page_title: Short-tailed snake
section_title: Behavior
hierarchical_section_title: Short-tailed snake / Behavior
caption_attribution_description: English: Short-Tailed Snake photographed November 2011 Central Florida
context_page_description: The short-tailed snake is a small harmless colubrid snake. Fossorial and seldom seen, it is found only in sandy, upland parts of Florida where it is listed as Threatened and is protected by state law.
context_section_description: The short-tailed snake is as poorly understood as it is seldom-seen, rare and geographically limited. It is a burrowing snake that rarely appears above ground and does so even more rarely during the day. Like other snakes of the tribe Lampropeltini, it vibrates its tail when startled by predators or people but can be distinguished from a rattlesnake by its slender build and lack of rattle. An excitable snake, it makes a poor captive and is protected against harassment or captivity by Florida law. Despite this, much of what little we know about the short-tailed snake has been based on observations of captive specimens.
caption: Hernando County, FL 2011
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