How to identify it
Slender garter-snake relative, typically about 3 ft (max recorded snout-vent 1250 mm); dark brown or black back with lighter side stripes. [1][2]
Underside pale, usually light yellow or green; tail about 30% of body length and relatively long muzzle. [1][2]
Large paired parietal spots; reduced or absent broad brown ventrolateral stripe that the very similar eastern ribbon snake shows. [1][2]
Compared with the eastern ribbon snake: Eastern has a broad brown ventrolateral stripe; western has paired large parietal spots, a longer muzzle and longer tail (Animal Diversity Web). [1][2]
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.
- Eastern ribbon snake · Thamnophis sauritus
Where it lives
Brushy habitats near streams, ponds, lakes, sloughs, ditches, swamps and marshes, often in water-edge vegetation; hibernation sites may be upland away from water. [1][2]
How it behaves
Semi-aquatic and fast; dives into water or vanishes into brush or crevices when disturbed; active by day in warm periods. [1][2]
Forages for frogs by making closed-mouth head thrusts in sets of three to flush them; amphibians make up an estimated 80-92% of the diet, with fish, snails and eggs also taken. [1][2]
Active March to October in the north; hibernates in rocky outcrops or crevices, sometimes with other snakes and may migrate between winter and summer habitats. [1][2]
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
- Mississippi — reptile take · Title 40 Part 5 Rule 2.3 Regulations Regarding Non-Game Wildlife in Need of Management (MDWFP PDF; file dated 2024-04)
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.
Where it is found
Central United States (NatureServe: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin); Animal Diversity Web adds the range south through Mexico into Central America; not in Canada.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30
NatureServe
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
University of Michigan Museum of Zoology