They are preyed upon by king snakes, eastern coral snakes, and shrews. Mount, Robert H. The Reptiles and Amphibians of Alabama. Auburn Printing Company, Alabama. Knopf, Alfred A. Chanticleer Press, Inc. New York, P. Mirarchi, Ralph E. Alabama Wildlife, Volume One.
Sign Up. This species is found in a variety of forested habitats with plenty of ground cover. In western portions of this species' range Texas this species can be abundant, but in our region it is fairly uncommon.
Habits: Rough Earth Snakes are fossorial live underground and are most often found hiding beneath logs, leaf litter, or other debris. They feed almost exclusively on earthworms. This species is viviparous, giving live birth to as many as 10 young in the summer. Conservation Status: Rough earth snakes are generally uncommon and not protected in most of their range.
The problem, at least for the snake, comes when it is unintentionally unearthed and identified as a snake. The dark coloration and tiny size may cause confusion as to the identity of the species. Anyone unfamiliar with this reptile may misidentify it as a baby cottonmouth water moccasin or a copperhead, not the venom-less snake it is. Fortunately there is an easy way to differentiate the venomous species from the harmless.
Both moccasin and copperhead juveniles have tails which are distinctly tipped yellow. This coloration allows them to use the tail as a lure to attract prey during their formative growth stage. The rough earth snake and the other harmless small snakes in north Florida do not have this characteristic marking.
There are several other unique features which separate the species, but are too tiny to easily see. Given their lack of defensive capabilities against larger animal which prey on them, the rough earth snake will normally lay still when dug up. While they do have teeth, their jaws are far too small to nip any part of the human anatomy. Hopefully, the words ultimately used to describe this snake will be beneficial species.
It would stop many unfortunate endings.
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