The Jewel of Northeastern Snakes.
In the Field:
Back in early days of running a nature center in Pennsylvania, the top of my list for native species to have on display were of course Timber Rattlesnakes and Northern Copperheads. But after those 2 species, the Smooth Green Snake (Opheodrys vernalis) was the species I most wanted to keep and display. At that time I had never even seen one in the wild, so for the next 3 years I worked towards finding a smooth green! When I finally did it was more exciting for me than finding a Timber Rattlesnake in the wild (Which is always exciting!).
The habitat in which this species is found is beautiful. They are often most abundant in grassy/rocky fields and meadows on the edge of woodlands, lakes, and creeks. In the Northeast they are typically common in very concentrated areas, but not overall common throughout their range.
The pristine habitat of the Smooth Green Snake often produces some of my other favorite small snakes such as – Northern Red-bellied Snakes & Northern Ringneck Snakes.
In Captivity:
Out of the dozens of snake species I’ve kept over the years, these little guys are absolutely one of my favorites!
Diet/Feeding:
Feeding Smooth Green Snakes is easy, although needs to be done far more often than rodent eating snakes.
Insectivores’ snakes in general are very interesting to watch as they “hunt” for, and eat their food. The feeding routine of insect eating snakes is not like that of most commonly kept snakes. It is much more like that of a small lizard, due to how frequently they need to be fed. They should be fed at least once every 3 days. I suspect that in the wild they will eat almost every day depending on if they can find food or not.
My feeding rotation for Smooth Greens is as follows:
Prey items offered:
- Md-Lg. Crickets
- Horn Worms
- Wax Worms
Hornworms were the key to my success in establishing my first Smooth Green. They keep a healthy weight on them. If I feed two Medium sized Hornworms, which makes a big meal for such a small snake, I might give 4 days before feeding again. If I put a dozen med. Crickets in the enclosure, I might tweezer feed a few wax worms 3 days after. The rotation between these 3 types of prey items can be as random as you’d like. I lightly dust prey items with a Calcium/vitamin powder every other feeding.
I also feed all of the insects lots of veggies (Organic mixed greens, carrots, potatoes, etc.) before feeding to the snakes. I do not recommend using artificial “gut loaders” that can be purchased at any pet store or online, due to the fact that they are by nature artificial.
Enclosure type:
If you want to keep a snake in a rack, don’t keep a Smooth Green Snake. These vibrant snakes need a vibrant enclosure. Lots of live plants, bark, sticks, rocks, moss, and leaf litter. Always keep a clean/fresh water bowel in the enclosure and mist down the enclosure at least 2-3 times per week. I think misting the enclosure daily, at least in the morning is probably even better. They drink the water droplets right off of the plants and leaves in the enclosure just like most if not all snake species do if given the chance.
For adult Smooth Greens I would suggest a 20gal size aquarium, a 24x18x24 type vivarium, or a custom built enclosure of similar size.
I understand that Rough Green Snakes are the more arboreal of the two species within Opheodrys, however, I can assure you that Smooth Green Snakes also climb, a lot! They will climb and bask on any and all branches, cork bark, plants, etc. that are placed into the enclosure.
For substrate, I like to use a blend of peat moss and cypress bedding. I then add live plants. Plants such as Pothos and Spider Plants work great. However, I prefer to just transplant small native plants, wildflowers, ferns, grasses, etc. into the enclosure. I then cover the remaining visible substrate with live moss, sphagnum moss, and leaf litter. Add small rocks and branches.
Lighting & Temps:
Lighting is easy. I use bright LEDs and plant grow lights. I then add a T5 UVB bulb and a 40watt incandescent bulb.
Do not keep these snakes too hot! 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day is hot enough on the warm side of the enclosure. 70-72(F) on the cooler side is fine, although even high 60’s would be alright.
Hatching & Raising baby Smooth Greens:
In 2023 I hatched out 6 baby Smooth Green Snakes. These came from a gravid female that was collected to pair up with the male that I already had for several years.
I incubated the eggs on a shelf in my bathroom. These were the only eggs I was incubating at the time and the temps and humidity in the bathroom were perfect! All 6 eggs hatched 17 days after being laid. The babies were kept together in a 10gal. aquarium.
The hatchlings were very easy to raise. Eating small crickets and small wax worms every other day or two. It is important to only put 1 small cricket per snake in the enclosure at a time.This is true for any insectivores snake species. If you put more crickets than these little snakes can eat at a time, the crickets may chew on the snakes and injury them. This isn’t a concern with adults, since they eat several crickets per feeding.
Smooth Greens are unfortunately not really being worked with in herpetoculture at this time. They are protected in many of the states throughout their range. The animals that I kept were kept under permits from the PA Fish & Boat Commission, and were part of an exhibit at the nature center I used to manage.
I would love the opportunity to keep this species again in the future. But, for now I will enjoy seeing them in the wild in the mountains of PA and the surrounding states!
