Some have recommended that A. elegans occidentalis be granted full species status.

However, they are smaller than gopher snakes, with narrow, pointed heads, and a variety of skin patterns and colors.

The maximum recorded total length for the species is 142 cm (56 in).

[6] They are shades of tan, brown, and gray with spotted patterns on their smooth, glossy skin, and a white or cream-colored unmarked ventral surface.

Habitat is normally semi-arid grasslands of the southwestern United States, from California in the west to Kansas in the east and as far south as Texas, and northern Mexico.