Harmless · Native to the United States

Ring-necked snake

Diadophis punctatus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Also called ringneck snake
Data updated October 2026

Small slate-gray ring-necked snake with a yellow collar on damp leaf litter
Fig. 1 — Adult on damp leaf litter, showing the yellow ring behind the head.
Ring-necked snake with its tail coiled up to show a bright orange-red underside
Fig. 2 — The tail-curl display shows off the bright underside.

At a glance

A small, secretive woodland snake with a dark back, a bright yellow-to-red belly and a light ring around the neck. It hides under logs and bark and eats earthworms, slugs and salamanders. It is harmless to people and seldom bites.

01

Identification

Look for a small, slim snake with smooth, shiny scales that is slate gray, bluish-black, black or olive on top, with a yellow to orange ring just behind the head. The ring is sometimes broken or, rarely, missing. The belly is bright yellow, orange or red. In southern ring-necked snakes it carries a row of bold black half-moon spots down the middle; northern ring-necked snakes usually have a plain belly or just a few spots. The head is small and barely wider than the neck. Young look like small adults, often with an even darker head.

  1. 01Neck ring. A yellow to orange collar right behind the head, set against a dark back.
  2. 02Bright belly. Yellow to orange-red underneath, plain or with black half-moon spots.
  3. 03Small and glossy. Usually under 15 inches, with smooth scales that look polished.

02

Size

01 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft Typical adult · about 12 in (30 cm)

Most adults measure 10 to 15 inches (25–38 cm). Large individuals can pass 18 inches (45 cm), and a few reach 20 inches. Females are generally larger than males. Hatchlings are only about 3½ to 5 inches (9–12 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Ring-necked snake partly hidden under a rotting log in moist woods
Fig. 3 — Rotting logs, bark and stones in moist woods are typical cover.

Ring-necked snakes are widespread. In the East the northern form ranges from southern Canada and New England through the Great Lakes region and the Appalachians, and the southern form runs from North Carolina through all of Florida, including the Keys, and west to Louisiana. They occur statewide in places such as Massachusetts and Virginia. They favor moist woods, both hardwood and pine, with rotting logs, stumps, loose bark and rocks for cover: rocky forested slopes in the north, and pine flatwoods, hardwood hammocks and sandy floodplains in the south. They also live along field edges and in suburban yards, and in the Northeast they sometimes get into damp basements and crawl spaces.

State guides: Florida

04

Diet & predators

Ring-necked snakes hunt small, soft prey in leaf litter and loose soil: earthworms, slugs, small salamanders and frogs, insects and even smaller snakes. Their saliva carries a mild venom, delivered by enlarged teeth at the back of the upper jaw, that helps subdue prey. It poses no danger to people. They often wrap a coil around a struggling meal to hold it.

Feeds on

  • Earthworms
  • Slugs
  • Small salamanders and frogs
  • Small snakes and insects

Preyed on by

Earthworm on moist soil
Prey — earthworms.
Virginia opossum close-up
Predator — Virginia opossum.

05

Behavior & seasons

Ring-necked snakes are secretive and spend most of their lives under cover or in the top layer of soil, so they are far more common than sightings suggest; this is the most common snake in Shenandoah National Park and the Great Dismal Swamp. They are mostly active at night, especially on humid nights after rain, when they are sometimes seen crossing roads, paths and sidewalks.

When disturbed they seldom bite. Instead they twist the tail into a tight corkscrew and flip it up to flash the bright red or yellow underside, tuck the head under the body and release a foul-smelling musk.

06

Reproduction

Ring-necked snakes lay eggs. Mating happens in spring and sometimes in fall. Females lay 1 to 10 whitish eggs, often 4 or 5, from April to July, with southern snakes laying earlier than northern ones. Nests are in moist, well-rotted logs, under rocks or leaf litter, or in loose soil, and several females may share one communal nest. The eggs hatch about eight weeks later, in late summer or early fall. In the north, males mature at about 2 to 3 years and females at about 3 to 4.

07

Conservation

The species is not federally listed. It is widespread and often locally common, and it is not listed in Massachusetts. It is protected in Georgia and South Carolina. Local threats include habitat loss and fragmentation, road deaths and predation by feral cats, especially in built-up areas.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages