Kenneth L. Krysko (left), Rick Owen (right) photos.
Scientific name: Opheodrys aestivus aestivus
Description: Adult size is 22-32 inches (56-81 cm). The record is 45.4 inches (115.3 cm). A slender bright green snake with a cream to pale yellow belly. The belly color extends onto the chin and lips. (In death the green coloration changes to blue-gray). There are 17 dorsal scale rows at midbody and the scales are keeled. The pupils are round. Juvenile coloration is similar to adults, but not as brightly colored.
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Green snake hatching from egg. |
Rough green snake: Left to right: Top of the head; underside
of the head (chin and throat).
Rough green snake: Left to right: Side of the head; front
(face view) of the head.
Range: In Florida, this snake occurs in the northern half of the peninsula (Orange, Seminole, Volusia, and Flagler counties north) and throughout the panhandle. Outside the state it ranges north to southern New Jersey and west to eastern Texas, Nebraska, and Missouri.
Habitat: Found in mixed hardwood and bottomland forest as well as the hardwood hammocks. It is fairly abundant in the maritime forest and dunes meadows of Atlantic barrier islands. Because of its arboreal habits, it prefers densely leafed trees and shrubs, often at the edges of fields and around ponds.
Comments: 
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An arboreal snake, the rough green snake preys primarily on insects found
on the leaves and stems of trees and shrubs. Its bright green color provides
excellent camouflage in vegetation. When disturbed it responds by freezing
and will sometimes sway to mimic the movement of the surrounding windblown
foliage. Eggs are laid in mid to late summer under objects in damp areas.
The 3-12 hatchlings are 6-8.5 inches (15-21.5 cm) long.
Comparison with other species: There are no other bright green snakes in Florida.
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