‹ Compare two snakes
Great Plains Ratsnake vs Prairie Kingsnake
Tap a part to see it on both. Tap it again to turn it off.
(c) Brad Banner, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Great Plains Ratsnake
Pantherophis emoryi
Non-venomousAlex, no rights reserved
Prairie Kingsnake
Lampropeltis calligaster
Non-venomousThe quick way to tell
Look at the top of the head. The Great Plains Ratsnake has a dark spear-point mark between the eyes and a dark stripe through each eye. The Prairie Kingsnake lacks the spear-point mark, and its belly is yellowish rather than black-and-white checkered.
Head ★ This settles it
A dark spear-point or V-shaped mark on top of the head, its point between the eyes. A dark brown stripe runs from the eye back onto the neck.
Head barely wider than the neck, often with an arrowhead-shaped mark on top.
Pattern
Gray to light brown with 25–50 large dark brown or reddish-brown blotches, each edged in black, plus smaller blotches along the sides. Belly white with bold black squares like a checkerboard. Scales are weakly keeled (ridged).
Many small, dark-edged brown or reddish blotches down the back, with smaller alternating spots on the sides; may fade with age.
Eyes
A dark brown stripe runs through each eye and back toward the neck.
Round pupils.
Pits
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
None. There is no pit between the eye and the nostril.
Tail
The underside of the tail has dark stripes. It vibrates its tail when alarmed.
Plain, pointed tail with no rattle; it may vibrate it when alarmed.
What it does
Mostly active at night, hiding under rocks and logs by day. It climbs well and can swim. When alarmed it vibrates its tail and may bite; it kills prey by constriction.
Very secretive; often vibrates its tail and may bite or musk when grabbed.
Where it lives
Central and southern US from southwestern Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas west through Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma to Colorado, New Mexico and Texas, with an isolated group in eastern Utah; also northern Mexico.
Central US from southern Iowa, southeastern Nebraska and Kansas south to eastern Texas and Louisiana, east through Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and western Tennessee; just reaches northern Mississippi and far northern Alabama.