ROUGH GREENSNAKE
Opheodrys aestivus
Constrictor- Nonvenomous
Rough green snakes are very slender and graceful with beautiful, solid green backs and yellow or white bellies. The scales are keeled (rough). Rough green snakes are excellent climbers and spend most of their time above ground. When captured, they never bite and are usually very gentle when held. Scales on the back have small ridges or keels, making it feel rough to the touch. Dead specimens turn blue.
Adults grow from 22-32 inches.
This species is active by day and lives in bushes, vines, and low-hanging branches of trees near streams or lakes. It is often overlooked because it blends so well with its leafy surroundings. It is found throughout the southern two-thirds of the state. (Mo.)
Similar species: The smooth greensnake (O. vernalis) used to live in the northern parts of our state, but it has not been seen in Missouri in several decades. A Species of Conservation Concern, it is considered extirpated from our state. The easiest way to tell the two greensnakes apart is by touch: The scales on the back of rough greensnakes feel rough; those on the back of smooth greensnakes feel smooth.
Rough green snakes are very slender and graceful with beautiful, solid green backs and yellow or white bellies. The scales are keeled (rough). Rough green snakes are excellent climbers and spend most of their time above ground. When captured, they never bite and are usually very gentle when held. Scales on the back have small ridges or keels, making it feel rough to the touch. Dead specimens turn blue.
Adults grow from 22-32 inches.
This species is active by day and lives in bushes, vines, and low-hanging branches of trees near streams or lakes. It is often overlooked because it blends so well with its leafy surroundings. It is found throughout the southern two-thirds of the state. (Mo.)
Similar species: The smooth greensnake (O. vernalis) used to live in the northern parts of our state, but it has not been seen in Missouri in several decades. A Species of Conservation Concern, it is considered extirpated from our state. The easiest way to tell the two greensnakes apart is by touch: The scales on the back of rough greensnakes feel rough; those on the back of smooth greensnakes feel smooth.
Photo by Peter Paplanus
