Ontario Lizards and Snakes – Identification Vocabulary

Common Five-lined Skink

DeKay’s Brownsnake

Small (23–38 cm) brown/tan snake with two dark longitudinal rows of spots that may merge into stripes; young show a light neck band.

Red-bellied Snake

Tiny (20.3–40.6 cm) brown to reddish snake; bright red/pink/orange belly, two dark dorsal stripes, and pale nape spots.

Blue Racer

Large, fast, smooth-scaled racer with bluish-grey back, light belly, and big eyes; typical length 90 cm–1.5 m.

Smooth Greensnake

Ontario’s only snake entirely bright green above; belly white/ivory/yellow; slender, 30–66 cm long.

Gray Ratsnake

Canada’s largest snake, reaching 2.5 m; dark grey-black body, whitish belly with black checkerboard, and uniformly cream throat.

Eastern Foxsnake

Robust (120–175 cm) with dark blotches on yellow-tan background; smooth side scales, moderately keeled back scales, and often a copper-coloured head.

Eastern Milksnake

Slender (61–132 cm) grey/tan snake with brown-red, black-edged saddle blotches and a distinctive Y or V mark on the head.

Northern Ring-necked Snake

Small (25.4–50 cm), dark, shiny snake marked by a bright yellow/orange neck ring and matching belly.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Moderate-sized (50–115.6 cm) thick snake with upturned snout; variable colour with dark blotches; famous for “playing dead” when threatened.

Northern Watersnake

Large (61–140.5 cm), thick-bodied aquatic snake; tan/brown/charcoal with dark saddle blotches, strongly keeled scales, divided anal scale, and a constricted tail base.

Eastern Gartersnake

Common 46–137 cm snake with three light stripes (lateral stripes on scale rows 2–3) over a black/brown/olive body; keeled scales, single anal scale; melanistic or stripe-less variants occur.

Eastern Ribbonsnake

Slim (46–86.2 cm) with extra-long tail; three yellow/greenish stripes (lateral rows 3–4) on dark body, white chin, and a crescent-shaped spot before the eye.

Massasauga Rattler

Medium (47–100.3 cm) thick pit-viper; gray-brown with 21–40 dark dorsal blotches and a distinctive segmented rattle at tail tip.

Snapping Turtle

Eastern Musk Turtle

Spotted Turtle

Wood Turtle

Northern Map Turtle

Midland Painted Turtle

Western Painted Turtle

Blanding's Turtle

Spiny Softshell