We all know snakes come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. These reptiles are common in most parts of the world, but there are some species of snakes with unusual quirks that are far less common than others.
Keeping this in mind, we are back with a list of some common snakes that are red, black, and white. It means that these particular species of snakes have all three colors present.
No wonder some of them are among the most beautiful snakes in the world. Probably, you have heard of this, “Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, friend of Jack.”
It signifies that the snakes in the list are not harmful to us except for one. We know what you’re thinking of. So, from coral snakes to milk snakes, let’s begin our list of Snakes that are Red, Black, and White.
15 Snakes that are Red, Black, and White
1. California Mountain Kingsnake
Scientific Name | Lampropeltis zonata |
Size | 24-30 inches |
Life Span | up to 20 Years |
Location | western North America |
Toxicity | Not Venomous |
Diet | small snakes, lizards, salamanders, rodents, birds, and eggs |
Let’s begin the list of black, white, red snakes with California Mountain Kingsnake. It is an incredible red snake with black and white bands all over it.
California Mountain Kingsnakes are non-venomous snakes making them good pet. These snakes are mostly found in the mountain regions of western North America.
2. Prairie Kingsnake

Scientific Name | Lampropeltis calligaster |
Size | 30-43 inches |
Life Span | up to 23 Years |
Location | Southeastern United States |
Toxicity | Not Venomous |
Diet | insects, mice, amphibians, small reptiles & snakes |
Prairie Kingsnake is a reddish-brown non-venomous snake with white shade throughout belly and black & red spots all over the body. These snakes are very easy to keep as pet and best for beginners. These snakes mainly feed on small reptiles and amphibians.
3. Sinaloan Milk Snake

Scientific Name | Lampropeltis triangulum sinaloae |
Size | 40 inches |
Life Span | up to 20 Years |
Location | Mexico in the states of Sonora, Sinaloa & Chihuahua |
Toxicity | Not Venomous |
Diet | reptile eggs, lizards, snakes, amphibians, birds and small rodents |
Another beautiful red, white & black snake is Sinaloan Milk Snake. It’s a completely harmless snake that mainly feeds on eggs, birds and small rodents.
They love to stay dry-rocky semi-desert regions. These snakes are predominately in red color with black & white bands all over it.
4. Red-Tailed Coral Snake
Scientific Name | Micrurus mipartitus |
Size | up to 48 inches |
Life Span | 10-15 years |
Location | Panamá, Colombia, Ecuador & Venezuela |
Toxicity | Â Venom is highly neurotoxic |
Diet | other small snakes, skinks and lizards |
Red-Tailed Coral Snake, also known as Many-Banded Coral Snake is one of the highly venomous snakes in the world. It’s venom is highly neurotoxic.
Red-Tailed Coral Snake is black and white in color but has red shade bands on its head and tail. It is very beautiful yet dangerous snake.
5) Arizona Coral Snake
Scientific Name | Micruroides euryxanthus |
Size | 13-24 inches |
Life Span | 10 years |
Location | central and southern Arizona |
Toxicity | Highly venomous |
Diet | blind and black-headed snakes, lizards |
These snakes are widely in red, black, and yellow strips; however, here we are mentioning Arizona coral snakes (also known as Western coral snakes or Sonoran coral snakes) that are in red, black, and white strips.
These snakes are tiny and beautiful but don’t misjudge them.
Their venom is similar to that of the cobra, but due to their small size, they deliver significantly less venom that is not enough to pose as much danger to humans. Arizona Coral Snakes are mainly found in arid and semiarid regions.
6) Eastern Milk SnakeÂ
Scientific Name | Lampropeltis triangulum |
Size | 24-36 inches |
Life Span | 15-20 years |
Location | Maine to Ontario in the north to Alabama and North Carolina in the South |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | Lizards, and small rodents |
Let’s jump on to the sixth red, black, white snake, i.e., Eastern Milk Snake. In the southern areas of its region, most Eastern Milk Snakes are found in red, black, and white patterns.
These snakes are non-venomous and have smooth and shiny scales. Eastern Milk Snakes are commonly found in rural areas or open habitats like forest edges. They primarily feed on mice or other small rodents, birds, eggs etc. Eastern Milk Snakes are larger than venomous coral snakes.
7) Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snake
Scientific Name | Sonora palarostris |
Size | 17 inches (maximum length) |
Life Span | 10+ years |
Location | the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | various invertebrates, including insects, spiders, scorpions, & centipedes |
Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snakes are non-venomous snakes from the genus Sonora and the family Colubridae. These desert snakes are native to the Sonoran Desert in North America.Â
Most people get confused between Sonoran Shovel-Nosed Snake and Arizona Coral Snake due to their black, yellow (or whitish), and red bands. But the common difference is their snout.Â
Coral snake has a black snout, while Sonoran Shovel-Nosed snake has a yellow snout. Another difference is the color of their belly.Â
Coral snakes have patterns on their bellies, while Shovel-Nosed snake has solid yellow belly. It’s good to know the primary differences between these two snakes because, unlike Sonoran Shovel-Nosed snakes, coral snakes are venomous. Â
8) Western Milk Snake
Scientific Name | Lampropeltis gentilis |
Size | 13.8-53.9 inches |
Life Span | 15-20 years |
Location | Montana and South Dakota, south to Louisiana and west to Arizona |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | reptile eggs, lizards, snakes, amphibians, birds and small rodents |
Western Milk Snakes, also known as Pale Milk Snakes, are the species of Milk Snakes commonly found in Grasslands, Limestone, and other rocky areas.
These tri-colored snakes have a band comprised of black, white, and red or orange colors. Like other Milk snakes, these snakes primarily feed on mice, small lizards, and other small snakes. Also, they are non-venomous.
9) Scarlet KingsnakeÂ

Scientific Name | Lampropeltis elapsoides |
Size | 14-20 inches |
Life Span | 12-13 years |
Location | throughout Georgia |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | mice and other small rodents |
Another member of the milk snakes that are red, white, and black is Scarlet Kingsnake, also known as Scarlet Kings Milk Snake. Like other milk snakes, Scarlet Kingsnakes are non-venomous and mainly feed on mice and other small rodents.
These snakes also have tri-colored bands all over the body, consisting of black, white, or yellow and red colors. At the time of birth, scarlet kingsnake has white, black, and red banding, and over a time period, they develop varying shades of yellow.Â
Must Read: What colors do Snakes see? Snake Vision
10) Mexican Milk SnakeÂ
Scientific Name | Lampropeltis annulata |
Size | 24-30 inches |
Life Span | 12-20 years |
Location | northeastern Mexico in Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Nuevo León |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | rodents & lizards |
Mexican Milk Snake, also known as Tamaulipas Milk Snake, is a species of Milksnake native to the hot semiarid regions of northeastern Mexico. These snakes have a slightly different pattern with narrow bands of yellow or white and black colors.
The popular phrase, “Red on yellow kill a fellow. Red on black venom lack,” doesn’t apply to Milk snakes, as they are non-venomous.
11) Miami Corn Snake
Scientific Name | Pantherophis guttatus |
Size | 24-51 inches |
Life Span | up to 23 years |
Location | Southeastern and central United States |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | rodents |
The corn snake is a species of North American rat snake that hunts its food through constriction. Corn snakes have been named like this as they’re primarily present near grain stores, where it hunts mice and rats that eat harvested crops.
Since they’re not venomous, this snake species benefits humans by assisting in controlling populations of wild pests. Hence, further protecting our crops and spreading of diseases.
Miami snake has a silver body with red-orange patches on it. Their age expectancy can exceed 23 years but only in captivity.Â
Their food includes young mice, bird’s eggs, white-footed mice or some other amphibians and reptiles. Corn snakes are one of the most popular pet snakes throughout the world.Â
12) Central American Milk Snake
Scientific Name | Lampropeltis triangulum |
Size | 14-72 inches |
Life Span | up to 20 years |
Location | Southeastern extreme of Canada through the eastern half of the United States |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | birds, bird eggs, lizards, snake eggs |
Central American milk snake is a species of kingsnake that are found in North and Central American regions of the world. Milk snakes are found in forested areas, near swamps, rocky slopes and beaches. They have smooth, shiny scales predominantly of red, black and white colors.
Milk snakes have only tiny teeth and are non-venomous. Hence, makes them harmless for human beings. Milk snakes hunt down crickets, insects, slugs, earthworms, lizards, bird’s eggs, frogs, fish and their snakes.
Male ones are larger than female milk snakes, but female ones are bulkier than males. They are also popular pets throughout the world.Â
9) South American Milk Snake

Scientific Name | Lamproletis micropholis |
Size | 14-69 inches |
Life Span | up to 20 years |
Location | Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | bird’s eggs, frogs, fish |
The South American milk snake, commonly called the Ecuadorian milk snake, is a species of milk snake that is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama and Venezuela.
They possess significantly three colors, red, black and mustard, in which alternating red and mustard bands surrounded with black strips can be seen. Milk snakes are not venomous and hence harmless to human beings. They feed on small rodents, bird’s eggs, frogs, fish and their eggs as well.
Milk snakes have a size of 14 to 69 inches. Male and female ones grow to the same length, but females are slightly bulkier than males. They are also among the most popular pet snakes in the world.
10) Pueblan Milk Snake

Scientific Name | Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli |
Size | 36-48 inches |
Life Span | up to 20 years |
Location | southern Puebla, eastern Morelos and northern Oaxaca, Mexico |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | mice, rats, birds, lizards, frogs |
Pueblan milk snake also called Campbell’s milk snake, is one of the most beautiful snakes with vivid color variations. They have black, red, and white color bands all over the body.
Not only this, Pueblan milk snakes have extensive white bands giving them distinguishing characteristics from other milk snakes. They rarely bite.
Their diet comprises a wide range, including mice, rats, birds, lizards, frogs, and other snakes, including venomous snakes. They are non-venomous and can grow up to 48 inches.
11) Florida Scarlet Snake
Scientific Name | Cemophora coccinea |
Size | 14-20 inches |
Life Span | 20+ years |
Location | throughout Florida |
Toxicity | not venomous |
Diet | small rodents |
Let’s end the list of snakes that are red, white, and black with the Florida Scarlet snake, also known as the Northern Scarletsnake. They have skinny bodies with band markings in black, white, and red colors. They have shiny scales and are non-venomous.Â
Florida Scarlet Snakes are not dangerous to humans or pets and feed on small rodents.
Here, we conclude our article on “Snakes that are Red, Black, and White.” Most of them are from the Milk Snake species. We hope you like our post. We will be back with another interesting post. Till then, stay tuned with us and read the articles mentioned below.
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Monty is a founder of How It See. Being a life science student in a reputed university, he always wonders about an eclectic correlation between science and nature. After engaging in various college projects, Monty determined to share all his knowledge with you as a writer. In the meantime, he loves to research and study about the various types of colorful animals.