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Field Guide

All Other Virginia Snakes

Field Guide

Every other harmless snake in Virginia

Virginia has 31 harmless snake species and three venomous ones. Five of the harmless species are the ones we get called about most, and they have their own cards on the home page. These are the other 26.

They are ordered by how widely each species is recorded across Virginia, from the ones found in nearly every county down to the ones known from a single one. Nothing on this page is venomous.

Not sure what you are looking at? Send a photo for a free identification, anywhere in Virginia.

Harmless

Eastern Wormsnake

Carphophis amoenus amoenus
Appearance
7 to 11 in. Plain brown above with no pattern at all, and a pink belly that wraps onto the lowest scale rows. Head barely wider than the neck.
Where you'll see them
Under logs, bark and boards in damp woodland soil. Turns up in mulch beds and compost heaps.
Lookalike
Brownsnakes and earthsnakes. Neither has the wormsnake's pink belly.
Recorded in more Virginia counties than any other harmless snake, yet almost nobody sees one moving. It lives underground and eats earthworms. If you turn over a board and find one, put the board back.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Northern Black Racer

Coluber constrictor constrictor
Appearance
3 to 5 ft. Uniform satin black with a white chin and a slate-grey belly. Slender and fast, with large eyes.
Where you'll see them
Open grassy ground, dry field edges, farmland and suburban yards.
Lookalike
Adult ratsnakes, which are bulkier and show a faint blotched pattern through the black.
Our most visual snake. It hunts with its head raised above the grass and will see you long before you see it, which is why most sightings are of one leaving. Eats rodents, lizards and other snakes.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Northern Rough Greensnake

Opheodrys aestivus aestivus
Appearance
22 to 32 in. Bright uniform green above, cream or pale yellow below. Very slender, with keeled scales.
Where you'll see them
Shrubs, vines and low branches, usually near water. Often draped in vegetation rather than on the ground.
Lookalike
Smooth Greensnake, which is smaller, smooth-scaled and confined to our mountains.
Eats nothing but insects and spiders, mostly caterpillars. It cannot bite you in any meaningful sense. Fading green after death is why people find them and assume some other species.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Northern Ring-necked Snake

Diadophis punctatus edwardsii
Appearance
10 to 15 in. Slate grey to near black above with a bright yellow or orange collar just behind the head, and a matching belly.
Where you'll see them
Leaf litter in hardwood and mixed forest, under logs, rocks and landscape timbers.
Lookalike
Southern Ring-necked Snake, which overlaps in the southeast; juvenile brownsnakes and earthsnakes lack the collar.
The collar is the whole identification. When alarmed some individuals curl the tail to flash the bright underside. Eats earthworms and salamanders.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Hog-nosed Snake

Heterodon platirhinos Species of Greatest Conservation Need
Appearance
20 to 33 in. Stout, with dark saddle blotches on tan, grey or olive, and a sharply upturned snout you can see from a distance. Some are solid black.
Where you'll see them
Sandy soil, open fields and the edges where pine meets mixed forest.
Lookalike
Mistaken for a copperhead constantly. A copperhead has hourglass bands pinched at the spine; this has scattered saddles and that unmistakable snout.
The best actor in Virginia. Threatened, it flattens its neck, hisses and strikes with its mouth shut. If that fails it rolls over, gapes and plays dead. Neither is a bite. Eats toads almost exclusively.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Red-bellied Snake

Storeria occipitomaculata
Appearance
8 to 10 in. Brown or grey above, with a plain red or orange belly and three pale spots on the neck.
Where you'll see them
Forest edges, old fields and wetland margins, under logs, bark and debris.
Lookalike
DeKay's Brownsnake, which has paired dark spots down the back and no red belly.
One of our smallest snakes and a slug specialist, which makes it a gardener's ally. The red belly is unmistakable if you can see it, and harmless if you cannot.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Northern Mole Kingsnake

Lampropeltis rhombomaculata
Appearance
30 to 40 in. Tan to light brown with 35 to 55 chestnut blotches, wider than they are long. The pattern fades with age.
Where you'll see them
Underground most of the year. Turns up in farm fields and pine woods, usually after ploughing or heavy rain.
Lookalike
Corn snakes and milksnakes; also blamed as a copperhead because of the brown blotches.
A kingsnake that spends its life burrowing, so a sighting is genuinely uncommon despite a wide range. Constricts small mammals, birds and lizards.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Queensnake

Regina septemvittata
Appearance
15 to 24 in. Olive brown with a cream stripe low on each side and three faint dark stripes down the back. Belly cream with four brown stripes.
Where you'll see them
Shallow rocky streams with clean water. Basks on branches over the water and drops in when disturbed.
Lookalike
Northern Watersnake and gartersnakes, both of which are common near the same streams.
Eats freshly moulted crayfish and essentially nothing else, which makes it a good indicator of stream health. Siltation and damming are its real threats.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Smooth Earthsnake

Virginia valeriae valeriae
Appearance
7 to 10 in. Uniform reddish brown to dark grey with faint black flecks, smooth scales, and a plain cream belly.
Where you'll see them
Hardwood and pine forest, old fields and moist lowlands, under rocks, logs and boards.
Lookalike
Rough Earthsnake, which has keeled scales; also wormsnakes and small brownsnakes.
Small, plain and easy to overlook, which is why it is recorded in half the state yet rarely reported. Eats worms.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Common Ribbonsnake

Thamnophis saurita saurita
Appearance
18 to 26 in. Very slender, dark brown or black with three crisp yellow stripes and a notably long tail.
Where you'll see them
Marsh edges, floodplains and vegetated stream banks, usually within sight of water.
Lookalike
Eastern Gartersnake, which is heavier bodied with duller stripes and often dark checkering.
Think of it as a gartersnake built for speed near water. Eats frogs, tadpoles and small fish. Harmless, and quick to leave.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Red Cornsnake

Pantherophis guttatus
Appearance
30 to 48 in. Orange to grey ground with red-brown blotches outlined in black, a spear-point mark on the head, and a bold black-and-white checkerboard belly.
Where you'll see them
Open hardwood, field edges, barns and outbuildings.
Lookalike
Copperhead, because of the reddish blotches. The checkerboard belly settles it instantly; a copperhead has nothing like it.
One of the most useful rodent hunters you can have near a barn, and one of the most frequently killed by mistake. Constricts its prey and is not venomous.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Milksnake

Lampropeltis triangulum
Appearance
24 to 36 in. Grey or tan with reddish-brown blotches edged in black, a pale Y or V on the back of the head, and a checkerboard belly.
Where you'll see them
Under rocks, logs and boards; barns, old foundations and rock walls.
Lookalike
Corn snake in the west of the state and Scarlet Kingsnake in the southeast; also blamed as a copperhead.
Named for the myth that it milks cows, which it does not and cannot. It is in barns for the same reason everything else is: mice.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Southern Ring-necked Snake

Diadophis punctatus punctatus
Appearance
10 to 14 in. As the northern form but with the neck collar often interrupted, and a row of black half-moons down the belly.
Where you'll see them
Moist lowlands, floodplain forest and leaf litter in the southeast of the state.
Lookalike
Northern Ring-necked Snake, which it grades into where the two ranges meet.
The southeastern counterpart of our common ring-neck. Same habits, same harmlessness, same diet of earthworms and salamanders.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Northern Scarletsnake

Cemophora coccinea copei
Appearance
14 to 20 in. Red blotches edged in black on a white to grey ground, with a pointed red snout. The belly is plain white.
Where you'll see them
Loose sandy soil in pine-dominated woods. Almost entirely nocturnal and burrowing.
Lookalike
Scarlet Kingsnake and milksnake. On the scarletsnake the belly is unmarked and the red never fully rings the body.
Eats reptile eggs, slitting them open with enlarged rear teeth. Harmless to people and rarely seen above ground.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Rough Earthsnake

Haldea striatula Now placed in genus Haldea
Appearance
7 to 10 in. Plain grey brown with keeled scales, a cone-shaped head, and a pale belly. Juveniles show a light neck collar.
Where you'll see them
Suburban yards, open pine and hardwood; under boards, bricks and garden debris around Richmond and southeast.
Lookalike
Eastern Smooth Earthsnake, which has smooth scales; also wormsnakes and ring-necked juveniles.
One of the snakes most often found by people gardening in our area, and one of the least capable of harming anyone. Eats earthworms.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Brown Watersnake

Nerodia taxispilota
Appearance
30 to 60 in. Heavy bodied, light brown with roughly 25 to 35 square chocolate blotches arranged in alternating rows.
Where you'll see them
Large rivers, reservoirs and tidal creeks in the southeast. Basks on branches overhanging deep water.
Lookalike
Northern Watersnake, which has crossbands at the front and half-moon belly marks; also blamed as a cottonmouth.
A fish eater, mostly catfish. Drops from branches when startled, which is how it earns its reputation for jumping into boats. It is trying to reach the water, not you.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Smooth Greensnake

Opheodrys vernalis
Appearance
11 to 20 in. Uniform light green above with smooth scales and a white to pale yellow belly.
Where you'll see them
High-elevation grassy balds, meadows and open mixed forest in the Blue Ridge and Ridge and Valley.
Lookalike
Northern Rough Greensnake, which is longer, keel-scaled and found statewide at lower elevations.
A mountain specialist and the harder of our two green snakes to find. Eats caterpillars, spiders and small insects.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Common Rainbow Snake

Farancia erytrogramma erytrogramma
Appearance
27 to 48 in. Glossy blue-black with three red stripes running the length of the body, and a red belly. Ends in a hard, harmless tail spine.
Where you'll see them
Freshwater creeks, rivers and cypress swamp in the Coastal Plain. Highly aquatic and seldom seen.
Lookalike
Eastern Mudsnake, which is black above with a red-barred belly and no stripes.
Arguably the most beautiful snake in Virginia and one almost nobody encounters. Eats American eels almost exclusively. The tail spine cannot sting.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Scarlet Kingsnake

Lampropeltis elapsoides
Appearance
14 to 20 in. Red, black and yellow rings encircling the body, with a red snout. Each red ring is bordered by black.
Where you'll see them
Under pine bark, rotting logs and debris in the Piedmont and southeast. Secretive and mostly nocturnal.
Lookalike
Coralsnake, which does not occur in Virginia at all. Also milksnake and scarletsnake.
Virginia has no coralsnake, so a ringed red-black-yellow snake here is this or a milksnake. Small, harmless, and eats lizards and their eggs.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Mudsnake

Farancia abacura abacura
Appearance
40 to 54 in. Glossy black above with red or pink bars rising from the belly onto the sides. Ends in a hard, harmless tail spine.
Where you'll see them
Swamps, forested wetlands and slow mud-bottomed creeks in the southeast.
Lookalike
Rainbow snake, which has red stripes rather than belly bars; also blamed as a cottonmouth.
Large, docile and almost entirely aquatic. Eats amphiumas and sirens, which are giant aquatic salamanders. The tail spine is used to grip prey, not to sting.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Red-bellied Watersnake

Nerodia erythrogaster erythrogaster
Appearance
30 to 48 in. Plain reddish brown above with no pattern as an adult, an orange to red belly, and a two-tone head.
Where you'll see them
Swamps, ditches and cypress margins in the southeast. Wanders further from water than our other watersnakes.
Lookalike
Cottonmouth, constantly. This has a slender head, round pupil and no facial pit, and it flees rather than stands its ground.
The plain adult colour is the giveaway; no other large watersnake here is patternless. Eats fish, frogs and crayfish.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Southeastern Crowned Snake

Tantilla coronata Status undetermined in Virginia
Appearance
8 to 10 in. Tan to reddish brown with a black cap on the head and a black band across the neck.
Where you'll see them
Oak and pine woods on the Coastal Plain and southwest Piedmont, under leaf litter, bark and stones.
Lookalike
Ring-necked snakes, which have a complete bright collar and a yellow or orange belly.
Tiny, secretive and recorded from only a handful of counties, so a photograph is genuinely useful. Eats centipedes, beetle larvae and other small invertebrates.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Pinesnake

Pituophis melanoleucus USFWS Category 2 - report sightings
Appearance
48 to 66 in. Large and heavy, cream or white with bold irregular black blotches, and a pointed snout for digging.
Where you'll see them
Dry open ridges and sandy mountain slopes. Verified in only four Virginia counties.
Lookalike
Nothing else here looks like it. Its loud hiss gets it mistaken for a rattlesnake by ear.
Our rarest large snake, and one most Virginians will never see. It hisses explosively and vibrates its tail when threatened, which is a bluff. If you find one, photograph it and report it.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Black Kingsnake

Lampropeltis nigra
Appearance
36 to 45 in. Black with thin white or yellow crossbars, sometimes reduced to speckling.
Where you'll see them
Known in Virginia only from Lee, Scott and Washington counties in the far southwest.
Lookalike
Eastern Kingsnake, which has a bolder chain pattern; also racers and ratsnakes.
At the very edge of its range here, which is why it appears in only three counties. Like other kingsnakes it eats other snakes, venomous ones included.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Eastern Glossy Swampsnake

Liodytes rigida rigida Candidate for state listing
Appearance
14 to 24 in. Small, dark and glossy chocolate brown with two faint black stripes, large eyes and a blunt snout.
Where you'll see them
Tidal freshwater marsh with bald cypress and bottomland hardwood. Known from one county and one city.
Lookalike
Queensnake and small watersnakes, which share the same marshes.
The rarest snake on this page. VHS notes that if no further Virginia populations are found it should be considered for listing. A photograph with a location genuinely matters.
Photos and range map at VHS
Harmless

Mountain Earthsnake

Virginia valeriae pulchra Species of special concern
Appearance
About 11 in. Reddish brown to dark grey with weakly keeled scales in 17 rows, and a plain cream belly.
Where you'll see them
Hardwood and mixed forest in Highland County. That single county is its entire verified Virginia range.
Lookalike
Eastern Smooth Earthsnake, which has smooth scales; and Rough Earthsnake, which is strongly keeled.
Verified from one Virginia county, which makes it the least widely recorded snake in the state. Eats worms. If you are in Highland County and find a small brown snake, it is worth a photograph.
Photos and range map at VHS
Where these facts come from. Sizes, ranges, diets and county records are drawn from the Virginia Herpetological Society, which maintains the authoritative record of what lives where in this state. The descriptions here are written in our own words. For photographs, range maps and the full scientific account of any species, follow its VHS link above. If you want to go deeper than this page, start there. Photographs are credited individually beneath each one, with a link to the photographer, the licence and the original file.