Rainbow Snake

(Farancia erytrogramma)

Color Photograph: Jeff Boundy, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma)

Identification: Snake 35 to 66 inches in length. A cylindrical, chunky species with a thick neck and rounded appearance. Body color shiny black or blue-black with 3 red stripes. Belly red with two rows of black spots. Margins of underside with yellow stripes. Tail short with a sharp spine at its tip. Neck thick with a yellow chin and a row or rectangular spots. Scales smooth and anal plate divided.

Geographical Variation:

Rainbow Snake (F. e. erytrogramma): Belly red. Range: Southern Maryland in the north, south along the eastern coast to south Florida, and west to the Mississippi River.

South Florida Rainbow Snake (F. e. seminola): Belly scales heavily marked with black. Range: Restricted to the Lake Okeechobee, Florida region.

Range (see map on left): This species is found in the southern eastern United States from southern Maryland in the north, south along the eastern coast to south Florida, and west to the Mississippi River.

Habitat: The Rainbow Snake is semi-aquatic and is found along the sandy shores of streams, rivers, swamps, and marshes.

Food: Primarily eels, but younger individuals also hunt salamanders and tadpoles.

Behavior: This species is not often seen spending most of its time in burrows in sandy soil or under mats of vegetation near shore. The snake is mostly nocturnal. The Rainbow snake is not aggressive and the spine at the end of the tail is harmless.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 20 to 50 eggs laid in July. The eggs are laid in a cavity in the sandy soil of its habitat.

Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma)

Similar Species:

Garter Snake (Thamnophis spp.)

Similar Species: