CreatureData

Brown snake

Storeria dekayi (Holbrook, 1839)

Status not recordedsnakes

The brown snake (Storeria dekayi) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 45 g and live up to 7 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Canada.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the brown snake

Weight
45 gsrc for Weight
Length
up to 52.7 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
11.8 – 13src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

What eats the brown snake?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded predators of the brown snake

6 on record

  1. Blue jay Cyanocitta cristata4 sources
  2. Milk snake Lampropeltis triangulum14 sources
  3. Red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis8 sources
  4. Red-shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus5 sources
  5. Black kingsnake Lampropeltis nigra3 sources
  6. American crow Corvus brachyrhynchos2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/278617735
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/278617734
  • John David Curlis (Expert)
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/217763874
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/25078130
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/288317354
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60802943
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/154217382
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/141655114
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/345146301
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/345147491
  • https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/152776556

Where does the brown snake live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The brown snake is listed for 1 country.

Canada
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Canada

Why a country list is not a range map

Listed by: ReptileDB (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

Where has it been introduced?

Also listed for parts of: France (Saint Barthelemy).

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the brown snake endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the brown snake classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyColubridae
  6. genusStoreria
  7. SpeciesStoreria dekayi (Holbrook, 1839)

Synonyms Coluber dekayi, Storeria dekayi anomala, Storeria dekayi dekayi, Storeria dekayi limnetes, Storeria dekayi temporalineata, Storeria dekayi texana, Storeria dekayi tropica, Storeria dekayi var. anomala, Storeria dekayi wrightorum, Storeria tropica, Storeria tropica limnetes, Tropidonotus dekayi

Other names and names in other languages (21)
  • (Dekay’s) brown snakeEnglish
  • Dekay's brown snakeEnglish
  • Florida brown snakeEnglish
  • Nordamerikansk BrunsnogDanish
  • Nördliche BraunnatterGerman
  • Gewöhnliche BraunnatterGerman
  • Culebra PardaSpanish
  • Culebra-parda de KaySpanish
  • couleuvre bruneFrench
  • Natrice di De KayItalian
  • デカイヘビJapanese
  • デケイヘビJapanese
  • DeKay Òn:yareMohawk
  • Amerikaanse Bruine SlangDutch
  • Giiwedinong Ekiiyanzo GinebigOjibwa
  • Cobra-marromPortuguese
  • Змея ДекеяRussian
  • Marsh Brown Snakeroot
  • Midland Brown Snakeroot
  • Northern Brown Snakeroot
  • Texas Brown Snakeroot

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISWikidata

Relatives of the brown snake

Other species in the same genus Storeria.

CompareBrown snake vs Redbelly snakeBrown snake vs Mexican brown snakeBrown snake vs Florida brown snake

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the brown snake?

An adult brown snake weighs 45 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the brown snake live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the brown snake for 1 country: Canada. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

How long does the brown snake live?

The brown snake has a recorded lifespan of 7 years.

What kind of animal is the brown snake?

The brown snake (Storeria dekayi) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

What eats the brown snake?

Animals recorded preying on the brown snake include blue jay, milk snake, red-tailed hawk and red-shouldered hawk. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Brown snake (Storeria dekayi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake

MLA

“Brown snake (Storeria dekayi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake.

BibTeX
@misc{brown_snake_2026,
  title = {Brown snake (Storeria dekayi)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-snake},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}