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Western Fox Snake

Overview:

Scientific Name: Pantherophis vulpinus

Size: 35.4 – 61” (total adult length)

Status: Locally abundant throughout the Great Lakes region

MDNR Wildlife Action Plan Status: Species of Greatest Conservation Need

Habitat:

Inhabits prairies, pastures, and agricultural areas. In northern areas it will inhabit open woodlands and forest edges. They may occur in pine/oak woodlands and nearby agricultural areas and clear-cuts in northern Michigan.

Conservation:

Populations can exist in areas that are largely devoted to agriculture. The species benefits when dense forests are opened by timber harvests or by the creation of pastures and crop lands. Intensive agriculture that favors “shoulder to shoulder” cultivation at the expense of hedgerows, shrubby fence lines, and fallow fields can lead to declines and local extirpation. Frequently the victim of roadway mortality and human persecution due to its appearance and habit of vibrating its tail when frightened causing some to confuse it for a rattlesnake.  

Best Management:

The creation of habitat structures that encourage basking opportunities and overwinter protections should be considered. Restore, maintain, or enhance nesting sites. If roads bisect suitable habitat areas, ensure that road crossings or protected culverts exist for the species. Selective forestry techniques that open the canopy of forests undoubtedly benefits.  

Adult Coloration:

A yellowish-brown, greyish-brown or tan body with a row of brown or black blotches that run down the back and onto the tail. These blotches alternate with smaller dark blotches on the sides. The head may be yellowish, reddish-brown, or coppery orange. There are dark bands between the eyes and continues behind the eye to the end of the jaw, most often seen in younger individuals. The belly is yellowish to cream with dark squarish markings.

Adult Characteristics:

A relatively large and stout body with a broad head that is at its widest behind the eyes with a blunt, rounded snout. The tail is stout and narrows to a pointed tip. The scales are keeled (each scale has a small central ridge) on the upper back but smooth on the sides. The anal plate is divided. Males have a slightly larger body size and longer tails than females.  

Juvenile Characteristics:

Hatchlings range from 9 to 12.2” in length. The body is generally grey in color with grey or brown blotches with black borders. The head markings are distinct with a dark band in front of the eyes with a stripe from the back of each eye to the jaw.  

Scale Count:

23 – 27 scale rows at midbody

Species Confused With:

Eastern Milk Snakes have unkeeled scales and a single anal plate. Juvenile Racers also have unkeeled scales and do not have a stripe from the eye to the end of the jaw. Juvenile Black Rat Snakes are similar to juveniles of this species but have more than 200 ventral scutes (Western Fox Snakes have 216 or less). The Eastern Fox Snake is very similar, but their ranges do not overlap thus distinguishing them. Eastern Fox Snakes also have fewer and larger dorsal blotches on the body and tail (28 – 43, averaging 34) while Westerns have smaller blotches (32 – 52, averaging 41). 

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