Tropidoclonion lineatum
Field ID: Small, slender snake with keeled scales. Dark gray to light olive with pale sides, a light gray, orange, or yellow back stripe, and a white belly with two rows of black half-moon-shaped marks. Compared to other snakes, the head is small for the body size. Size: 12–21 inches (30.5–53.3 cm).
Habitat: Moist areas of grasslands, canyon bottoms, riparian areas; urban/suburban parks, gardens, and yards.
Distribution: Eastern Colorado, especially in the southeastern region of the state, up to about 6,000 feet.
Field Notes: These small, secretive snakes may be more common in the state than records show. They are active in the evening and at night, especially after a rain, from late March through October. Spring and summer rains trigger their activity, bringing them out of daytime hiding places beneath rocks, fallen limbs, leaf debris, and loose soil. If threatened, the lined snake coils, flattens its body, and hides its head beneath its coils. It rarely bites, but releases a foul-smelling fluid from its vent. It feeds mainly on worms. Like the gartersnakes, which it resembles, it bears live young.
Legal Status: Nongame.