Today’s Snake of the Day is the Buttermilk Racer. This snake is one of many racers found in Texas, but is unique in its appearance. Buttermilk Racers often look mainly dark with light speckles, like the snake shown below. However, they can have so many speckles that they look mostly white, like the snake in this […]
Category: Snake Identification
Snake of the Day: Texas Garter Snake
Today’s snake in the spotlight is the Texas Garter Snake – a subspecies of the well known and approachable Garter Snake. Texas Garter Snakes eat amphibians, earthworms, and small fish such as minnows. Their primary habitat is Texas’ tall-grass prairies; less than 1% of these prairies remain in Texas. Originally, Texas Garter Snakes found their prey […]
Snake of the Day: Prairie Kingsnake
Today’s snake of the day is yet another kingsnake! The Prairie Kingsnake is an elusive subspecies rarely seen in Texas. These snakes can be found in East Texas, but are uncommonly seen due to their excellent hiding abilities. If you were to come across a Prairie Kingsnake you could recognize it by its stocky build, […]
Snake of the Day: Desert Kingsnake
Today’s snake of the day is the Desert Kingsnake. This lovely black and yellow snake looks very similar to one of our previous snake stars – the Speckled Kingsnake. What sets this subspecies apart in its markings are the yellow bands and black splotches created by its speckles. The Speckled Kingsnake has a more uniform distribution […]
Snake of the Day: Ringneck Snake
This dazzling, tiny snake is a Ringneck Snake. There are three subspecies of Diadophis punctatus, including the Mississippi, Prairie, and Regal Ringneck Snakes in Texas. The first two are smaller, growing to only 10-12″ in length. These two snakes eat small frogs, newts, insects, and slugs. The Regal Ringneck Snake, pictured below, can grow up to 19″ […]
Snake of the Day: Texas Blind Snake
That’s not an earthworm, it’s a snake! Meet the Texas Blind Snake, Leptotyphlops dulcis. Also known as the Plains Thread Snake. These tiny critters only grow to be 5-8″ in length, and with their pinkish brown coloration they are easy to mistake for earthworms. Texas Blind Snakes are great friends to humans, in that their […]
Snake of the Day: Speckled Racer
Today’s Snake of the Day is the striking Speckled Racer. This lovely snake is a rare find in the United States, in fact, Texas is the only state that is lucky enough to be home to Speckled Racers. Notice the changing colors on the freckles that decorate this snake’s back — they range from turquoise blue to […]
Snake of the Day: Rough Green Snake
Walking through the woods you may catch a glimpse of this snake, but look above your head rather than below your feet! Rough Green Snakes are the bright green tree-climbers of Texas. These snakes are arboreal, meaning that they climb/live in trees. Rough Green Snakes are small and thin, reaching only 22-32″ in length. They […]
Snake of the Day: DeKay’s Brown Snake
Have you ever come across a brown snake with few distinguishing features while gardening? Chances are that you have found just that — a Brown Snake. Brown Snakes are commonly found in gardens. They thrive in the cool, soft soil, and can find their prey in garden beds. Mainly feeding on slugs, Brown Snakes can help to naturally […]
Snake of the Day: Indigo Snake
Maybe you’ve heard of Indigo Snakes, or heard someone tell a tale of a large, black snake wandering the wilderness of South Texas. The Indigo Snake is a bit of a celebrity, famous for its diet of rattlesnakes. This species also eats other animals, including birds, amphibians, and other reptiles. You can recognize an Indigo Snake […]