This small and slender, non-venomous snake makes its home in the province of Limon, Costa Rica at approximately 150 feet or 50 meters above sea level. The Sock Headed Snake also known as the White Headed Snake was found under leaf litter in our agricultural area. This snake was very close to a small hole in the ground when we picked it up. They are known to lay their clutch of 1 to 2 eggs in small holes or crevices in the ground. This snake was quite small, only about 14 inches, so it was quite possibly newly born. Adults of this species average about 2 feet long or 55 cm.

The Sock Headed Snake has a long tail that can easily disconnected if the snake feels threatened and needs to get away from a predator. They feed on reptile eggs by using their enlarged rear fangs to pierce egg shells and then ingest the nutritious contents.

We released it back to the area in which we found it promptly after taking these photo’s.

More information can be found here in an article written by Spencer Murray for Encyclopedia of Life Tools.