[4] C. amoenus can be found east of the Mississippi, from southwest Massachusetts south to southern Alabama west to Louisiana and then north to Illinois.

[5] This species of snake protects a large range, and normally prefers a moist habitat in the rocky woodlands, under rotten wood of logs and stumps.

This snake is most common on the edges or in the ecotonal areas of open to thick woodlands, and the borders of wetlands.

Other ways to distinguish between C. amoenus and other species is the body scales usually occur in 13 rows and are smooth and pitless, and the anal plate is split.

The generic name, Carphophis, translates to "straw snake"[11] Two subspecies of Carphophis amoenus are recognized:[2] C. a. amoenus is found from Rhode Island, southwestern Massachusetts, and southeastern New York south to South Carolina, northern Georgia, and central Alabama.

The young of this species are always much darker than the parent; then during the second year they change from a dark gray to the brown of the adult specimen.

[5] It is found in southern Connecticut, southwestern Massachusetts, southeastern New York, New Jersey, southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, eastern West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, northern Georgia and Alabama, and in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee.

To escape overheating or desiccation, it has adopted a fossorial lifestyle and it usually spends most of the year underground or in rotting logs.

Activity periods begin mainly in the late afternoon and early evenings and rarely last more than 12 hours.

[16] Males travel much farther than females and their diets consist primarily of earthworms, but may also include other soft-bodied invertebrates, such as insect larvae.

Worm snakes release a foul-smelling liquid from their vents when handled, but they are completely harmless to humans and rarely even attempt to bite.

The normal behavior of the snake when handled is to twist, then try to crawl between the fingers, probe the hand with its tail spine, and emit the strong-smelling liquid.

[8] The clutches of eggs are found in depressions under rocks, in cavities in the rotting wood of logs and stumps, and in old sawdust piles; and rodent burrows are probably also used for nesting.

C. Ernst and his students collected 108 individuals from beneath rocks and debris in 100 m along a hillside overlooking the Kentucky River in one hour on an April afternoon.