Snakes in Missouri

Missouri has a rich snake fauna of about 40+ species, and only 5 of them are venomous. That means the overwhelming majority you encounter are harmless and valuable, controlling rodents and insects across the state. Missouri sits at a crossroads of eastern forest, prairie, and southern lowland, which is why it holds so many kinds of snakes, most of them shy and quick to avoid people.

The state's habitats are unusually varied. The Ozark Plateau in the south is rocky, hilly oak-hickory forest cut by clear streams, glades, and bluffs, and it is the heart of the state's snake diversity. To the north and west are tallgrass prairie remnants and farm country, while the Bootheel in the southeast holds cypress swamps and bottomland that feel almost southern. Major rivers like the Missouri and Mississippi add floodplain and wetland habitat.

Missouri's 5 venomous species cover this range. The Eastern Copperhead is common in the rocky Ozark woods and glades. The Northern Cottonmouth lives in the swamps, sloughs, and slow streams of the southern lowlands. The Timber Rattlesnake favors forested hills and bluffs. The small Pygmy Rattlesnake hides in Ozark glades and woodland. The Western Massasauga is a secretive wetland rattlesnake of northern marshes and wet prairie, now declined and protected. All are reclusive and avoid confrontation.

Most snakes Missourians see are harmless. Garter snakes are common statewide, bullsnakes (gophersnakes) hiss and rattle their tails to bluff like a rattlesnake and are killed needlessly despite being excellent rodent hunters, and watersnakes patrol ponds and Ozark streams where they are constantly mistaken for cottonmouths. Rat snakes climb trees and barns after mice, and hognose snakes put on a dramatic hissing bluff. Bites are uncommon and rarely fatal thanks to antivenom, and most happen when people try to handle or kill a snake. Never assume a wild snake is safe to handle, and if a bite happens, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911.