Harmless · Native to the United States

Western ribbon snake

Thamnophis proximus (Say, 1823)

Also called western ribbonsnake, orange-striped ribbon snake
Data updated October 2026

Slender western ribbon snake with a bright orange back stripe and pale side stripes, resting in grass near water
Fig. 1 — Adult in waterside grass, showing the orange back stripe on a dark, very slender body.
Close view of a western ribbon snake's head showing the pale spots on top of the head and plain lip scales
Fig. 2 — The pale spots on top of the head and unmarked lips help separate it from garter snakes.

At a glance

A very slender, striped snake of marshes, pond edges and wet ditches in the central US. It hunts frogs and small fish by day and escapes quickly into water or thick plants. It is harmless to people.

01

Identification

This is a long, thin snake with a dark black or brown body and three light stripes. The stripe down the middle of the back is usually orange, though it can be yellow or white. A pale stripe runs along each side, low on the body on the third and fourth scale rows. The belly is plain whitish or greenish-white, and the tail makes up about a third of the total length. The scales are keeled, giving the skin a slightly rough look.

  1. 01Orange back stripe. A thin, bright stripe from head to tail on a very dark body.
  2. 02Pale head spots, plain lips. A pair of light spots on top of the head that often touch, and no black bars on the lip scales.
  3. 03Very long tail. The tail is about one-third of the body length, much longer than in most garter snakes.

Commonly confused with

02

Size

01 ft2 ft3 ft4 ft Typical adult · about 28 in (71 cm)

Adults usually measure about 16 to 42 inches (41–107 cm). Sources give upper limits from about 35 inches to just over 48 inches (123 cm), depending on the region. It is a thin snake for its length. Newborns are about 6 to 8 inches (15–20 cm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Western ribbon snake among plants at the edge of a marsh
Fig. 3 — Thick plants along the edge of permanent water are its main habitat.

Western ribbon snakes live in the central United States, from the Mississippi River valley in Illinois west to Nebraska and south through Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas, with populations continuing into Mexico and Central America. Several subspecies are recognized across this range. They stay close to water: marshes, swamps, ponds, slow rivers, wet prairies and wet meadows, and roadside or farm ditches that hold water for long periods. They like sunny spots with plenty of plant cover.

State guides: Texas · Oklahoma

04

Diet & predators

Frogs are the main food. Western ribbon snakes also take tadpoles, salamanders, small fish and the occasional insect or small lizard. They hunt actively by day along the water’s edge, chasing prey through plants and shallow water and swallowing it alive.

Feeds on

  • Frogs and tadpoles
  • Salamanders
  • Small fish
  • Insects and small lizards (occasionally)

Preyed on by

  • Herons and other large wading birds
  • Medium-sized mammals
  • Other snakes
Small frog sitting at the edge of a pond
Prey — frogs.
Great blue heron wading in shallow water
Predator — herons and other wading birds.

05

Behavior & seasons

Ribbon snakes are quick and wary. They are active by day, often basking on plant piles or low bushes at the water’s edge, and they dive or slip into dense cover the moment they are disturbed. They swim and climb well. If picked up, they may bite and smear a foul-smelling musk, but they are harmless.

They are active from spring through fall and spend the winter in rock crevices, burrows and at the bases of rock outcrops near their wetlands.

06

Reproduction

Western ribbon snakes give birth to live young. Mating takes place in spring, around April or May in Illinois, and young are born from July into October. Litters usually hold about 10 to 15 young, though counts from 4 to 34 have been reported. Newborns are on their own right away.

07

Conservation

The western ribbon snake is not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Louisiana considers its populations stable, and it is locally common in Illinois. Because it depends on wetlands, draining and plowing of marshes and wet prairies is the main threat where it declines.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages