The geography of New Mexico is diverse. It’s unlike anywhere else in the world with its kilometers of white sand desert, ancient rocky mountains, and deep, black valleys.
Different types of snakes in New Mexico are among the thousands of animals that call the terrain of the Land of Enchantment home.
New Mexico boasts one of the most varied snake populations in the country, home to roughly 55 different kinds of snakes.
Though, like nearly all other snakes, only a few are poisonous and have little desire to interact with humans.
There are snakes in every region of New Mexico. More snakes are observed in the mountains, deserts, and along trails than in residential areas because most stay away from people and populated areas.
A couple of the most fascinating types of snakes in New Mexico might be common where you live.
1. Northern Trans-Pecos Rat Snake
There are only a few locations where the Northern Trans-Pecos Rat Snake may be found, and New Mexico is one of them.
These types of snakes in New Mexico are confined to certain regions, making them generally difficult to locate.
These snakes often have bodies that range in color from tan-orange or yellow to light olive, with keeled scales and brown spots that form an H shape across their backs. They may also have stripes that are black or dark brown.
The Trans-Pecos Rat Snake prefers to live in dens like rocky outcrops, brushy slopes, and desert flats.
They eat rodents, birds, and smaller lizards. When confined, they are able to survive on rodents.
2. Red-tailed Green Ratsnake
The red-tailed green rat snake is also one of the types of snakes in New Mexico. Because these species are arboreal, a taller setup will be necessary to meet their natural climbing requirements as pets.
The green rat snake is an extremely long, thin snake. When they behave defensively, their typical green hue with black coloring between the scales will stand out more.
In spite of the moniker, their tails are typically more lavender or grayish-blue in color, though some are truly red. They have vivid blue tongues as well.
They move around in tropical forests, which include riverine forests, swamps, mangroves, and bamboo. Actually, they are native to Southeast Asia, an area rich in tropical woods.
They virtually solely consume bats, birds, and their eggs in their natural environments.
These arboreal types of snakes in New Mexico will dangle from the trees, seize their meal in midair, suffocate it, and then consume it whole.
Owing to their innate ability to climb, they can even enter bird nests and consume the young inside.
3. Glossy Snake
With their small, pointed heads and similar coloring, these slow-moving, nocturnal creatures resemble gopher snakes.
Their names originate from their fading, tan to light brown bodies with brown streaks running their length.
Glossy snakes usually have cream or pale yellow undersides with shiny-looking scales that give them an almost glossy appearance.
These types of snakes in New Mexico make excellent pets because they are calm and rather large in size.
They prefer to live in arid environments, including grasslands, chaparral, deserts, sagebrush, and pine-juniper forests.
Their primary food source is vertebrates, including tiny snakes, rodents, lizards, birds, and insects.
They swallow their victim entirely after choking and confining them with their strong grip.
4. Racer Black
Despite not being poisonous, Northern Black Racers can occasionally become quite hostile when they are on the defensive. It won’t intentionally try to harm you if you don’t startle or corner it.
Although black racers typically do not perceive human threats, you should not give them any justification for using self-defense.
If there is no venom in a bite, it can nevertheless cause discomfort and be prone to infection. They will elevate their heads in response to threats.
When it comes to being kept as pets, these types of snakes in New Mexico are not very gentle and will hardly ever become used to being handled.
In addition to their inclination for extensive movement, black racers are not suited for a tank or terrarium environment.
Northern Black Racers’ huge, spherical, slender, solid black bodies feature a fading blue underside and a white chin.
Their head is nearly the same breadth as their body, and their scales have a matte, smooth appearance.
Certain black racers may also have spots on their back and be blue-gray, brown, dark gray, or rust in color.
These types of snakes in New Mexico can be found in brushy environments such as grasslands, former fields, ridges, rock ledges, and agricultural areas.
Small birds, frogs, toads, rodents, and smaller snakes are among their prey. Occasionally, they might also consume insects and other invertebrates, like butterflies or moth larvae.
5. Sonoran Whipsnake
If you try to approach a Sonoran Whipsnake, be prepared for a swift bite. Because of their strong aggression, they are not well in captivity.
Their bodies are long and lean, with gray-blue or olive hues that transition to yellow as they approach the tail.
Additionally, they contain a few stripes on either side that are paler in color.
This species features circular, black pupils and huge, round, yellow eyes on a wide head. Their smooth scales extend to a split anal plate in seventeen rows.
Foothills, steep canyons, mountains with dense vegetation, prickly desert brushland, mountain pine-oak forests, riparian regions, and any place with shrubs, cottonwood, juniper, pine-oak woods, Palo, and open spaces near streams are among the places where Whipsnakes can be found.
They are typically found at elevations between 2,000 and 6,000 feet. These types of snakes in New Mexico love to eat birds and lizards, but they especially prefer their nestlings.
6. Coachwhip
The theory goes that coachwhips are among the fastest snakes in the United States. Additionally, they rank among the longest types of snakes in the New Mexico area.
Coachwhips are quite thin, with a characteristic black or dark brown head and ombre coloring that runs from their backs towards their tail, where lighter browns and tans are seen.
Their big eyes allow them excellent vision as they quickly search the area for prey.
They can be found in any dry area, including chaparral, prairies, farmlands, deserts, shrublands, and juniper grasslands in creek valleys. They may also be seen wandering through vegetated agricultural regions.
They mostly consume rodents, frogs, lizards, spiders, birds and their eggs, and even tiny, poisonous snakes.
If they come into contact with a rattlesnake, they have also been known to consume it.
7. Desert-striped Whipsnake
The normal color of Desert Striped Whipsnakes is black, dark brown, or gray, with a blue or olive tinge to their skin. They have two thin, pale yellow stripes running the entire length of their backs.
From the head to the tail, their undersides typically have a creamy yellow or white color that fades to a coral red.
Numerous environments, including grasslands, canyons, sagebrush flats, shrublands, pine-oak woods, and juniper woodlands, are home to them. But generally speaking, they favor mountains, flatlands, and rocky streams.
These types of snakes in New Mexico consume insects, birds, amphibians, tiny animals, and their eggs. It also consumes other snakes, especially rattlesnakes.
8. Ring-Necked Snake
Slender in build, ringneck snakes have smooth scales that can be black, bluish-black, greenish-gray, or olive in hue. Typically, their undersides are red, orange, or yellow.
These types of snakes in New Mexico can be found in a wide range of settings as long as there are enough spots for them to hide and seek cover.
They enjoy excavating dens beneath woody detritus. Their primary food sources include amphibians, mollusks, and terrestrial worms.
9. Hognose Snake
The noses of hooknose snakes are somewhat more erect and pointed than those of hognose snakes, which makes them highly intriguing.
They also emit tiny clicking noises, which some people describe as tooting noises.
These types of snakes in New Mexico typically have smooth scales, dark brown patches running the length of their backs, and a gray or gray-brown color.
They have cream or pale yellow undersides. They resemble the Hognose in having an upturned snout, as suggested by its name.
Because they burrow throughout the night, these snakes are more frequently discovered beneath rocks. They prefer to reside in sandy areas close to a reliable water source.
They usually eat arthropods, such as spiders, scorpions, and centipedes, although they occasionally eat the eggs of other reptiles and smaller snakes and lizards.
10. Mexican Hognose Snake
The skin of the Mexican Hognose Snake is a pale tan, occasionally orange, with hazy brown spots that eventually become stripes as they reach the tail.
Their undersides are typically light orange in color and have a black checkered pattern on them.
Their natural habitats include sand dunes, grasslands, gravelly prairies next to streams, arid mountain canyon basins, open riparian forests, and sophisticated caverns.
They will consume frogs, rodents, and lizards as their primary food sources. They can feast in peace because they are immune to any toxins that these toads may emit.
11. Plains Hognose Snake
Plain hognose snake is next on our blog list of types of snakes in New Mexico.
Since they are docile and acclimatize to human contact, Plains Hognose snakes are among the greatest pet snakes for aficionados.
As their name implies, they also have a relatively petite stature and a charming face with a little snout.
These worm-like snakes in New Mexico have pug-like faces and short noses. Their bodies are often speckled with brown spots and have a light yellow or tan coloration.
They are native to arid regions with little flora and an abundance of pebbles or stones, and they are well known for being rather simple to care for in terrariums. They like sandy places with room to burrow and like to dig.
Even deadly toads and frogs are favorites of hog-nosed snakes. They will also consume insects, salamanders, small animals, and lizards.
12. Eastern Hognose Snake
The Hognose snake is regarded as one of the greatest companion snakes for enthusiasts due to its lack of fuss and comfort level with human contact.
They continue to be modest as well. We all adore these worm-like snakes because of their round heads and upward-facing snouts.
They have dark brown speckled patterns on their head and occasionally on their body. They are primarily dark gray or olive-green, but some are yellow, tan, or light brown.
They favor living in fields, farmland, sandy forests, and coastal regions where they can find food sources such as salamanders, frogs, insects, birds, and small mammals.
These types of snakes in New Mexico may easily enter the burrows of their prey by using their hog-like nose.
13. Texas Nightsnake
These snakes can be recognized by their dark brown or gray patches and their tan or light gray color.
Their undersides are unmarked, and their dorsal scales are smooth. Their eyes feature a vertically elliptical pupil and are copper in color.
You can locate them there since they favor semi-arid environments with rocky soil. Their primary food sources in this area are soft insects without an exoskeleton and smaller snakes.
14. Grey Banded Kingsnake
These stunning types of snakes in New Mexico have a gray body with black borders and orange patches that alternate, giving them a striped appearance.
Grey Banded Kingsnakes are found in hot, dry settings, primarily near rocky or mountainous terrain.
They prefer hiding in the earth or inside rocky cracks to escape the intense heat.
These snakes mostly consume lizards, although they occasionally consume small rodents, frogs, other snakes, and the eggs of ground-nesting birds.
15. California Kingsnake
One of the most popular snakes kept as pets is kingsnake. They do not become overly large and are rather docile.
The typical color of California kingsnakes is black or dark brown with white or occasionally pale yellow stripes.
They may vary from person to person, but generally speaking, they appear to be striped in black and white or brown and yellow.
They can be found in various habitats, including ranches, grasslands, deserts, marshes, woods, coastal areas, suburbs, and suburban areas.
They typically hide under leaves or debris or take refuge beneath man-made buildings.
California king snakes have a strong preference for meat. Though they sometimes eat small birds, lizards, and other snakes, including rattlesnakes, they mostly eat rodents.
They don’t have a lot of food preferences and can survive well on mice by themselves.
16. Desert Kingsnake
The distinctive black or dark brown color of desert kingsnakes is well-known, as are the white or yellow specks scattered across their sides.
On their back, they also have longer, more pronounced black spots that run their length.
These types of snakes in New Mexico are usually found in broad spaces where they can roam. They live largely in low mountains, grasslands, deserts, forests, and abandoned farms.
Rodents, lizards, and even smaller snakes are part of their diet. If they come across a rattlesnake, they will also devour it.
17. Arizona Mountain Kingsnake
Arizona Mountain Kingsnakes feature cream blotches with black edges that give them the appearance of stripes. Typically, they are red or very dark orange in color.
They will release an offensive-smelling scent in self-defense if you startle them. These types of snakes in New Mexico like to reside in mountainous areas with higher elevations.
They prefer rocky spots next to streams since they can always find water there. Their primary sources of food include rodents, lizards, and animal eggs.
18. New Mexico Milk Snake
Tan or brown in color, milk snakes have blotches and bands of blackish-brown color that run the length of their bodies.
Depending on the milk snake, their skin can occasionally be a pale yellow with a pattern of stripes that almost seem red, much like the deadly Coral snake and the Western Milk Snake.
New Mexico: The habitats of prairies, ancient fields, and open grasslands are preferred by milksnakes.
They are nocturnal types of snakes in New Mexico that live hidden behind logs and the burrows of other animals.
Their diet consists of vertebrates, including small mammals, lizards, smaller snakes, and reptile eggs.
19. Plain-Bellied Water Snake
The Plain-Bellied water snake has a substantial, meaty body and is enormous in size. Typically, they will be either solid gray, brown, olive green, green-gray, or just black in hue.
Their undersides, which may be pale yellow or red, are basic and unmarked, making them easy to identify from other types of water snakes.
They prefer the boundaries of forests, ponds, lakes, streams, and bays where they can find food, such as amphibians, fish, crayfish, tadpoles, and salamanders.
20. Smooth Green Snake
Any owner who feels a little uncomfortable feeding dead rats to their smooth green snake can find that these snakes make excellent pets.
Insects such as spiders, moths, ants, snails, slugs, worms, and spineless caterpillars are the main foods these guys will consume.
It is stated, nevertheless, that because they are far too shy for social interaction, they do not make excellent pets. They are harmless, though, and some of them like being handled.
They are found in meadows, marshes, stream banks, and open forests. They do best in grassy, wet environments.
These types of snakes in New Mexico will be a vivid green, which varies in shade, as their name suggests.
They may have beady eyes and a pale yellow underbelly and remain comparatively small.
Given their high anxiety levels and susceptibility to stress, these types of snakes in New Mexico are not the easiest to manage in captivity.
21. Great Plains Rat Snake
The great plain rat snake is also one of the types of snake in New Mexico.
With brown, dark gray, or greenish-gray streaks down its back and a light tan stripe that meets in the middle of its eyes on each side of its head, the Great Plains Rat Snake’s normal color is tan or lighter gray.
These types of snakes in New Mexico are not poisonous and have little fangs, although they do tend to bite. However, they are not hostile most of the time.
They can be found in many different habitats, including riparian zones, farms, barnyards, canyons, hills, prairies, and even abandoned houses.
They like any location where they may hide beneath boards, logs, rocks, or even abandoned animal burrows.
As their name implies, much of their food will consist of rodents, but they also consume birds, frogs, and lizards. They will wait to strike, constrict, and swallow their victim until they spot it.
22. Northern Green Rat Snake
Northern Green Rat Snakes have cream-colored undersides and an olive-green color with a hint of lime green.
Though they are mostly gone, you may detect a few spots or patterns of a dark mustard-yellow color on them.
Their preferred habitats are meadows and evergreen woodlands, where they ensnare tiny birds, lizards, and bats for food.
23. Gopher Snake
The gopher snakes are placid, heavy-bodied animals that only become aggressive when provoked.
These guys are escape artists, so they’ll need an extremely secure enclosure. Because of their size and busy lifestyle, they also need a lot of space.
The typical color of gopher snakes ranges from light tan to brown, with huge, dark brown, and occasionally reddish-brown patches and linear patterns all down their length.
They are found in savannas, sand prairies, and pine or oak barrens, where they are excellent in preventing gopher populations from becoming overly large.
Their fondness for consuming little rodents is essentially the source of their name.
24. Long-Nose Snake
Because they are famed escape artists, long-nosed snakes are not frequently found in the pet trade because they are challenging to manage.
Their long, almost shark-like snout, which is slightly upturned, gives them their name. With their black and reddish-orange stripe pattern, they resemble milk snakes or coral snakes.
However, long-nosed snakes have somewhat faded sides resembling a checkered pattern in the same colors as their bodies.
They also have a cream or light yellow body, which acts as a backdrop for other colors.
These nocturnal types of snakes in New Mexico prefer dry, arid areas like deserts and dry prairies, where they spend the day underground and spend the night crawling on chilly highways.
These snakes mostly consume lizards and amphibians, but they are occasionally observed consuming rodents and other smaller snakes.
25. Mountain Patch Nosed Snake
The long, slender backs of mountain patch-nosed snakes are tan or cream in color, with two broad black or dark brown stripes running the length of their bodies. Usually, their undersides have an off-white or cream hue.
These diurnal types of snakes in New Mexico travel quickly over open, dry, or semi-arid environments.
Their preferred habitats are sand plains, rocky hillsides, canyon scrub, sagebrush, and grasslands.
They usually consume whippedtails, lizards, birds, amphibians, small mammals, and snakes. The hue of ground snakes varies from person to person.
Some might be orange, red, or brown. Usually, they have a black border with blotches resembling orange or brown stripes.
They have gray or pure white undersides. They have tiny heads, round pupils, and smooth scales.
They prefer to live in rocky places such as outcroppings, slopes, rims of canyons, and low desert shrubs. They also prefer arid habitats with loose, sandy soil.
Since these types of snakes in New Mexico are always hidden among garbage, it is difficult to stumble across them; nonetheless, they tend to emerge as the sun sets.
They had previously been seen on roadways in the desert. Invertebrates such as spiders, centipedes, crickets, scorpions, and larvae are consumed by ground snakes.
26. Smith Black-headed Snake
As their name implies, this slim snake has a black head and a light brown or tan body. Usually, they have nearly lavender undersides with a red line running through the center.
They are found in plains, semi-desert grasslands, pine-oak forests, oak woodlands, and desert scrub habitats. They eat the larvae of beetles, centipedes, and caterpillars.
27. Plain Black-headed Snake
Simples Dark-haired The snake’s body is consistently tan to grayish-brown, with a pinkish-orange underside. A few people may have lavender undertones on their chin and neck.
They receive their name from a big black or dark blue patch that appears to cover their entire head at the top of their head.
They may be found in damp soil hillsides or grassy, rocky grasslands. They’ve even been spotted in people’s basements.
In addition to spiders and beetle larvae, these types of snakes in New Mexico occasionally consume scorpions and centipedes.
28. Western Blackneck Garter Snake
These nocturnal types of snakes in New Mexico can survive in various climates and environments and are highly active when the sun is out.
In the winter, they like taking advantage of the sun’s warmth by basking on rocks.
They can live in dry deserts and wooded mountains, but wherever they end up, they always want to be close to a good water source.
Blackneck Garter Snakes usually have a stripe running down the middle of their back that is either yellow or orange in color, giving them a dark olive or almost black appearance.
Some people could have a black-and-white checkered pattern across the length of their sides. Typically, their undersides are light gray or cream in color.
These types of snakes in New Mexico will search rivers for small fish or amphibians but will also consume various invertebrates, earthworms, and other snakes.
29. Nomad Garter Snake
Trampling Garter Most snakes are gray or gray-brown, with three cream-colored stripes running down the tops and sides of their bodies and a black checkered pattern.
They favor living near bodies of water, such as lakes, ponds, damp meadows, and riparian habitats.
Additionally, sagebrush and coniferous woodlands are home to them. They will forage in water for fish, mollusks, tadpoles, and amphibians, but they will also consume small vertebrates like mice, birds, reptiles, and insects like grasshoppers.
30. Trentine Gartersnake
Trentine garter snake is next on our list of types of snakes in New Mexico.
Typically olive green or brown-green in hue, checkered garter snakes have a pronounced checkerboard pattern on their sides and a thin stripe of pale yellow or tan down the length of their back.
They are found in semi-arid and arid environments, including woods, grasslands, deserts, savannas, and thornbush savannas.
Anything they can overwhelm, including slugs, leeches, amphibians, frog eggs, and rodents, will be devoured by them.
31. Narrow-Headed Garter Snake
Usually brown-gray or dark tan in color, Narrow-Headed Garter Snakes have faded brown markings that resemble circular spots arranged in a checkerboard pattern.
Since they prefer to live near cool, clear water sources like rivers and streams, they are the most aquatic species of all garter snakes.
They might also come across big rocks nearby to hide under. They may search for fish by swimming against strong currents.
32. Arid Land Ribbon Snake
The Arid Land Ribbonsnake’s color is usually olive green or green-brown, with one red stripe at the top of its back and two pale yellow stripes running along its flanks.
Although the habitat of this species is quite flexible, most of its distribution is in grasslands, temperate woodlands, vegetated streams, and tropical areas with permanent water sources such as lakes, ponds, and marshes.
Since their natural habitat is water, they will eat any approaching prey. Though they often consume fish, their preferred food is amphibian larvae, tadpoles, frogs, and toads.
33. Plain Garter Snake
Because of their amiable disposition, these non-venomous types of snakes in New Mexico are excellent pets for novices.
Additionally, because they are little, they are easy to care for and don’t require much attention.
They have a noticeable, lengthy stripe that runs the entire body length, either orange or yellow, and are black.
They consume anything that fits inside their mouths, such as fish, worms, eggs, and rodents.
They make excellent garden snakes since they will consume insects and other pests for you. Wet, grassy habitats, like those near lakes and streams, are what they like.
34. Lyre Snake (Trimorphodon)
Despite their distinctive appearance and ability to make wonderful pets, lyre snakes may be fierce and aggressive eaters.
They will need to be looked after by someone with experience because they are also quite the escape artist. When they defend themselves, they will coil up before striking.
Given their rocky habitat, Sonoran Lyre Snakes have colors that blend in with their surroundings, ranging from light brown to gray.
Additionally, they feature sizable dorsal patches that are brown or tan in color and have darker margins.
These terrestrial types of snakes in New Mexico are nocturnal and like to dwell in arid conditions.
After dusk, they slither across desert highways, searching for prey by hiding in rocky crevices.
Although their main food source is lizards, they will also consume other snakes, birds, bats, and tiny mammals.
Conclusion
There are different types of snakes in New Mexico. The remarkable thing about them is that they are distinctive and have evolved to fit into various environments and niches.
You’ll see that these types of snakes in New Mexico’s population differ greatly from one another.
Certain species, for instance, employ constriction to render their prey immobile, while others are venomous.
The reality is that some snakes spend most of their lives underground and are rarely seen, while others can be found living extremely near people.
