Snakes in Georgia

Georgia is home to roughly 50+ snake species, and only 7 of them are venomous. That ratio is worth remembering: the large majority of Georgia's snakes pose no threat and quietly help control rodents and other pests. The state spans several distinct regions, and each adds species, which is why Georgia's snake list is one of the longest in the Southeast.

The habitat range explains the diversity. The Blue Ridge mountains and Piedmont in the north hold forest species adapted to rocky slopes and cooler woods, while the coastal plain to the south is dominated by pine flatwoods, longleaf forests, and sandy uplands. The Okefenokee Swamp, river bottoms, and coastal marshes provide the wet habitats that water snakes and cottonmouths depend on. Moving from the mountains to the coast, you pass through a sequence of snake communities packed into a single state.

Georgia's venomous snakes sort into a few plain groups. The Eastern Copperhead and the cottonmouths (Northern and Florida) are pit vipers found in woods and near water, with the cottonmouths concentrated in swamps and along the coastal plain. The rattlesnakes include the Eastern Diamondback of the southern pinelands, the Timber Rattlesnake of the mountains and forests, and the small Pygmy Rattlesnake. The Eastern Coralsnake is a banded elapid that stays hidden in leaf litter and is rarely seen. The familiar red, yellow, and black color rhymes only roughly apply in the US and should never be your method for identifying a snake.

The snakes Georgians encounter most are harmless. Black racers and rat snakes are common around homes and fields, kingsnakes earn their keep by eating other snakes, and garter snakes are a garden regular. Brown watersnakes and banded watersnakes share ponds and rivers with cottonmouths and are frequently killed by mistake. On safety: most bites occur when someone tries to handle or kill a snake, and fatalities are very rare because of antivenom and good medical care. Do not treat any wild snake as safe to handle, and if a bite occurs, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911.