Snakes in Texas: Venomous and Harmless Species Guide

How many snakes live in Texas?

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) figures put the state at more than 105 snake species and subspecies, one of the richest snake faunas of any US state. Counted as full species, the total is roughly 70–80, depending on the classification used. The variety reflects the size of Texas: within one state are the humid Piney Woods of the east, the Gulf Coast marshes, the limestone Hill Country, the brush country of South Texas, the plains of the Panhandle and the Chihuahuan Desert of the Trans-Pecos.

TPWD counts about 15 venomous species and subspecies. All but one are pit vipers, with heat-sensing pits between the eyes and nostrils and vertical pupils; the exception is the Texas coral snake.

Lengths are typical adult ranges; larger individuals occur.

Rattlesnakes

The western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) is the rattlesnake most Texans picture. It lives across most of the state except the far east and the northern Panhandle, from coastal dunes to desert canyons and ranch land. Adults are commonly up to about 1.2 m (4 ft) long; snakes over 1.5 m (5 ft) are uncommon, and the largest reliably measured reached about 2.1 m (7 ft). It is gray to brown with pale-edged diamonds along the back and a tail ringed in bold black and white, a pattern Texans call a coon tail. Because it is large, common and often found near homes and farms, it is considered the most dangerous snake in Texas.

Texas has about ten kinds of rattlesnakes in all, counting subspecies. Besides the western diamondback, they are:

• Timber (canebrake) rattlesnake: forests and river bottoms of East Texas.
• Prairie rattlesnake: grasslands of the Panhandle and western Texas.
• Mojave rattlesnake: desert flats of the Trans-Pecos, from El Paso to the Big Bend; some populations have venom with a strong nerve-acting component.
• Eastern black-tailed rattlesnake: rocky hills of the Trans-Pecos and the Edwards Plateau, recognizable by its all-black tail.
• Mottled and banded rock rattlesnakes: small, beautifully patterned snakes of rocky mountains and canyons in West Texas.
• Western massasauga (including the desert massasauga): small rattlesnakes of grasslands in North, Central, West and South Texas.
• Western pygmy rattlesnake: a tiny rattlesnake of East Texas woodlands with a rattle that sounds like a buzzing insect.

Rattlesnakes usually warn before they strike, but not always; a snake that relies on camouflage may stay silent until it is nearly stepped on. For the differences between Texas’s diamondback and its larger eastern relative, see eastern vs western diamondback.

Copperheads

Texas has three copperheads. The eastern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) lives in the forests of East Texas. The broad-banded copperhead (Agkistrodon laticinctus), with very wide, rich brown crossbands, is the copperhead of Central and North-Central Texas, including the Hill Country. The Trans-Pecos copperhead lives in the Big Bend region, usually near springs and streams.

All copperheads have a plain copper-colored head and bands that are narrow on the back and wide on the sides. Young ones have a yellow tail tip used to lure prey. Copperheads often lie still under leaf litter, so they bite more people than their numbers suggest, but their bites are rarely fatal.

Cottonmouth (water moccasin)

The cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) lives in the eastern half of Texas, in swamps, bayous, rivers, stock ponds and coastal marshes. Adults are heavy-bodied and dark olive, brown or nearly black, with a broad head and a dark stripe through the eye. When threatened it coils and opens its mouth wide to show the white lining that gives it its name. Studies show cottonmouths usually try to escape or bluff rather than bite.

Many harmless watersnakes share the same waters, including the diamondback watersnake, the plain-bellied watersnake and the broad-banded watersnake. They are often mistaken for cottonmouths but have narrower heads, round pupils and no facial pit, and they usually swim with only the head above the surface.

Texas coral snake

The Texas coral snake (Micrurus tener) is the state’s only elapid, a relative of cobras. It is slender, usually 50–76 cm (20–30 in) long, with wide red and black rings separated by narrow yellow rings and a black snout. It lives in the southeastern half of Texas, in woodlands, canyons, coastal plains and leafy suburban gardens, and spends most of its time hidden under leaf litter and logs, where it hunts other snakes.

Its venom attacks the nervous system, but bites are rare and almost always involve someone picking the snake up. Harmless milksnakes have similar colors, but their red bands touch black, not yellow. The old rhyme about red and yellow works for native Texas snakes but not in Mexico or farther south; see does the coral snake rhyme work?.

Snakes by region

• East Texas Piney Woods and Big Thicket: timber rattlesnakes, western pygmy rattlesnakes, eastern copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes, plus harmless speckled kingsnakes, rough green snakes and ribbon snakes.
• Gulf Coast: cottonmouths, western diamondbacks and coral snakes alongside many watersnakes, including the Gulf saltmarsh watersnake of brackish marshes.
• Central Texas and the Hill Country: western diamondbacks, broad-banded copperheads, black-tailed rattlesnakes and coral snakes, with harmless Texas rat snakes, coachwhips, patch-nosed snakes and tiny, worm-like Texas blind snakes.
• West Texas and the Big Bend: the greatest variety of rattlesnakes, including Mojave, black-tailed, prairie and rock rattlesnakes, plus the Trans-Pecos copperhead and harmless desert specialists such as the big-eyed Trans-Pecos ratsnake.
• Panhandle and plains: prairie rattlesnakes, western massasaugas and, in the south, western diamondbacks, with harmless bullsnakes, plains hognose snakes and Great Plains ratsnakes.
• South Texas brush country: western diamondbacks and desert massasaugas, plus the glossy black Texas indigo snake, a large harmless snake listed as threatened in Texas.

For other reptiles of the state, see our guide to lizards in Texas.

Common harmless snakes

The Texas rat snake, a form of the western ratsnake (Pantherophis obsoletus), is the large snake most often found around Texas homes and barns. It is usually yellowish to gray with dark blotches, is usually 1.1–1.8 m (3.5–6 ft) long, climbs well and eats rodents, birds and eggs. It is not venomous but may bite and release a smelly musk if handled.

The bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) is the most common rattlesnake look-alike. It is a large, heavy constrictor with dark blotches on a yellowish body, and when threatened it puffs up, hisses loudly and vibrates its tail. It has no rattle, a narrower head and round pupils. Hognose snakes, with their upturned snouts, put on a similar show and may roll over and play dead.

Other harmless snakes include the long, fast coachwhip, the slender ribbon snakes found near water, the small rough earthsnake and Texas brown snake of gardens, and kingsnakes and milksnakes, which eat other snakes, including venomous ones.

Staying safe around snakes

Venomous snakebites are uncommon, and deaths are rare. Across the whole United States, 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 people try to catch, move or kill a snake, or reach into places they cannot see.

• Leave snakes alone and give them room to escape; watch from a distance.
• Watch your hands and feet around rocks, brush piles, woodpiles and tall grass, wear boots in the field and use a flashlight on summer nights, when many rattlesnakes are active.
• If someone is bitten, call 911 immediately and get the person to emergency medical care as fast as possible.