Painted Desert Glossy Snake

Arizona elegans philipi

Venom Status:

Non Venomous

 

Characteristics:

This subspecies is a relatively slender, 3 to 5 foot long, smooth scaled, constricting snake with 50 to 83 black-edged, darker brown, dorsal blotches. Scales are in 27 rows. Ground color of tan to light brown. As mentioned earlier, these snakes are easily determined to be glossy snakes, but determining a subspecies is less easy. Count scale rows as well as dorsal blotches and consult your range map.. Sides may darken as age increases, causing lateral spots to become largely obscured. Light belly. Use range as well as appearance to identify subspecies. Oviparous. The hatchlings look much like the adults.

 

Unique Features:

Range map will help you more than determining the overlapping feature of this subspecies

 

Habitat and Diet:

Prefers sandy areas, either open or with sparse vegetation. Primarily feeds on lizards and small rodents.

 

Geographic Range:

TX, AZ, NM