Non-poisonous Snakes Identification

Mud Snake (Farancia abacura)

The mud snake is a large, non-venomous, highly-aquatic snake that is seldom seen because of its secretive habits. Adults are fairly heavy-bodied and are glossy black on the back. The belly has a red (or pink)-and-black checkerboard pattern and the red often extends up the sides of the body. They have small, dark eyes and often have some yellow coloration on the head. The scales are smooth and shiny and the anal plate is divided. Many mud snakes from the Savannah River Site have double anal plates. Mud snakes have a spine-like scale at the tip of their tail, and thus are sometimes known as “horn snakes.” Male mud snakes are smaller than females but have relatively longer and thicker tails. Young mud snakes resemble adults but their red coloration extends farther up the sides, at times giving them a banded appearance. Mud snakes completely lacking red pigment are encountered fairly frequently in the Southeast.

Mud snakes are found in the Coastal Plain of the southern United States from southern Virginia south throughout Florida . They also range up the Mississippi drainage as far north as Southern Illinois and west to eastern Texas.

Mud snakes are found in a variety of aquatic habitats including seasonal wetlands, ditches, Carolina bays, cypress swamps, marshes, slow-moving streams, and the heavily-vegetated margins of lakes and ponds. In South Carolina young mud snakes often inhabit seasonal wetlands and move to more permanent water bodies as adults. Although highly aquatic, mud snakes will move considerable distances overland between water bodies and are sometimes found far from water.

Mud snakes are highly aquatic and spend most of their lives hidden amongst aquatic vegetation and debris. Unlike many of the watersnakes on our region, mud snakes seldom bask out of the water and thus are seldom seen, even by dedicated naturalists and herpetologists. Mud snakes are perhaps most frequently encountered crossing roads adjacent to aquatic habitats, particularly on rainy summer nights. When captured, mud snakes do not bite but may press their pointed tail tip harmlessly into their captor.