Types of sharp-tailed snakes

Contia is a tiny genus in the family Colubridae, the largest snake family, but it sits at the family's small and specialized end. It holds just two species: the Common Sharp-tailed Snake (Contia tenuis) and the Forest Sharp-tailed Snake (Contia longicaudae). Both are slender, modest in size, and named for the sharp little spine at the tip of the tail, a feature thought to help brace the snake against prey rather than to harm anything else. They are restricted to western North America, mainly the Pacific coast from British Columbia south through Washington, Oregon, and California.

These are animals of cool, damp places. They favor moist woodland, grassland edges, oak savanna, and rocky slopes where they spend most of their lives hidden under stones, logs, bark, and leaf litter. They are rarely seen in the open because they are secretive and surface mostly during mild, wet conditions in spring and fall. In general terms you recognize a Contia as a small, smooth-scaled snake, often gray, reddish, or brown above, sometimes with a faintly barred belly, and ending in that distinctive pointed tail tip.

Sharp-tailed snakes are harmless to people. They are not venomous and pose no danger to humans or pets; their diet is built around slugs and their eggs, and their slightly enlarged rear teeth are adapted to grip slippery, soft prey, not for defense. They lay eggs rather than giving live birth and are quiet, non-aggressive snakes that rely on hiding rather than biting. As with any wild animal, observe rather than handle, and if you are ever unsure about a snake or a bite, contact local emergency services or US Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222.