Description: The three wide, smooth edged, brown to black stripes contrast sharply with the tan ground color. A light stripe runs along each side of the snout, over the eye to the back of the otherwise black head. The belly is bright orange. Scales smooth in 19 rows.

Habitat: Habitats include forests (e.g., tropical wet, moist, and dry), savannas, agricultural landscapes, and edges of wet or marshy areas. At the northern end of the range in Texas, this snake inhabits the semiarid coastal plain, where much of the native thorn-thicket habitat (particularly along arroyos and seasonally filled watercourses and resacas) has been destroyed by agriculture; it survives around buildings and in vacant lots in localized suburban areas. This is a secretive snake that crawls in leaf litter, burrows into soil, or hides under logs or other vegetative debris or trash when inactive.

Range: The range includes low and moderate elevations on the Atlantic slope from southern Texas through eastern Mexic.

Found in these States: TX

Diet: Eats mainly small frogs and toads; also lizards, small snakes, and baby mice.

Reproduction: Lays 2-10 eggs, late April-June. Eggs may hatch in 40 days. Incubation is abbreviated (38-46 days) and hatchlings are similar in appearance to the adult.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, tolerance of modified habitats, and because it is fairly common.

Taxonomy: