How To Identify Black Snakes With White Rings?

You must have seen a snake once in your lifetime. It is the most common reptile found in nature. This limbless creature is known for its long, slender body and poisonous behavior. Black snakes with white rings sound fascinating, don’t they?

But these snakes are known for their incredible appearance and deadly nature. In the following article, we will learn about these remarkable creatures.

How To Identify Black Snakes With White Rings?

Snakes are known for their slender, shiny bodies and unique appearances. They occur in many colors, like black, red, yellow, and many more. In this article, we are discussing black snakes with white rings.

These snakes have black bodies with striking white ring-like structures on their bodies. They are often mistaken for other snakes due to their similar appearances.

If you ever encounter these snakes, you don’t have to worry about them because they are not as aggressive as they appear to be. Below are the names of black snakes with rings.

1. Bandy-Bandy

Bandy-Bandy
Bandy-Bandy | Credit: Michael Barritt (abc.net.au)
People know Bandy-bandy or the Hoop Snake for its striking black and white rings and glossy appearance. This Australian endemic species is one of the most venomous snake species in the world.
Adults can reach a length of 50–80 cm. They live under rocks, logs, and certain debris and don’t prefer water bodies. Although they are venomous but still not considered harmful as they are not aggressive.

They like to feed on blind snakes and can survive without food and water for many days. They are oviparous and lay 5 to 13 eggs during their breeding season.


2. Suzhen’s krait

Suzhen's krait
Suzhen’s krait | Credit: Chen Z-N, Shi S-C, Vogel G, Ding L, Shi J-S (2021) commons.wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)

The snake experts named the Bungarus suzhenae after the snake goddess, Bai suzhen, of the Chinese folktale legend of the white snake. This snake primarily inhabits rice fields and streams in southwestern China and northern Myanmar.

They have a striking black-and-white crossband appearance and are highly venomous. Recently, researchers discovered them in China, and they are useful in creating antivenom for medical purposes.


3. Butler’s Wolf Snake

Arthur Lennox Butler named Butler’s wolf snake, a medium-sized, non-venomous snake with a black body and white rings found commonly in southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia.

People often mistake it for a krait because of its appearance, but it is not as long as a krait.


4. California King Snake

The California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) is quite a long snake, with sizes up to 2.5 to 3.5 feet. Many morph forms of this non-venomous snake reside in the western United States and northern Mexico.

They are opportunistic feeders and usually feed on rodents and small animals. They are immune to rattlesnake bites and are considered their prey. It is called the “king” snake for its ability to hunt and eat other snakes.

They are famous among snake enthusiasts due to their striking appearance and different morphs, which make them suitable for being a pet.


5. Eastern King Snake

These snakes inhabit pine forests to suburban areas throughout the eastern United States, Georgia, and South Carolina. They have shiny, smooth-scaled black bodies with yellow or white chain-like rings.

They lay around 10–24 eggs during the summer and are diurnal. Additionally, they are immune to pit vipers such as copperheads, etc.

In conclusion, we can say that these snakes have both distinctive and dangerous traits. Some species of these snakes are immune to the venom of other snakes, like pit vipers and rattlesnakes.

Some snakes are very popular as pets because of their incredible appearance and non-poisonous nature. So if you are a snake enthusiast, you have to know about these snakes.


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