Do All North Carolina Native Snakes Eat Rodents?

Hello Friends!

I thought it would be a good time for another blog! This month we will learn more about snakes, and in specific what they eat. I am going to focus on North Carolina's snakes because if I did the blog on snakes in general, that would be a lot to cover. A lot of the snakes I will mention in this blog are found in other states too, so anyone out of state can still get some good stuff out of reading this. Even if your in another country, you can learn about some different snakes that eat things other than rodents. And you can participate in researching too and you can go discover what is in your area and what these animals eat!

Red-bellied Water Snake. Photo by ME.

Here we go...

To answer the question, do all of NC's snakes eat rodents? Well, according to Snakes of the Southeast, authors Whit Gibbons and Mike Dorcas writes: "All snakes are carnivores (that is, they eat animals rather than plants), and all snakes swallow their prey whole."

Interestingly there are no herbivore ( eats vegetation) snakes that scientists are aware of at this time. Snakes are carnivorous and as we learned in a previous blog ( take a look at my "How Snakes Find, Captures, and Swallow Their Food" blog) that some snakes are generalists which means they have a wide range of prey items. Then there are others that are specialists, which eat a specific prey item(s). 

To answer the question, no, not all of NC's snakes eat rodents. There are some species that are in fact, too small to swallow a rodent and so have to eat much smaller prey items. Such snakes include the pretty common worm snake, brown snake, and red-bellied snake, among a few others found in NC. these little snakes prey mostly on earthworms but will eat other, small critters like slugs, and insects.

Baby Brown Snake. Photo by ME

Eastern Worm Snake. Photo by ME.

And being reptiles that feed on worms and the like, you do in fact commonly find these snakes in gardens, mulch piles, and really anywhere that has hiding places, a water source, and plenty of worms and other insects to consume. Ringneck snakes are the same way, except that they will also eat small amphibians and reptiles such as other snakes! (Snakes of the Southeast) There are other small snakes that have a varied diet too, I would encourage you to research the snakes in your area and check out the neat things they do and eat. 

Another neat species that does not eat rodents is the Rough Green Snake, 

Photo by ME.

Rough greens are pretty neat snakes as that they hang around vegetation that borders ponds and other wetlands. They rely heavily on blending in with the vegetation to avoid being eaten. 

As for their diet, according to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia, authors Jeffrey C. Beane, Alvin L. Braswell, Joseph C. Mitchell, William M. Palmer, and Julian R. Bailey writes: "Spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, and other soft-bodied arthropods are the principal foods; small snails are also eaten." 

So, if you are not into spiders or other arthropods, these are good snakes to have around. 

Rough Green Snake. Photo by ME. 

Another cool snake that primarily eats arthropods is the Southeastern Crowned Snake.

Photo by Jacob Fields 

The crowned snake is a pretty neat snake in the fact that it likes to eat centipedes. They are able to capture and eat these critters with the help of "Small, grooved fangs at the back of the jaw are used to direct venom into the prey. The venom's effectiveness in subduing prey is questionable, however, and all crowned snakes are presumably harmless to humans." (Snakes of The Southeast)

Just to make you feel more at ease, these snakes are harmless, nonvenomous to people. Neat little snakes are they not? You can see the "crown" on the picture above. And they do eat other arthropods in addition to centipedes.

So as you can see, there are snakes that in fact, eat various arthropods. There are also snakes that will eat other reptiles, including snakes!
I will note that NC really does not have any snakes that specialize on other snakes, as far as scientists know. Although there are some that do come close, like the Coral Snake for example as according to Venomous Snakes of North Carolina, authors Alvin L. Braswell, William M. Palmer, and Jefferey C. Beane writes: "Food consists primarily of small snakes and lizards."

Coral snakes come close in regards to being a specialist on snakes. Then there is the scarlet snake that eats mainly other, smaller reptile eggs. Pretty interesting, huh?

You maybe reading this and be thinking of the kingsnake that eat other snakes. They do, but they also eat other prey items too, even turtle eggs! There are snakes that do specialize on other snakes and a good example of that would be cobras. I would encourage you to do some of your own research about other, non-native to NC snakes that eat on other snakes, especially focusing on cobras. Cobras are pretty cool reptiles.

Eastern Kingsnake. Photo by ME.

There are other prey items that snakes go for too! Amphibians, fish, birds and their eggs, There is a wide range of things snakes consume other than rodents.

Rat Snakes will sometimes climb up into trees to eat bird eggs and will dine on birds too if they can get them. I once came across a rat snake inside a wood duck box, and it had consumed a couple wood duck eggs, The snake was eventually moved out of the box of course. 

Rat Snake. Photo by ME. 

So there are snakes that eat various arthropods, birds and a lot of other things.

Let's take a look at a species of snake that mostly feeds on fish and amphibians. And to make note, I covered some of this in the previous blog "How Snakes Find, Capture, and Swallow Their Food." Be sure to check it out!

This particular snake is the Northern Water Snake, and I chose this one as it is a very common species in NC.

Northern Water Snake. Photo by ME.

Northern water snakes are often confused for copperheads and and sometimes, cottonmouths. They are nonvenomous and generally will flee when approached. On top of that, they "are not detrimental to fish populations. Instead, they probably contribute to better fishing by feeding largely on stunted or diseased fish. Moreover, young water snakes provide excellent food for larger game fish." (Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia).

On top of that, they will eat on amphibians and other small critters when the opportunity presents itself. As I wrote, they mostly feed on fish and amphibians.

Northern Water Snake. Note the bulge from a recent meal. Photo by ME.

Therefore, these snakes are good to have around and help out the ecosystem and even the fishing to some extent.  Something else I find neat about these snakes, is that they have a beautiful pattern and coloration on their bellies. Below is a picture:

Photo by ME.

Pretty, huh?

In regards to eating amphibians, many snakes and other reptiles certainly will dine on these animals. There are some snakes that mostly feeds on amphibians, but will eat other things too. Our next focus species, is the Hognose Snake. Now, in NC, there are two; the Eastern and Southern. The Southern is not nearly as common and has a bit more limited range. They are neat, but we will focus on the eastern. Check out the southern hognose though, its an interesting species that also is need of protecting.

Pictured below is a Southern Hognose Snake so you can see what they look like.

Photo by Keenan Freitas

The Eastern Hognose is a really cool snake and is one of my favorite species. It mostly eat toads, but will eat other small critters too. What is really cool about these snakes, is that they have a super cool defense to deter predators. They will flattened their heads and appear to have a hood like a cobra. They will hiss and even strike with their mouth closed as some kind of bluff. They will also flip themselves over onto their backs and play dead, among some other defenses. How cool is that? They will play dead!

Eastern Hognose. Photo by Jacob Fields.

 An eastern hognose snake playing dead.

Photo by Jacob Fields

Pictured below is an eastern hognose flattening its head and neck to reveal its "hood"

Photo by ME.

So, yeah, these snakes are theatrical for sure. Southern hognoses will do similar displays but not putting as much effort into it as the eastern hognose. (Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia).

There are two more snakes that we will learn about as they have unique diets and are quite pretty reptiles. These are the Mud Snake and the Rainbow Snake.

Mud Snake. Photo by ME.

Rainbow Snake. Photo by ME. 

I have grouped these two species together as they are in the same genus and are similar in regards to the fact they are coastal reptiles and and are found in wetland type habitats. They are pretty unique in not just their bright coloration, but their diets too.

Mud snakes are considered specialists as they "specialize on amphiumas...but will also eat sirens, both of which are large, aquatic salamanders." (Snakes of The Southeast)
They will eat other aquatic critters too, but mainly it is on the two large salamander species.

In regards to Rainbow Snakes, they primarily consume eels, though will sometimes eat other aquatic species. So, rainbow snakes are specialists.

Another thing that these two species are similar in, is that they both have a sharp spine at the end of their tails. "As is the case with their close relatives the mud snakes, the tail spine of rainbow snakes may help them hold on to their slimy prey." (Snakes of The Southeast)

Another cool thing is that Copperheads eat Cicadas!

Eastern Copperhead eating a Cicada. Photo by ME. 

So, no, not all of NC's snakes do eat rodents. Many of the snakes specialize on other prey items like arthropods, amphibians, and even eels! As I have written in previous blogs, snakes are misunderstood animals that do play an important role in nature. Its amazing how diverse their coloration, defense mechanisms, and even their diets are. I would encourage you to learn more and discover. Get out into nature, and watch and observe just how neat it is. Take some time to even watch a snake next time you see one and see what you learn.

I hope you have learned something and feel free to ask any questions you may have,



I would like to thank Jacob Fields for the use of a couple of his photos. I have learned a lot about nature over the years from him as we have spent a lot of time exploring and searching for all sorts if nature related things.

Also, a big thank you to Keenan Freitas for the use of his photo. He is a pretty cool guy with a passion for snakes!