[citation needed] The northern scarlet snake is a secretive, burrowing species, preferring habitats of soft soils, often in open forested areas or developed agricultural land.

They spend most of their time hidden, emerging to feed on small rodents and lizards, but they have a particular taste for reptile eggs, swallowing them whole or puncturing them and consuming the contents.

[citation needed] Mating of the northern scarlet snake occurs in March through June, with 3-8 eggs laid in mid summer, and hatching in early fall.

[citation needed] The northern scarlet snake is found in the United States, in: eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, southern Indiana, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and barely into northern Florida, with disjunct populations New Jersey, and central Missouri.

[citation needed] The northern scarlet snake holds no particular conservation status throughout most of its range, but it is listed as endangered species in the states of Indiana and Florida.