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Species authority page

Western patch-nosed snake

Salvadora hexalepis · Snakes · Reptiles

Western patch-nosed snake (Salvadora hexalepis): Light tan ground colour with a wide brown-black stripe running the length of each side; 20-46 inches (Zion NPS key). 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
Salvadora hexalepis
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Southern and eastern California, western and southern Nevada and extreme southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas to the tip of Baja California, southern Sinaloa and Chihuahua; below sea level to about 2,135 m.
Biology

How to identify it

Light tan ground colour with a wide brown-black stripe running the length of each side; 20-46 inches (Zion NPS key). [1][2][3]

Compared with the striped whipsnake: Slender, black to brown back with four narrow stripes (Zion NPS key). [1][2][3]

Compared with the coachwhip: Pinkish or tan with faint crossbands, more distinct on the neck (Zion NPS key). [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 western patch-nosed snake before you act. Compared with the striped whipsnake: Slender, black to brown back with four narrow stripes (Zion NPS key).[1][2][3]
Field knowledge

Where it lives

Sandy and rocky plains and lower slopes: creosote desert, washes, sagebrush semidesert, chaparral, pinyon-juniper and coastal scrub. [1][2][3]

Mainly terrestrial; uses whatever cover is available. [1][2][3]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Active, diurnal snake; all day in mild spring weather, restricted to morning and late afternoon in summer; greatest activity May-June. [1][2][3]

Opportunistic feeder on lizards, small mammals and eggs of lizards and snakes. [1][2][3]

Takes refuge in bushes, rock crevices and other animals' burrows; lays 4-10 eggs in summer. [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

Southern and eastern California, western and southern Nevada and extreme southwestern Utah south through Arizona, southern New Mexico and southwestern Texas to the tip of Baja California, southern Sinaloa and Chihuahua; below sea level to about 2,135 m.

Biology

Sources

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

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. U.S. National Park Service · reviewed 2026-09-30

    U.S. National Park Service

  3. California Department of Fish and Wildlife · reviewed 2026-09-30

    California Department of Fish and Wildlife