Description: Another slender, precisely marked, 3-striped snake. Dorsal color is black to brown. Bright yellow to gold vertebral stripe and a pale bluish-white lateral stripe on each side. Venter is pale blue. Prominent pale blue to white vertical preorbital bar. 19 scale rows and an undivided anal plate. Ovoviviparous. Neonates similar to adults. Bluish preorbital marking and bluish lateral stripes will help with identification.

Habitat: This semiaquatic snake occurs in a wide range of habitats, usually in the vicinity of streams, lakes, ponds, sloughs, ditches, swamps, and marshes. Sometimes it occurs in terrestrial habitats, but generally close to water.

Range: Along the Gulf Coast of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Found in these States: LA | MS | TX

Diet: It feeds on earthworms, crayfish, lizards, fishes, frogs, and tadpoles.

Reproduction: It is a live-bearing species. Give birth to 4 to 34 young.

Status: Listed as Least Concern because it has a wide distribution, large population, and is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: