Eastern ribbon snake

The eastern ribbon snake gets its name from its very thin body. At maturity, it grows to between 18 and 86 cm in length. It is a slender, black snake with a yellow mid-back stripe and one on each side. A brown stripe of one or two rows of scales extends onto the sides of the belly. The rest of the belly is a greenish-white color. It also has two rows of black spots between the back and side stripes. It also has a long tail that is about a third of the length of its body. The labial scales around the mouth of the snake are unmarked and uniformly bright yellow or white. A white or light-yellow bar borders the front of the eyes. Juveniles are colored like adults. Some aspects of the eastern ribbon snake make it different from a close relative, the garter snake. The eastern has a much thinner body than a garter snake. Its tail makes up about one-third of its body length. This snake has stripes on the third and fourth scale rows. The eastern ribbon snake has pure white lips and a mark of white color in front of its eyes. This snake is not venomous.