Dorsal color ranges from olive green to a red-gray and the anterior edge of middorsal scales is lighter. Coloration on sides is generally lighter than that on back and may create appearance of faint stripes. Sides of throat has orange blotches.
Ventral surface is bright yellow anteriorly, then becomes gray or olive, then pink posteriorly.
Underside of tail is red. Two light longitudinal lines on each side of the body appear at the edge of the belly scales and along the third or fourth scale row. The ventral surface is white with blue-gray spots posteriorly. The underside of the tail is pink. In North America, Masticophis schotti is found in a broad band from Washington to Texas and into northern Mexico.