Snakes in North Dakota

North Dakota has a small snake fauna, about 9 species, and only 1 of them is venomous. With such a short list, almost every snake you see in the state is harmless. Long, cold winters and open country keep snake numbers and active seasons limited, and the species that do live here are hardy grassland and wetland hunters of rodents, frogs, and insects.

The state's habitats are dominated by prairie and water. Eastern North Dakota holds the flat, fertile Red River Valley and glaciated prairie pothole country, a landscape of countless shallow wetlands and grassland. Moving west, the land rises into mixed-grass and shortgrass prairie and finally the rugged Badlands along the Little Missouri River, with their dry buttes, breaks, and rocky outcrops. That dry western country is where the state's one venomous snake concentrates.

North Dakota's single venomous species is the Prairie Rattlesnake, found mainly in the Badlands and the dry breaks of the southwest. It favors rocky outcrops, prairie-dog towns, and south-facing slopes where it can den and bask, and it is uncommon elsewhere in the state. A prairie rattlesnake is shy and would rather retreat or hold still than confront a person, so encounters are infrequent and bites rare.

Most snakes North Dakotans see are harmless. Common garter snakes and plains garter snakes are the most encountered, in wet meadows, gardens, and along sloughs. Bullsnakes (gophersnakes) on the prairies hiss loudly and rattle their tails to imitate a rattlesnake, and are too often killed for the bluff even though they are valuable rodent hunters. Plains hognose snakes flatten and hiss dramatically but pose no threat. 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.