Brown is a convenient color to have for a snake. It’s dull and doesn’t attract much attention, which, in turn, lets the snake camouflage itself to either hide from predators or wait for prey. On the other hand, while white is a noticeable color, it surprisingly meshes well with the surroundings. Paired together, brown and white snakes know how to hide them.
Today we’ll be talking about these brown and white snakes. We’ll discuss the common 10 brown and white snakes and then list the rest. So, here we go:
10+ Brown and White Snakes
1) Common Krait
We’ll be starting off the list of brown and white snakes with the Common Krait. It is a highly venomous snake and one of the Big Four of India, i.e., the four venomous snakes that cause the highest death in the country. The venom of this snake is very potent and contains powerful neurotoxins.
The common krait is a fairly large and slender snake with dark brown skin and white stripes around the body. The head is completely brown and doesn’t have any stripes. The front of the snake is also stripe-less and uniformly white.
Common Name: Bengal Krait
Scientific name: Bungarus caeruleus
Size: 2 ft 11 in – 5 ft 9 in
Location: India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal
2) California Kingsnake
California Kingsnake is a nonvenomous snake species very popular as a pet.
The species has several color variants, which is another reason for it being very popular among reptile breeders. One of the color variants is brown as a background color with white stripes around the snake.
There has also been a specimen found in San Diego country of the USA, which has a brown body with a single white stripe running parallel with the length.
- Scientific name: Lampropeltis californiae
- Size: 76 – 107 centimeters
- Location: Western United States, northern Mexico
3) Bandy-Bandy
Bandy-Bandy is a venomous snake species endemic to Australia. The venom of this snake is potentially lethal to humans as it carries dangerous neurotoxins. The snake also has a special condition where the toxins in its venom change with time as a way to side-step its prey, gaining immunity from the venom.
The bandy-bandy snake has a smooth and glossy body. It has dark brown as a background color with white stripes around the body. It has small eyes with yellow irises and black, round pupils.
- Common Name: Hoop Snake
- Scientific name: Vermicella annulata
- Size: 50 – 60 centimeters (20 – 24 inches)
- Location: East coast of Australia
4) Indian Wolf Snake
Indian Wolf Snake is a native of the Indian subcontinent. The snake is average-sized but girthy and closely resembles its Indian colleague, the Common Krait. The Indian wolf snake is nonvenomous, but the common krait is venomous, and the harmless snake mimics the latter in the form of Batesian Mimicry.
The Indian wolf snake has several color variations, including dark brown with pale yellow patterns. Another color scheme of this species is brown skin with white stripes on it. The ventral side is paler and lacks any markings.
- Scientific name: Lycodon aulicus
- Size: 71 centimeters
- Location: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
5) Corn Snake
Corn Snake is a snake species native to the United States. This nonvenomous snake is often mistaken for the Eastern Copperhead snake, which is venomous and resembles the former.
Corn Snake has multiple bright colors to show off. The colors include a vibrant orange, yellow and brown on the dorsal side. The ventral side is white with block-like black patterns on it. In another morph of the snake, the ventral side is uniformly white.
- Common Name: American Corn Snake
- Scientific name: Pantherophis guttatus
- Size: 61 – 182 centimeters
- Location: Southeastern United States
6) Desert Striped Whipsnake
The Desert Striped Whipsnake is an average-sized and slender snake residing in the grasslands of the USA and Mexico. The nonvenomous snake is very fast in its movement and alert to its surroundings. It also feeds on venomous rattlesnakes.
The body of the desert-striped whipsnake ranges from dark brown to muddy gray. It has a thin stripe of white running along the length of the body. In some specimens, the eponymous stripe is cream-colored. The belly side is completely white or cream-colored.
- Scientific name: Masticophis taeniatus
- Size: 76 – 183 centimeters (30 – 72 inches)
- Location: Western United States, northern Mexico
7) Sharp-Tailed Snake
Sharp-Tailed Snake is a species of nonvenomous snake which has a distinct sharp spine at its tail, hence the name. The spine is the protruding tip of the last vertebrae of the snake. It’s not harmful or dangerous but rather used to keep the food still as the snake feeds.
The back side of the sharp-tailed snake is colorful with orange and brown. There have also been some specimens with pink and peachy-orange skin. The front of the snake is white, with separate black bars running across the length of the body.
- Common Name: Sharptail Snake, Brown Snake, Gentle Brown Snake, Oregon Worm Snake, Pacific Brown snake, Pacific Ground Snake, and Purple-Tailed Snake
- Scientific name: Contia tenuis
- Size: 30 – 46 centimeters (12 – 18 inches)
- Location: Western United States, British Columbia of Canada
8) Ball Python
The Ball Python gets its name from the way it tends to curl into a ball when stressed or threatened. It’s a nonvenomous constrictor snake which is also the smallest of the African pythons. Ball pythons are very popular as pets.
The ball python has various color morphs that are frequently used in breeding by reptile breeders. One of the color morphs of this snake includes brown, gold, and white as the primary colors.
The back of the snake is brown with golden-yellow patterns and occasional white markings. The front is completely white without any pattern.
- Common Name: Royal Python
- Scientific name: Python regius
- Size: 6 feet
- Location: Senegal, Mali, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria through Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Uganda
9) Eastern Ribbon Snake
We have another nonvenomous snake on our list of brown and white snakes. The Eastern Ribbon Snake is a species of small and thin snake. Its slender body is the reason for its name. It is also one of the snake species where some females are known to eat their young.
The eastern ribbon snake does have a few colors on its body. The back of the body has dark brown, yellow, and pale yellow or white in narrow parallel stripes across the body. The front side is completely white. The mouth of the snake is also white, as well as the borders around its eyes.
- Common Name: Common Ribbon Snake
- Scientific name: Thamnophis sauritus sauritus
- Size: 18 – 86 centimeters (7 – 34 inches)
- Location: Southeastern United States
10) White-Bellied Rat Snake
The last entry on this brown and white snakes list is the White-Bellied Rat Snake. While a nonvenomous snake, it has a habit of hissing when under threat or frightened. It also is known for getting still and keeping its neck erect in threatening situations.
True to its name, the white-bellied snake has a pure, uniform white on the underside of its body. The back of the body is brown with minute black markings. Its eyes are big and dark brown with black, round irises.
- Common Name: Brown Rat Snake
- Scientific name: Ptyas fusca
- Size: 6.6 – 9.8 feet
- Location: Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore
Other Brown and White Snakes
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11) Pacific Gopher Snake
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12) Piebald Ball Python
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13) North American Racer (Juvenile)
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14) Common Garter Snake
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15) Gray Rat Snake
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16) Keeled Rat Snake
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17) Indian Egg Eater
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18) Chicken Snake
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19) Red-Sided Garter Snake
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20) Many-Banded Krait (*)
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21) Common Bridle Snake
(*) denotes venomous.
These are the brown and white snakes in the world. Of course, there are still some which are yet to be discovered or some unique color morph of a species. If we missed any of them, let us know. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to mention your thoughts on this piece. You can also check out some of our similar articles on snakes and other animals.
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Anamika has a fascination with all living things. Being a Zoology student, she loves to know new interesting things about animals. She’s also a very keen fan of manga and anime. Writing is her passion, and writing about her favorite things is her boost of serotonin.