What Snake Has Orange And Black Stripes?

The most common snakes to be found that have orange and black stripes are corn snakes. These snakes can be found in a huge variety of color and pattern morphs but their original and most seen form is with a black under belly, brownish skin and orange saddles or stripes.

In their natural environment, corn snakes are usually found in the south east of United States but as these snakes are docile and harmless, they are popular pets for snake lovers across the world.

• Corn snake natural habitat

Wild corn snakes, that are not kept captive for pets, can be found in a surprisingly large range of habitats. They prefer environments of forest openings, trees, abandoned buildings, overgrown fields and palmetto flat woods. The snakes can be found as low as sea level and as high as 6,000 feet. Although they prefer to remain on the ground, they can climb trees and cliffs.

Geographically, corn snakes can be found from New Jersey to the Florida Keys and often as far west as the state of Texas. Corn snakes living in temperate climates tend not to hibernate during the winter, instead they shelter in rock crevices. However they do not hunt as often during the cold weather.

• Corn snake diet

The diet of a corn snake is mostly made up of rodents including mice and rats. When put in a position where they need to climb trees, corn snakes will hunt after birds and bats. Their prey is killed by constriction and when they are young they will eat smaller creatures that are easier to catch, such as lizards.

• Reproduction of corn snakes

Corn snakes are born in long, oblong eggs that have a leathery and flexible shell. They hatch about ten weeks after laying and will be approximately five inches in length.

The snake that you are describing is most likely to be the common corn snake. If these descriptions do not match with the snake that you have found, more details may help distinguish the type of snake that it is.

Northern water snake

I'm going to assume this was a small snake, since that description matches that of a baby Speckled King Snake(Lampropeltis getula holbrooki), a very common non-venomous species in KS.  As they get older, the orange fades to pale yellow, and the stripes mostly disappear, leaving just the spots.  There are also Garter Snakes which have lengthwise stripes and small "checkerboard" patterns that might look like spots, which can be of almost any color, including orange or red.  Plains Garter Snakes(Thamnophis sirtalis) are also very common in KS.