This time of year, the nights are still pretty cold. Your little friend would have to lie in the warmth for a while to get warm enough to feel like zipping around. The leaves probably kept him cooler than the air.
PB

Don't forget about the glass snakes (or legless lizards) that are fairly common in the south. What kind of markings did your buddy have? I'll never forget my first encounter with the glass snake.

You guys are lucky! I have only seen copperheads this year - there are now three dead ones in my garden. Wish i had some red-bellied snakes!

Small copperheads here in Stone Mtn also.......gone also.

I don't know how many times I have acidently snipped one in half grabbing handfulls and shearing the tops off my Liripoe. Kinda surprising when the grass begins to wriggle in your hand.

I have noticed the frogs in my little pond can't even muster the energy to hop into the water when I walk up on them in the morning early. They better be on the look out for Mr. Cat and his brother. Never seen a Copperhead in my yard in fifteen years. Guess that's thanks to the cats and dog.

Rhizo,
Here's a good picture of a red-bellied snake. Yeh, I'm sure the one I found in the daylily bed is a red belly. They are all over my yard in the summer. They come out at sunset; they are night snakes. But I'm forever finding them in my compost pile, under the azaleas - all over the place when I'm out in the early evening.
If you ever need to identify a snake, North Carolina keeps a good web site for that with good photos. I use it all the time.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red-bellied Snake