas associated with deciduous forests near a stream.

Range: This snake is found in Virginia only in the northern corner of Highland County in the Appalachian Plateau region. This subspecies has a restricted distribution in the unglaciated Alleghany high plateaus that extend from Highland County, Virginia, northward through West Virginia and western Pennsylvania .

Found in these States: MD | PA | VA | WV

Diet: They will consume primarily earthworms, but will also eat small slugs, snails, soft-bodied insects and insect larvae.

Reproduction: bears live young in August. Brood size is usually fewer than 10. The total length of a newborn is about 2.5 inches.

Status: This subspecies is classified as Critially Imperiled in both Virginia and Maryland, classified as Vulnerable in Pennsyhlvania, and classified as Imperiled in West Virginia.

Taxonomy: