Purple is not a color that you often see in animals (except the beautiful bugs and birds of course), and purple snakes are certainly not common either. Thanks to morphs, however, we were able to add more than three snakes to this list! Keep reading to see what amazingly purple snakes we were able to find!
Banner Photo: Photo Source
Top 10 List – Purple Snakes
1. California Kingsnake – Lavender Morph
Scientific Name: Lampropeltis californiae
California kingsnakes are popular in the reptile pet trade due to how easy they are to care for, the fact that they tend to be docile, and also because they have a few morphs and various wild color variations. While there are various wild color morphs that they can be found in, they usually have alternating dark and light bands that can be black or brown and white or cream. Some wild populations even have vertical stripes down their body instead of the horizontal bands that are usually seen. They can be found throughout the western United States and northern Mexico. The lavender morph shown above makes the snake a beautiful light purple color with creamy white bands across its body.
2. Western Hognose – Lavender Morph
Scientific Name: Heterodon nasicus nasicus
Check out some more western hognose morphs in our first and second western hognose morph articles!
Western hognose snakes are also very popular in the reptile pet trade. Their adorable upturned noses and beautiful morphs are part of what makes them so popular. Their upturned noses help them dig around in the dirt to search for food or to burrow. They are also known for dramatically playing dead when frightened. If startled, they will flop around, flipping themselves on their back, opening their mouth, and sticking out their tongue. While they are not normally purple in the wild, the lavender morph makes these already beautiful snakes a mix of various purple and lavender shades.
3. Corn Snake – Charcoal Lavender Morph
Scientific Name: Pantherophis guttatus
Check out some more corn snake morphs in our first and second corn snake morph articles!
Another well-known and popular pet snake is the corn snake. The corn snake got its common name due to the fact that they were regularly found around grain stores, where it would prey upon the mice and rats that would try to eat the harvested corn. They can be found naturally throughout the United States, however, they have been introduced to Australia and have become an invasive pest. Due to their popularity breeders have managed to produce over 900 different morphs, with more being created all the time! One of those beautiful morphs is the Charcoal Lavender morph, which is a mix of the morphs charcoal and lavender. This makes the snake a beautiful lavender color, with the lavender being more grey-toned instead of pink.
4. Boa Constrictor – Moonglow Morph
Scientific Name: Boa constrictor
Check out our other article to see more boa constrictor morphs!
As is true with most snakes that have morphs available, boa constrictors are also quite popular in the pet trade. This is despite the fact that they aren’t exactly beginner-friendly snakes. This is because they can grow to be quite large, and can range in size from 3 to 13 feet in length, which is quite large compared to other commonly kept pet snakes. Females tend to be larger in both length and girth than males, with some having been recorded as being 14 feet in length! Also referred to as the common boa or the red-tailed boa, they can be found in the wild throughout South America. They have also been introduced to Florida, which has had negative effects on the natural wildlife already there.
The moonglow morph shown above is produced by combining Anery and Hypo genes with the Kahl Albino specifically. While quite light in color they do have a beautiful purple tint to them and their eyes.
5. Reticulated Python – Lavender Albino Morph
Scientific Name: Malayopython reticulatus
Check out our other article to see more beautiful reticulated python morphs!
The next snake on our list is the reticulated python, particularly the beautiful lavender albino morph. Their average length is 10 feet long, however, some snakes have been recorded and 30+ feet (9.1 m) long! Their weight can range from 150 pounds, all the way up to 320 pounds. Despite their massive size, reticulated pythons are a fairly common pet in the pet trade, with many people choosing to own these massive reptiles. They are regarded as one of the most intelligent snakes, and one of the many ways they show their intelligence is by being able to recognize their keepers, as well as remember bad experiences they’ve had with people.
The lavender albino morph makes the base of the snake a beautiful lavender color, with contrasting bright orange markings down its body and on its head. So while they aren’t fully purple, they still have quite a bit of purple on them!
6. Crossi File Snake
Scientific Name: Limaformosa crossi
While we could not find a large amount of information on the Crossi file snake we do know they are a non-venomous species of snake from Africa. They were named after Dr. William Henry Crosse, a traveler, and collector who operated in Nigeria. They are called file snakes due to the triangular file shape of their bodies. As shown in the photo above, these snakes can have beautiful lavender colors to them, especially in the top half of their body.
7. Big Headed Snail Eating Snake
Scientific Name: Dipsas indica
The neo-tropical snail-eating snake is a beautiful snake that can be found in South America. They feed on slugs and snails, hence their name. The snake can extract the snails from their shells using its slender jaw. Usually, they will have a grayish body with 25–47 yellow-bordered blackish blotches, however, the one pictured above is actually quite purple in color, making it quite unique. They are non-venomous and generally docile, spending most of their day chilling on the ground. These snail-eating snakes are nocturnal and tend to inhabit old-growth to moderately disturbed evergreen forests, forest edges, plantations, and banana groves, usually close to bodies of water.
8. Mangrove Pit Viper
Scientific Name: Trimeresurus purpureomaculatus
Mangrove pit vipers are also referred to as the mangrove viper or the shore pit viper. They can be found throughout India, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asia. As with all vipers they are highly venomous, and their venom can cause serious illness or death. They are also known for being highly unpredictable and should be kept at a distance and not be approached. It’s best to admire these beautiful snakes from afar. They can be found in various colors, from olive to gray to dark purplish-brown. The one above is extra purple, especially between its scales.
9. False Water Cobra – Lavender Morph
Scientific Name: Hydrodynastes gigas
The false water cobra got its name for two different reasons. The first reason is that they have the ability to flatten their neck to appear larger, which makes it resemble a cobra. The second is that they are semi-aquatic snakes, and can swim as well as burrow and climb. They are one of the larger, more abundant snakes that can be found in South America’s floodplains. Some individuals have grown to be 10+ feet in length. Adult false water cobras can range from olive green to brown in color, with dark spots and bands covering most of their body, which also vaguely resembles real water cobras. While not extremely common, they are occasionally kept as snakes. The one pictured above is quite rare, being a lavender morph for the false water cobra, making it a beautiful lavender color instead of its normal colors.
10. Ball Python – 4P Morph
Scientific Name: Python regius
We also have two articles full of more beautiful ball python morphs, here and here.
And last, but not least on our list of purple snakes is another popular pet snake in the reptile pet trade – the ball python. Estimates for the number of morphs available for ball pythons is between 4 thousand to 7 thousand or more morphs. That is a LOT of morphs to choose from, with more morphs being created all the time. The morph name 4P stands for “Pastel Purple Passion Pinstripe”, which is a pretty accurate description for the morph. This morph produces snakes that are a beautiful pastel purple color, and a white pinstripe down their back.
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They really are beautiful, nature and animals are amazing!