Description: Dorsal and side stripes usually well-defined. Dorsal stripe tan, yellow orange or white. Body brown, light brown to olive. Frequently red spots or blotches and a double row of alternating black spots on the sides between the stripes. Belly bluish gray or greenish gray. Scales keeled.

Habitat: Found in many environments-grassland, woodland, scrub, chaparral and forest. Lives in or near ponds, marshes, roadside ditches, streams, woods, farms and city lots.

Range: Rio Grand Valley from NC New Mexico south to vicinity of El Paso, W Texas; disjunct populations in NE New Mexico.

Found in these States: NM| TX

Diet: Eats amphibians, small mammals, lizards, earthworms and fish

Reproduction: Live bearing, Mate in the spring, and can have 3 to 85 young.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its extremely wide distribution, presumed large population, and because populations are unlikely to be declining.

Taxonomy: