“These snakes grow to just 11 inches long”

The Texas blind snake is sometimes called a Texas slender blind snake or a Texas threadsnake. These are fitting names for a snake with a very narrow body that measures just four to eleven inches in length. The diet of this snake includes insect larvae, ants, and termites. It’s not venomous and lives in a woodland, savanna, or shrubland habitat. This small snake is docile and sometimes kept as a pet.

4 Texas Blind Snake Amazing Facts

• It doesn’t have any teeth so it cannot bite its prey or humans
• These tiny snakes are known to eat the ants and parasites living in a nest full of eastern screech owl chicks
• They are sometimes found in homes living in moist, dark areas such as inside ductwork
• They can release an odor in an effort to deter predators such as armadillos

Where to Find a Texas Blind Snake

The Texas threadsnake lives in the United States in North America. Specifically, it lives in Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Oklahoma. It also lives in the northeastern part of Mexico.

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These are burrowing snakes living underground in moist soil. They are known to show up above ground after heavy storms. Not surprisingly, they are often mistaken for earthworms! Just think of how many times you’ve seen earthworms on the sidewalk after a rainstorm.

Texas Blind Snake Scientific Name

Rena dulcis is the scientific name of the Texas blind snake. Dulcis is a Latin word meaning sweet. It’s unclear what this description refers to. Its family is the Leptotyphopidae and its in the class Reptilia.

The subspecies of this snake are:

• Rena dulcis rubellum
• Rena dulcis supraorbicularis

Texas Blind Snake Population and Conservation Status

The population of the Texas slender blind snake is estimated at more than 100,000 adults. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists this snake as Least Concern, but has no information on whether the population is growing, decreasing, or stable.

How to Identify Texas Blind Snake: Appearance and Description

The first thing to learn about the appearance of the Texas blind snake is it looks a lot like an earthworm. It has brown or reddish glistening skin with a silver tone to it. But, if you look closely at a Texas threadsnake and an earthworm, you’ll see the Texas threadsnake has scales while an earthworm does not.

Its eyes are two small black dots on its head. Their eyes look like they are buried beneath layers of opaque scales. The snake measures four to eleven inches long and is about the width of a pencil.

The Texas blind snake has a blunt head, no teeth, and its lower jaw is shorter than its upper one.

How to identify a Texas blind snake:

• Brown, reddish shiny scales with silver tone
• Two tiny black eyes beneath its opaque scales
• A blunt head

Texas Blind Snake Pictures

Texas Blind Snake: How Dangerous Are They?

The Texas slender blind snake is not poisonous. In fact, it has no teeth, so it doesn’t bite. Even if it did have teeth, this creature’s mouth and head are so small, that its bite would be painless. You may not even notice it!

Though not dangerous, the Texas blind snake is sometimes called a nuisance by homeowners. These snakes can live inside ductwork or even beneath the foundation of a home. They don’t cause structural damage, but can sometimes make their way into the living area of a home.

While the Texas blind snake doesn’t bite, it’s a good idea to wash your hands with soap and water after handling it. Someone who keeps this snake as a pet should certainly make it a habit to wash up after handling this snake. Snakes can sometimes carry bacteria on their scales that are not visible to a human’s eyes.

Texas Blind Snake Behavior and Humans

Texas blind snakes are timid and hide underground the bulk of the time. When they are found in a home’s ductwork or elsewhere, they can be removed by a professional. However, these snakes eat insect larvae, termites, and ants, so some homeowners may decide to leave the snakes alone to conduct their business!

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