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Green ratsnake

Senticolis triaspis · Snakes · Reptiles

Green ratsnake (Senticolis triaspis): Long, slender snake (to about 1.8 m); adults over about 800 mm are uniform gray-green, green or yellowish-green above. Belly white to yellowish and unmarked; head elongated and broader than the neck, tail long (23-37% of total length), anal plate divided. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Scientific name
Senticolis triaspis
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Northern edge of a largely tropical range: southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in the United States (state rank S1, state-threatened in New Mexico), south to Costa Rica; not in Canada.
Biology

How to identify it

Long, slender snake (to about 1.8 m); adults over about 800 mm are uniform gray-green, green or yellowish-green above. [1][2][3]

Belly white to yellowish and unmarked; head elongated and broader than the neck, tail long (23-37% of total length), anal plate divided. [1][2][3]

Hatchlings and juveniles are tan or gray with dark blotches that fade with age. [1][2][3]

Compared with the glossy snake: Juvenile green ratsnakes resemble glossy snakes, but glossy snakes lack the elongated head and have an undivided anal plate (Tucson Herpetological Society). [1][2][3]

Compared with the coachwhip: Young coachwhips have 17 scale rows at midbody and no elongated head distinct from the neck (Tucson Herpetological Society). [1][2][3]

Species it is confused with

Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.

Field notes

  • Identification Confirm a green ratsnake before you act. Compared with the glossy snake: Juvenile green ratsnakes resemble glossy snakes, but glossy snakes lack the elongated head and have an undivided anal plate (Tucson Herpetological Society).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Montane woodland and chaparral, in Arizona mostly oak woodland and savanna and adjoining semidesert grassland, often on rocky canyons with water. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Active mostly mid-March to late November in Arizona; diurnal and crepuscular. [1][2][3]

Both terrestrial and arboreal; uses rock crevices or burrows for shelter. [1][2][3]

Eats mainly rodents, also other small mammals, birds and lizards, killed by constriction. [1][2][3]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Northern edge of a largely tropical range: southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico in the United States (state rank S1, state-threatened in New Mexico), south to Costa Rica; not in Canada.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Tucson Herpetological Society · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Tucson Herpetological Society

  3. Natural Heritage New Mexico, University of New Mexico · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Natural Heritage New Mexico, University of New Mexico