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East  Mount​ain​  Snake  ID  Gallery​

Coluber flagellum testaceus

Western Coachwhip

NON-VENOMOUS

Description:Coachwhips are thin-bodied snakes with small heads and large eyes with round pupils. They vary greatly in color, but most reflect a proper camouflage for their natural habitat. M. f. testaceus is typically a shade of light brown with darker brown flecking, but in the western area of Texas, where the soil color is a shade of pink, the coachwhips are also pink in color. M. f. piceus was given its common name because specimens frequently, but not always, have some red in their coloration. Coachwhip scales are patterned so at first glance, the snake appears braided. Subspecies can be difficult to distinguish in areas where their ranges overlap. Adult sizes of 127-183 cm (50-72 in) are common.

Crotalus atrox

Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake

EXTREMELY VENOMOUS

Description: The largest rattlesnake in New Mexico, it can obtain lengths in excess of 4 feet! The pattern consists of diamonds along the back. The base color of the snake varies and can be red, copper, brown, gray, etc. The tail is banded black and white and tipped with a rattle. Various morphs have been found including: amelanistic (albino), melanistic, striped and patternless. Some of these morphs can be seen at the Rattlesnake Museum. There have also been some cases of hybrids with Crotalus viridis or a viritrox

Crotalus molossus molossus

Northern Black-Tailed Rattlesnake

VENOMOUS

Description: They range in color from yellows and olive greens to browns and black. As their name implies, one of their most distinguishing features is, despite variations in body color, the tail scales are entirely black. Often, this rattlesnake has a black band across its eyes and diagonally down to the corners of its mouth, forming a sort of facial 'mask'. Can reach lengths of up to four feet.The females tend to be larger than the males.

Crotalus viridis

Prairie Rattlesnake

EXTREMELY VENOMOUS

Description: This species commonly grows to more than 3.3 ft in length. The maximum recorded size is 4.97 ft. In Montana, specimens occasionally exceed 3.9 ft in length; the species reaches its maximum size in this region. One of the most characteristic features is the presence of three or more, usually four, inter-nasal scales.

Identification characteristics will vary depending on which subspecies is encountered. Generally, western rattlesnakes are usually lightly colored in hues of brown. Patches of dark brown are often distributed in a dorsal pattern. A color band may be seen at the back of the eye. The western rattlesnake group carries the distinctive triangle-shaped head and pit sensory organs on either side of the head. A key characteristic that can help differentiate a western rattlesnake from other rattlesnakes is the presence of two inter-nasals contacting the rostral.

Heterodon nasicus

Plains Hog-nosed Snake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description:Hognose snakes' most distinguishing characteristic is their upturned snout, which aids in digging in sandy soils by using a sweeping, side to side motion. They also like to burrow in masses of humus. 

Hognose snakes are extremely variable in color and pattern. 

Lampropeltis getula splendida

Desert Kingsnake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description:The desert kingsnake has an overall dark black or brown background coloration with white to yellow crossbars that may number as low as 42 or as high as 97. Can reach lenghts of 5 feet

Lampropeltis triangulum celaenops

New Mexico Milksnake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description: Milk snakes grow 20 to 60 inches long. They have smooth and shiny scales and their typical color pattern is alternating bands of red-black-yellow or white-black-red. However, red blotches instead of bands are seen in some populations. Some milk snakes have a striking resemblance to coral snakes and this mimicry (known as Batesian mimicry) likely scares away potential predators. While both milk snakes and coral snakes possess transverse bands of red, black and yellow, common mnemonics can be used to properly distinguish between the deadly coral snake and the harmless milk snake:

Pituophis catenifer affinis

Sonoran Gopher Snake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description:One of the longest, if not the longest snake found in New Mexico, they can reach lengths of seven feet or more. Large adults are usually around four feet. These snakes have a yellowish tan base color with brownish to reddish and sometimes blackblotches. These are very difficult to tell apart from the Great Basin Gophersnake and the Bullsnake. Great Basin Gophers tend to have a "cleaner" pattern, some individuals have spots closer to the head. The bullsnake's rostral scale is usually taller than it is wide. 

Habitat:A very diverse amount of habitats, they thrive statewide in pretty much all areas except the high mountain peaks

Pituophis catenifer sayi

Bull Snake

NON-VENOMOUS
Description: One of the longest, if not the longest snake found in New Mexico, they can reach lengths of seven feet or more. Large adults are usually around four feet. These snakes have a yellowish tan base color with brownish to reddish and sometimes black blotches. These are very difficult to tell apart from the Sonoran Gophersnake and the Great Basin Gophersnake. Great Basin Gophers tend to have a "cleaner" pattern, some individuals have spots closer to the head. The bullsnake's rostral scale is usually taller than it is wide.


Habitat:A very diverse amount of habitats, they thrive statewide in pretty much all areas except the high mountain peaks

Pantherophis emoryi

Great Plains Rat Snake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description: The Great Plains rat snake is typically light gray or tan in color, with dark gray, brown, or green-gray blotching down its back, and stripes on either side of the head which meet to form a point between the eyes. They are capable of growing from 3 feet to 5 feet long.

Thamnophis elegans vagrans

Wandering Garter Snake

???

Garters were long thought to be nonvenomous, but recent discoveries have revealed that they do in fact produce a mild neurotoxic venom. Garter snakes cannot kill humans with the small amounts of venom they produce, which is comparatively mild, and they also lack an effective means of delivering it. They do have enlarged teeth in the back of their mouth, but their gums are significantly larger. The Duvernoy's gland of garters are posterior (to the rear) of the snake's eyes. The mild venom is spread into wounds through a chewing action. 


Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis

New Mexico Garter Snake

???

Garters were long thought to be nonvenomous, but recent discoveries have revealed that they do in fact produce a mild neurotoxic venom. Garter snakes cannot kill humans with the small amounts of venom they produce, which is comparatively mild, and they also lack an effective means of delivering it. They do have enlarged teeth in the back of their mouth, but their gums are significantly larger. The Duvernoy's gland of garters are posterior (to the rear) of the snake's eyes. The mild venom is spread into wounds through a chewing action. 

Rhino​cheilus lecontei

Western Long-nosed Snake

NON-VENOMOUS

Description:Long-nosed snakes are distinguished by a long, slightly upturned snout, which is the origin of their common name. They are tricolor, vaguely resembling a coral snake with black and red saddling that almost looks like banding, on a yellow or cream-colored background, which can look somewhat like yellow banding. Cream-colored spots within the black saddles are a distinct characteristic of the long-nosed snake. They differ from all other harmless snakes in the United States by having undivided subcaudal scales. They average around 30 inches (76 cm) in total length.

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