Is the eastern wormsnake venomous?

The eastern wormsnake is harmless. Completely harmless. It cannot bite a person.

How do you identify a eastern wormsnake?

Glossy brown above, pink below, with a knife-straight boundary between the two. Very small eyes and a blunt head — adapted for burrowing.

Where do eastern wormsnakes live?

They are found in 23 US states, in habitats including woods, farmland and suburban.

Eastern Wormsnake

Harmless

Carphophis amoenus · also called worm snake

The eastern wormsnake looks so much like a large earthworm that most people who find one assume that is exactly what it is. It is a burrowing snake that lives in moist soil and leaf litter, eating earthworms and soft-bodied insects, and it is completely inoffensive.

Venom: Completely harmless. It cannot bite a person.
Adult length: 7–13 inches (18–33 cm)
Markings: Uniform glossy brown above with a pink or salmon belly, the two colours meeting in a straight line along the side. Tiny eyes and a sharp, pointed tail tip.
Habitat: woods, farmland, suburban
Family: colubrid
Range: 23 US states

How to identify a eastern wormsnake

Glossy brown above, pink below, with a knife-straight boundary between the two.
Very small eyes and a blunt head — adapted for burrowing.
Sharp spine at the tip of the tail, which it presses against your skin but cannot pierce.
Almost always found in damp soil under logs, rocks and mulch.

What it does when it sees you

Burrows and hides. Never bites — its mouth is too small to be used defensively at all.

What the eastern wormsnake is confused with

One test settles each of these.

Brahminy blindsnake →

Blindsnakes are shiny black-grey, even smaller, and have no visible eyes or neck at all.

Earthworm

Wormsnakes have scales, a forked tongue and a distinct head; earthworms have segmented rings and neither.

Before anything else

Back away and leave it alone. A snake that can see you leaving has no reason to bite. Most bites in the United States happen to people who picked up, cornered, or tried to kill a snake.
Never handle a snake to identify it. Every identification on this site can be made from a photo or from several feet away.
If someone is bitten, call emergency services now. Keep the limb still and below the heart, remove rings and watches, and go to hospital. Do not cut, suck, apply ice, or use a tourniquet — all of these make outcomes worse.
Do not try to catch the snake for identification. A photo from a distance is enough, and hospitals treat symptoms rather than species.

In the US, the Poison Help line is 1-800-222-1222. This site is a reference, not medical advice.

Not sure it was a eastern wormsnake? Identify it step by step →