Description: 8 - 10 inches. Red-bellied Snakes vary in color from dark shades of gray or brown to lighter rusty red or cinnamon color. There are three light spots on the neck, and a wide stripe down the center of the back that is a lighter color than the sides. The belly is, as the name implies, usually bright red, but may be orange or pink.

Similar Species: The three spots on the neck may look like a ring on the neck, and cause this snake to be confused with ring-necked snakes, but ring-necked snakes will not have the wide stripe running down the back, and will have black spots on the belly. Brown-colored red-bellied snakes may be confused with the brown snakes. Brown snakes have rows of dots on both sides of the stripe on the back.