Coloration:
Head:
Black head with a post-ocular band that is orange, yellow, or white followed by a black band. The nose is often peppered white and the head is white ventrally. The iris of the eye is generally brown, but sometimes black.
Dorsal:
Generally 14-25 yellow, dirty white, or occasionally tangerine orange bands, bordered by black bands. These are separated by wide rings of dark red. (Separation is appx. twice that of the Blk/Wht/Blk bands). The black rings are wider near the mid-dorsal line. The coloration is geographically variable to an extent, with cleaner whites to the west, dirty whites to the north and east, cleaner oranges to the south. The red rings are brighter in the western part of the range.
Ventral:
Ventral scales are predominantly black in the southernmost part of the range and predominantly white in the northern part. Red does not crossover ventrally, but black bands may cross white ventrals or white bands may cross over black ventrals.