snakes

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Local Snakes

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If you see a snake it is best to back away and let it go about its business. For safety's sake assume your snake is poisonous. There are about 50 snakes that are part of our Florida environment. Only 4 dangerous species live in our area. Don't kill a snake just because it is in your garden. Certainly don't kill a snake unless you are sure it is poisonous.

When you feel safe you can try to identify your snake. If you think that your snake is one of the 4 poisonous snakes in our area look at the images at the bottom of the page and click on the picture that looks the most like your snake. You will be taken to a page with more information on that particular species.

Other Resources

The Florida Museum of Natural History has an Identify a Florida Snake site.

The University of Florida's Commonly Encountered Snakes has clickable pictures of non-poisonous as well as poisonous snakes.

Remember that most snakes are non-poisonous.

They keep rats from our gardens.

Southern Black Racer

The most common snake in our gardens

The juvenile black racer is banded and is easily mistaken for a pygmy rattlesnake. It will coil up, rattle its tail and strike. A quick way to tell that this snake is not poisonous is to look at the round pupils with the very large eyes.

Poisonous snakes

Click on the picture below that looks the most like your (poisonous) snake.

Cottonmouth

Pygmy Rattlesnake

Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnake

Coral Snake