Snakes in Wyoming

Wyoming has only about 10+ species of snakes, and just 2 of them are venomous. Both are rattlesnakes. There are no copperheads or cottonmouths in Wyoming or anywhere in the far West, so a venomous snake in Wyoming always means a rattlesnake. The other 14 species are harmless to people, and across the high heart of the state you can travel a long way without encountering any snake.

Wyoming has a short snake list because it is one of the highest, coldest states in the country. The Rocky Mountains, the high basins, and the elevated plateaus mean that for much of Wyoming the ground is simply too cold and too high for many snakes, and rattlesnakes drop out entirely at elevation. The snakes concentrate in the warmer, lower country: the eastern shortgrass plains, the sagebrush basins, the river valleys, and the dry rocky breaks and prairie. That low, warm ground is where nearly all the snake activity is.

Wyoming records 2 venomous kinds, both rattlesnakes. The Prairie Rattlesnake is the common, widespread one, ranging across the eastern plains, the sagebrush basins, and the river valleys and rocky outcrops where it hunts rodents. The Western Rattlesnake (in its midget faded form) lives in the canyon and sagebrush country of the west and southwest. Both stay on warm, low, dry ground, so the high mountains are effectively rattlesnake-free.

Most snakes Wyomingites actually meet are harmless. The gophersnake (often called bullsnake) is the classic mimic, hissing loudly and buzzing its tail to bluff like a rattlesnake despite having no venom and no rattle. Garter snakes are the snakes most people see, hunting near streams, ponds, and gardens. Racers move fast across open country, and the hognose snake performs its dramatic hiss-and-play-dead routine when bothered. Honest safety: nearly every serious snakebite in Wyoming is a rattlesnake bite, and most happen when someone handles, corners, or surprises one or reaches into rock and brush without looking. Deaths are very rare with antivenom and care. Give rattlesnakes room, watch your hands and feet on sunny rocky slopes and in the breaks, and never handle a wild snake. If a bite happens, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 or 911.