- Size:
Length in Kansas up to 17 1/2 inches.
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Range:
Found throughout the eastern three-quarters of Kansas; absent from extreme
southeastern Kansas and the High Plains except along the aquatic corridor of the Arkansas
River valley. |
- Description:
Harmless. Rough scales. A small reptile, often mistaken for a Garter Snake because,
it has three dorsal stripes down the body. Unlike Garter Snakes (and the Western Ribbon
Snake), the Lined Snake has a double row of black spots down the middle of the belly.
Young look like tiny adults.
- Habits:
Active from April to October; prefers to stay beneath rocks or debris on the
hillsides of open prairies and woodland edge, but can often be found beneath trash in the
middle of small towns and cities. Breeding occurs in both spring and fall; from 2-12 young
are born in August. Feeds on earthworms.
Other Kansas snakes
with lengthwise stripes
Click here
for information on precautions against being bitten by snakes
and what to do if you have been bitten by one.
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