Nearctica - Natural History - Snakes of North America - Colubridae

Elaphe gloydi

The Eastern Fox Snake has a separate range west of that of the Eastern Fox Snake. The color is typically lighter and the number of bloches on the back of the body averages 34, not 31.

Agkistrodon contortrix

The Copperhad has a more southern distribution and does not occur with the Western Fox Snake. The pattern of the Copperhad is banded without the discrete dark blotches of the Western Fox Snake

Identification: Snake 34 to 70 inches in length. Body color yellow to yellow-brown slightly suffused with black. Back with a series of dark brown to black blotches with an average of 41 dark blotches on the body (excluding the tail). Side with two alternating rows of dark spots. Belly yellowish with dark, square patches. A weak, dark band extends from the angle of the mouth to the eye and a second line stretches from the bottom of the eye perpendicularly to the edge of the mouth. Top of head without a v-shaped dark pattern. Scales keeled and anal plate divided.

Range (see map at left): The Western Rat Snake occurs in the north-central United States from the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in the north westward to eastern South Dakota and eastern Nebraska, southward along the Mississippi to Missouri and Illinois, and eastward to western Indiana.

Behavior: The Eastern Fox Snake is diurnal. The species is an excellent climber and is sometimes seen high in trees. Threatened individuals often shake their tail in leaves and grass making a rattling sound.

Reproduction: The clutch consists of 6 to 30 eggs laid from late June to early August. The young hatch between August and October.

Note: The taxonomy for this segment of Nearctica follows, Collins and Taggart, 2007, Center for North American Herpetology, http://www.cnah.org./. Many herpetologists do not accept the division of the Fox Snake into two species; the Eastern Fox Snake (Elaphe gloydi) and the Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina). If this latter interpretation is accepted, the accepted name is Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina).