BROWN SNAKE
9/13/20
Brown Snakes (Storeria dekayi) are a very common snake in this part of Georgia, but often go unnoticed because they spend much of their time under the leaf litter. I saw this one on our street one morning in late May.
As their name says, they are brown. They have a tan stripe down the center of their back, with a row of dark brown spots on either side. Their head is rounded, and their eyes are large, dark, and round. They are harmless, but they are apparently often killed because people confuse them with Copperheads. My neighbor once insisted that she was told on good authority that “any brown-colored snake is venemous”. Brown snakes are completely benign and gentle, and they’re good to have in your garden because they love to eat slugs and worms.
What’s not immediately clear is how tiny Brown Snakes are. Putting a finger in for scale makes this clear!
