The red-bellied snake is reptile with a length of between 7.75 and 16 inches (20-40.5 cm) that is most common to North America. It can be found in the bogs, mountains, and woodlands of the most southern points of Canada, and in the U.S.A. from Maine to Minnesota, and Texas to Florida.

There are three subspecies of red-bellied snake named after the regions they inhabit; the Florida redbelly snake, the Northern red-bellied snake, and the Black Hills red-bellied snake all vary in the coloration and arrangement of their characteristic bright spots on the neck. In the Florida variety, the spots will sometimes fuse and form a collar. The red-bellied snake can live its primarily nocturnal lifestyle anywhere from sea-level to 5,600 feet (1,700 meters). It survives by preying on insects and small invertebrates like earthworms and slugs.

All three species have keeled scales (resembling a ridged armor plating) and lack any loreal scales (those that lie between the eye and the nostril), and they’re known to curl their upper lip when threatened and discharge a musky secretion from their cloacal opening (genital/fecal opening).

Red-bellied snakes are non venomous and can be kept as pets, but only tend to live around four years. They’re also often found in domestic gardens but are left alone because their eating habits keep the population of harmful, plant destroying insects down.