THE SMOOTH GREEN SNAKE 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Smooth Green Snake runs in 
     
     length from 11 7/8 inches to 20 inches 
     
     with the record being 26 inches (30.3 to 
     
     66 cm). It is bright green above and 
     
     white to yellow on its underside. Shortly 
     
     after death, their colour changes to blue 
     
     and this should be kept in mind when 
     
     reporting locations of sightings. The 
     
     young hatch from eggs and are 3 5/16 
     
     inches to 6 1/2 inches (8.4 to 16.5 cm.) 
     
     The eggs are laid when they are fairly 
     
     advanced in development and thus the 
     
    

    
     835%rfljfu72  hatching time is relatively short. 
     
    

    
     These snakes are quite secretive and 
     
     tend to be active at night. They are 
     
     often found under cover such as logs, 
     
     boards, flat stones, and older building 
     
     debris. Very little is known about the 
     
    

    
     occurrence of this snake on Prince Edward Island and readers are encouraged to 
     
     send in sightings and habitat information. This snake is thought to be 
     
     primarily terrestrial (i.e. not climbing trees) in upland habitats. Its food 
     
     sources are primarily insects and spiders. Its close relative, the Rough 
     
     Green Snake (O. aestivus) is an excellent climber. 
     
    

    
     The Smooth Green Snake feeds on spiders, caterpillars, grasshoppers, 
     
     crickets, other soft-bodied insects, slugs, snails, and earthworms. Like the 
     
     garter snakes, they can flatten their bodies when alarmed and they may release 
     
     an exudate from its anal scent glands when handled. 
     
    

    
     As with the garter snake, the young are born live. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     NORTHERN RBDBBLLY SNAKE 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Redbelly Snake is a member of the brown snakes genus, a group of 
     
     small secretive snakes. It is usually characterized by a plain red belly and 
     
     three pale-coloured nape spots but this species is quite variable in colour. 
     
     The back is normally brown although sometimes gray to black and it may display 
     
     four faint narrow dark stripes or a central fairly light stripe. The belly is 
     
     usually bright red but can range from blue-black in occasional specimens to 
     
     orange to yellow. The definitive characteristic is that there are 15 rows of 
     
     keeled scales and the anal scale is divided. This species ranges in length to 
     
     a maximum of 16 inches (40.4 cm.) in some parts of its range but the largest 
     
     specimen recorded by Cook (1967) was 8 1/2 inches (21.4 cm). 
     
    

    
     Again, as with the Smooth 
     
     Green Snake, little is known of the 
     
     distribution of the Redbelly Snake 
     
     on the Island. They are thought to 
     
     frequent grassy clearings, meadows, 
     
     and bushy areas, particularly where 
     
     it is damp. Sightings and the 
     
     habitat in which they occur should 
     
     be reported to the editor of the 
     
     Island Naturalist. This species is 
     
     thought to be associated with open 
     
     woodlands ranging from sphagnum bogs 
     
     to uplands. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
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