Smooth Green Snake in Southwestern Colorado

Laurie and I were out walking along the Dolores River a couple of days ago. We were on our way back when Laurie noticed a snake stretched across the trail. The snake was a such a bright green color that it seemed to glow.

Smooth Green Snake (_Opheodrys vernalis_) in the dust and gravel of the trail

It was a Smooth Green Snake - Opheodrys vernalis.

Smooth Greensnake (_Opheodrys vernalis_) in hand, waters of the reservoir in the background

I picked it up - it was cool to the touch, and very calm. I could feel six or eight small, discrete lumps in its belly as it coiled and crawled between my fingers.

Smooth Green Snake (_Opheodrys vernalis_) in hand, waters of the reservoir in the background

Smooth Green Snakes eat primarily insects and spiders, things that I would not expect to create lumps of this size and regularity. I’m guessing that this snake was a female, and the lumps were eggs. Which would be pretty cool.

I let her go into the trail-side vegetation. It was astonishing how a creature this brightly colored could just disappear.

Sources:

Hammerson, Geoffrey A. 1999. Amphibians and Reptiles in Colorado - A Colorado Field Guide. University Press of Colorado; 2nd edition (November 1, 1999). 484 pages. ISBN 0870815342.