Snakes in Georgia: Venomous Species and Common Harmless Snakes

How many snakes live in Georgia?

Georgia’s wildlife agency and university herpetologists count about 46 or 47 native snake species; the exact figure depends on how a few closely related forms are classified. The state’s range of habitats explains the variety: Blue Ridge mountains and rocky ridges in the north, the rolling Piedmont around Atlanta, and the flat Coastal Plain of the south with its longleaf pine sandhills, blackwater rivers, swamps such as the Okefenokee and barrier islands.

The six venomous species belong to two groups. Five are pit vipers, with a heat-sensing pit between the eye and nostril, vertical pupils and a broad head. The sixth, the eastern coral snake, is an elapid, a slender relative of cobras.

Eastern diamondback rattlesnake

The eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) is the largest venomous snake in Georgia and the heaviest rattlesnake in the world. It has dark, cream-edged diamonds along a brown back and pale stripes running diagonally through each eye. In Georgia it lives in the Coastal Plain, especially in longleaf pine forests, sandhills, pine flatwoods and on the coastal islands, where it often shelters in gopher tortoise burrows.

Diamondbacks eat mainly rabbits, rats and squirrels and spend hours waiting in ambush. They have declined across much of the state because longleaf pine habitat has been lost and many snakes are killed on roads.

Timber (canebrake) rattlesnake

The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) is the only rattlesnake found throughout Georgia, from the mountains to the coast. In the Coastal Plain it is usually called the canebrake rattlesnake. It is gray, tan or pinkish with black, V-shaped crossbands, often a rusty stripe down the back and an all-black tail ending in a rattle.

In north Georgia, timber rattlesnakes live on forested ridges and rocky slopes and often spend the winter in shared dens among rocks. In the south they use river swamps, hardwood bottomlands and pine forests. They are generally calm snakes that rely on camouflage and often stay still as people pass.

Pigmy rattlesnake

The pigmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) is Georgia’s smallest venomous snake, usually only 40–60 cm (16–24 in) long. It is gray to reddish with dark blotches and a tiny rattle that makes a faint buzz, like an insect. Georgia has two forms: the dusky pigmy rattlesnake of the southern Coastal Plain and the Carolina pigmy rattlesnake farther north. Bites are painful but rarely life-threatening for healthy adults.

Copperhead

The copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) is probably the venomous snake Georgians meet most often, especially in north and middle Georgia and around metro Atlanta. It has a copper-colored head and light tan to pinkish-brown body crossed by darker hourglass-shaped bands that are wide on the sides and narrow on the back. Young copperheads have bright yellow tail tips.

Copperheads live in forests, rocky hillsides and the wooded edges of suburbs, where they often hide in leaf litter, woodpiles and stone walls. They rely on camouflage and tend to freeze rather than flee, so most bites happen when someone steps on or reaches near an unseen snake. Copperhead bites are painful and need medical care, but deaths are extremely rare.

Cottonmouth

The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus), also called the water moccasin, is a heavy-bodied venomous snake of swamps, marshes, ponds, ditches and slow streams, found mainly in the southern half of Georgia. Young cottonmouths are boldly banded, while adults often turn dark olive or almost black. A broad dark stripe runs through each eye. Scientists now often treat the cottonmouths of south Georgia and Florida as a separate species, the Florida cottonmouth (Agkistrodon conanti).

When threatened, a cottonmouth may coil, vibrate its tail and open its mouth wide to show the white lining that gives it its name. Studies show cottonmouths usually try to escape or warn rather than bite. They are absent from the north Georgia mountains, so snakes seen in mountain lakes and streams are almost always harmless water snakes.

Eastern coral snake

The eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius) is a slim snake ringed in red, yellow and black, with a black snout. In Georgia it is found only in the southern Coastal Plain, mainly in sandy pine forests, and it is rarely seen because it spends most of its time under leaf litter and logs. Its venom affects the nervous system, but bites are extremely rare and almost always involve people picking the snake up.

Harmless look-alikes

Many harmless Georgia snakes are killed because they are mistaken for venomous ones. Checking pupils or facial pits is not safe up close, so the best rule is to leave every snake alone and enjoy it from a distance.

• Water snakes (Nerodia), such as the northern, banded, brown and plain-bellied water snakes, are often mistaken for cottonmouths. See cottonmouth vs water snake.
• Corn snakes and young rat snakes have blotches that can recall a copperhead. See copperhead vs corn snake.
• Scarlet kingsnakes and scarletsnakes have red, black and yellow or white bands like a coral snake, but their red bands touch black ones. See coral snake vs scarlet kingsnake.
• Eastern hognose snakes are thick, blotched snakes with upturned snouts. They flatten their necks, hiss and may roll over and play dead, but they almost never bite.

Common harmless snakes in Georgia

The snake most often seen crossing roads and lawns is probably the southern black racer, a fast, slender, glossy black snake with a white chin. The eastern rat snake, often called the chicken snake, is the big climber found in barns, attics and trees; in Georgia it may be gray, black, or yellowish with stripes near the coast. Rat snakes eat rodents and birds’ eggs.

Other common species include the eastern garter snake, ribbon snakes, the small brown and red-bellied snakes found in gardens, the ring-necked snake and the eastern kingsnake, a glossy black snake with thin white or yellow chain-like bands that eats other snakes, including copperheads and rattlesnakes. In south Georgia’s swamps and blackwater rivers live two striking species seldom seen by people: the mud snake, with a red-and-black checkered belly, and the iridescent rainbow snake, which feeds mainly on eels.

Eastern indigo snake: Georgia’s giant

The eastern indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi) is the longest native snake in the United States. Adult males typically measure 1.2–2.4 m (4–8 ft), and the record is about 2.8 m (9.2 ft). It is glossy blue-black, often with a reddish or cream chin, and it is not venomous and not a constrictor; it overpowers prey with its jaws. It eats frogs, small mammals, birds, turtles and many snakes, including venomous ones.

In Georgia, indigo snakes live mainly in the longleaf pine sandhills of the southern Coastal Plain, where they spend winter in the burrows of gopher tortoises, Georgia’s state reptile. The species has been listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 1978 because of habitat loss, road deaths and past collection. Conservation groups and wildlife agencies now breed indigo snakes in captivity and release them into protected longleaf pine forests in the region.

Snakes and Georgia law

Georgia law protects native nonvenomous snakes: it is illegal to kill, harm or keep them without a permit. Venomous species do not have the same protection under that law, but they are an important part of the state’s ecosystems, and leaving them alone is the safest choice for both people and snakes. Most snakes found near homes will move on by themselves.

Where and when to see snakes in Georgia

Snakes in Georgia are most active from about March to October, with peaks in spring and early fall. In summer heat many move at dusk and at night, especially after rain. Winter activity is low in the north, but in south Georgia snakes may bask on warm days in any month. Good places to watch reptiles from trails and boardwalks include the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, coastal islands such as Jekyll and Cumberland, and the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. For the venomous species south of the state line, see snakes in Florida.

Staying safe around snakes

Venomous snakebites are uncommon, and deaths are rare. Across the whole US, the CDC estimates that about 7,000–8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year and about five die. Most bites happen when someone tries to catch, move or kill a snake, or steps or reaches near one without seeing it.

• Leave every snake alone and give it room to escape.
• Watch where you step and reach, especially in leaf litter, woodpiles, tall grass and around logs, and use a flashlight on paths at night.
• Wear closed shoes or boots outdoors in snake habitat.
• If someone is bitten, call 911 immediately and get the person to emergency medical care as fast as possible.