Collared Dwarf Snake
Eirenis collaris
A small harmless snake with a dark collar. Confirmed in Georgia in the southeast; the named locality is Taribana, Dedoplistskaro.
Overview
What is Collared Dwarf Snake
The collared dwarf snake (Eirenis collaris) is a small, non-venomous snake of southeastern Georgia. It belongs to the colubrid family (Colubridae). The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed; the subspecies here is nominotypical E. c. collaris. A named specimen is from Taribana in Dedoplistskaro municipality. Adults are usually under 40 cm; the measured maximum is about 40 cm. It is harmless to people — it has no venom. IUCN lists it as Least Concern. It is often confused with the ring-headed dwarf snake (Eirenis modestus), which the checklist places in eastern and central Georgia. Do not look for it across the whole country.
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Gallery
Collared Dwarf Snake in photos
Photo: Ioane Rostiashvili
Iagluji Hills ·
Photo: Ioane Rostiashvili
Iagluji Hills ·
Photo: Ioane Rostiashvili
Iagluji Hills ·
Photo: Nika Melikishvili
Photo: Nika Melikishvili
Photo: Nika Melikishvili
Photo: Nika Melikishvili
Photo: Nika Melikishvili
Identification
How to identify Collared Dwarf Snake
A small, slender, non-venomous snake with a round pupil and a dark collar on the neck. The back is olive or light brown. It is not a viper and not a worm-like blind snake.
The body is slender and short — a dwarf-snake build, not a large racer. The head is weakly set off from the neck; the snout is rounded. The pupil is round. Dorsal scales are smooth. At species level there are often 15 mid-body rows (sometimes 15–17). The ring-headed dwarf snake often has 17–18. Do not pick the snake up to count scales. Adults are usually under 40 cm; the measured maximum is about 40 cm.
The back is olive or light brown; each scale often has a pale centre and dark edges. A dark collar on the neck tapers toward the throat — the source of the common name. The head may show a weak cross-band and two parietal spots. The belly is yellowish-white. The Turkish subspecies E. c. macrospilotus has a row of dark dorsal spots; the Georgian checklist names nominotypical E. c. collaris.
The ring-headed dwarf snake (Eirenis modestus) looks similar but is larger (usually under 70 cm) and the collar often fades in adults; the checklist places it in the east and centre, and this species in the southeast (named locality Taribana, Dedoplistskaro). The smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) is stouter, has two rows of small dorsal spots, and is more tied to forest edge and moister ground. The worm snake (Xerotyphlops vermicularis) is worm-like, with reduced eyes. The European cat snake (Telescopus fallax) has a vertical pupil.
It has no venom. A round pupil points away from vipers and the blunt-nosed viper. If you meet one, keep distance. Do not pick it up: a small harmless snake is easily injured, and an unidentified snake may be venomous.
The 2026 Georgian checklist treats it as biologically confirmed; the subspecies here is nominotypical E. c. collaris. A named specimen is from Taribana in Dedoplistskaro municipality. It occurs in southeastern Georgia. Do not look for it across the whole country. It is often confused with the ring-headed dwarf snake (Eirenis modestus), which the checklist places in eastern and central Georgia.
Quiz
Next: which snake is it?
Collared Dwarf Snake is in the Georgia snake quiz. Ten field photos, four names — eye practice, not field ID.
Biology
Habitat, diet, behavior, and conservation
Habitat and range
The 2026 checklist names southeastern Georgia; a figure specimen is from Taribana, Dedoplistskaro district. This atlas marks Kakheti, Tbilisi, and Kvemo Kartli — based on that checklist wording, the Taribana specimen, and site photographs from the Iagluji Hills, not a full list of municipalities. Distribution confidence is medium. There is no named western or Colchic point on this page. Across the species range it lives in dry stony or semi-desert ground, soft stony–sandy soil, and grassy oak hillsides; it is often under stones, earth clods, or in cracks, sometimes with the worm snake. A separate Georgian elevation range has not been published. Taribana and Iagluji belong to lowland and foothill country. Species-level literature cites about 1700 m — that should not be read as a Georgian ceiling. The wider range includes eastern Turkey, the southern Caucasus, Dagestan, Iraq, and western Iran; type material is from Beshbarmak near the Caspian (Azerbaijan), not Georgia.
Diet
There is no separate Georgian diet study. Species-level literature lists scorpions, centipedes, worms, beetles and other insects, plus spiders and small lizards. It feeds mainly on invertebrates that live under stones. It has no venom — prey is seized with the mouth.
Behavior
It is secretive. In heat it often stays under stones or soil. Hourly and seasonal calendars have not been published for Georgia; dated photographs on this atlas are from May and July. At species level it lays eggs: literature cites 4–8 eggs in summer; hatchlings emerge in August–September at about 10–13 cm. Mating season and clutch size in Georgia are not measured here. Overwintering sites in Georgia are not described separately; species-level accounts mention communal hibernation underground. When threatened it usually flees. Do not pick it up — it is not venomous, but even a small snake can bite. In the same dry southeast you may also meet the ring-headed dwarf snake, the smooth snake, the worm snake, and rarely the European cat snake — pupil, size, and neck pattern separate them.
Conservation
IUCN lists it as Least Concern — the range is wide and no specific global threat is singled out. It is not on Georgia’s 2014 Red List; the snakes listed there are Dinnik’s viper and the Caucasus viper. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed; distribution accuracy is scored medium. The Georgian picture is still narrow: the named locality is Taribana, and the southeastern range is a checklist summary, not a complete map. Local threats include habitat change and killing after confusion with a venomous snake. Do not pick it up.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the most important questions about Collared Dwarf Snake.
Yes. The 2026 checklist treats it as biologically confirmed in southeastern Georgia. The named locality is Taribana, Dedoplistskaro. Do not look for it across the whole country.
On dry stony ground, often under stones, in the southeast. This atlas marks Kakheti, Tbilisi, and Kvemo Kartli. The named scientific locality is Taribana; a named photograph is from the Iagluji Hills. There is no named western or Colchic point here. Distribution confidence is medium.
No. It has no venom. When threatened it usually flees. Even a small snake can bite — do not pick it up. A vertical pupil points to a viper or the blunt-nosed viper.
A small slender snake, round pupil, smooth scales, olive or light-brown back, dark collar on the neck. In the ring-headed dwarf snake the collar is often weaker in adults and the checklist range is east–central. The worm snake is worm-like. Do not pick it up to count scales.
At species level adults are usually under 40 cm; the measured maximum is about 40 cm. A separate Georgian length series is not on this page.
It lays eggs; species-level literature cites 4–8 eggs in summer. Diet has not been studied separately in Georgia; at species level mainly insects and other under-stone invertebrates, rarely a small lizard.
An hourly calendar has not been published for Georgia. Expect the warm season on dry ground under stones. Photographs on this atlas are from May and July.
Both are small harmless Eirenis. The collared species usually keeps a clearer collar and is typically shorter; the checklist places it in the southeast and E. modestus in the east and centre. Mid-body scale rows are often 15 versus 17–18, but that is not a hand-count field mark.
References
Sources
References
Sources
- Tarkhnishvili et al. 2026 — Annotated checklist of Georgia's amphibians and reptiles
- Iankoshvili & Tarkhnishvili 2021 — Distribution of snakes in Georgia
- Mahlow et al. 2013 — Annotated checklist of the genus Eirenis
- Tuniyev et al. 2010 — IUCN Red List account for Eirenis collaris
- საქართველოს მთავრობის დადგენილება №190 (2014) — წითელი ნუსხა
- The Reptile Database
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
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