Description: This racer is slate gray, pale gray-blue, very pale green, or pale brown above, very pale grayish-white with occasional darker clouding below. Chin and throat lighter. The hatchlings are lighter than the adults (often pinkish or reddish-brown)) and usually strongly patterned with darker dorsal saddles Scales are smooth, in 17 rows to and beyond midbody, and 15 rows posteriorly. Anal scale is divided. Pupil round. Eye usually reddish.

Habitat: Habitats encompass a wide range of lowland and montane areas, including deserts, prairies, sandhills, shrublands, woodlands, forests, canyons, streamsides, and semi-agricultural areas. This snake is absent from the driest deserts and highest mountains (subalpine zones and higher). It commonly climbs shrubs and small trees. When inactive, it hides underground, in crevices, or under surface cover. Adults often hibernate communally, sometimes partly submerged in water.

Range: southern mainland Florida and the Upper Florida Keys.

Found in these States: FL

Diet: Primarily feeds on lizards, frogs, baby turtles, small snakes, and the nestlings of ground dwelling birds or mammals.

Reproduction: Eggs are laid in underground tunnels or burrows, rotting stumps, sawdust piles, or under rocks. Oviposition sites may be up to at least several hundred meters from the usual home range. In Florida, females lay around 1-36 white oval eggs, which typically hatch between May and October. The eggs are often laid in loose debris such as leaf litter, sand, or rotting logs.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a broad range of habitats, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: