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Ring-necked snake

Diadophis punctatus · Snakes · Reptiles

Ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus): Smooth, unkeeled scales, gray to olive above (CPW). Orange or yellow ring around the neck, usually bordered in black (CPW; NPS Jewel Cave). 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.

Ring-necked snake coiled on a white background
Photo by Timothy Dykes on Unsplash
Scientific name
Diadophis punctatus
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Coast to coast across North America; northern limit of the continuous range reaches Nova Scotia, southern Quebec and southern Ontario, and it occurs disjunctly in the West (NatureServe).
Biology

How to identify it

Smooth, unkeeled scales, gray to olive above (CPW). [1][2][3]

Orange or yellow ring around the neck, usually bordered in black (CPW; NPS Jewel Cave). [1][2][3]

Belly orange with black spots and red underside of the tail; when threatened it coils the tail to show the red underside (CPW; NPS Jewel Cave). [1][2][3]

Small and slender: rarely over about 42 cm (16.5 in), average about 14 in (CPW; NPS Jewel Cave). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Forests, woodlands, grassland, chaparral and riparian corridors; moist at least seasonally; often near abandoned buildings and junk piles in wooded areas (NatureServe; CPW). [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Hides by day under flat rocks, logs or other cover and is rarely seen in the open; several of mixed age may share one rock, especially in spring (CPW; NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Eats earthworms, slugs, small salamanders, frogs, lizards and snakes (NatureServe). [1][2][3]

Releases a foul musk when caught (NPS Jewel Cave). [1][2][3]

Inactive in winter in most areas; eggs are often laid communally (NatureServe). [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.

Conservation and protection

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

Coast to coast across North America; northern limit of the continuous range reaches Nova Scotia, southern Quebec and southern Ontario, and it occurs disjunctly in the West (NatureServe).

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Colorado Parks and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Colorado Parks and Wildlife

  3. National Park Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    National Park Service