Dorsal coloration can be tan, gray, or black.
It has a yellow or orange ring around its neck and its belly is either yellow or orange. The southern subspecies, Diadophis punctatus punctatus, can be distinguished from the northern subspecies, Diadophis punctatus edwardsii , by the interruption in the neck ring and by the dark spots on its belly that are generally absent on Diadophis punctatus edwardsii 's belly. The southern subspecies occupies mesic forests and floodplains in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont. The northern subspecies inhabits forests in the mountains. These snakes are nocturnal and spend most of their time hiding in rotting logs, stumps, beneath bark, and under stones.