Snakes are the most feared wildlife species in Arkansas.
Arkansas is home to 36 species of snakes, six of which are venomous.
Terrestrial Snakes
- Racer
A snake of variable color pattern depending on location and has smooth scales.
It’s active in the daytime in fields and forests.
- Black Rat Snake
It’s a black, shiny snake with scales weakly keeled.
They are mostly in forests and woodlands.
- Eastern Hognose Snake
It’s tan, black, yellow, red, orange, or gray.
It’s mostly found in sandy or loose soil.
- Speckled Kingsnake
It has smooth, shiny scales.
It has a black, or dark brown body speckled with yellow or white spots.
It’s mostly found in swamps, marshes, and mixed pine-hardwood forests.
- Coachwhip
This snake has smooth scales.
It has a large slender body. Sometimes the entire body is black.
It is found in open forests.
- Western Ribbon Snake
The western ribbon snake is a striped snake with keeled scales.
It prefers to live near the edges of swamps, sloughs, marshes, rivers, and streams.
- Common Garter Snake
This snake is striped.
It’s found in various wet habitats, marshes, floodplains, lakes, and pond edges.
Venomous
- Copperhead Snake
This snake is tan with a darker brown hourglass-shaped band.
It occurs in mixed pine-hardwood forests, rocky or brushy fields, and hillsides.
- Cottonmouth Snake
The Cottonmouth snake is aquatic with black or dark patterning.
Found in sloughs, wetlands, and swamps.
- Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake
This snake has mottled brown, tan, and black with large, roughly diamond-shaped spots.
- Timber RattleSnake
Timber Rattlesnake is grayish or yellowish.
Found usually in hardwood, mixed pinewood, and rocky or brushy fields.
- Western Pygmy Rattlesnake
This snake is light brown, gray to grayish brown with pit viper, keeled snakes.
- Texas Coral Snake
Texas snakes have smooth scales.
Prefers moist pine, hardwood, or mixed pine-hardwood forests.
Water Snakes
- Mississippi Green Water Snake
The body of this snake is drab olive-green or olive-brown.
It inhabits a still or very slow-moving body.
- Plainbelly Water Snake
It has an olive-gray, dark greenish gray, or brownish body.
This snake can be found in sluggish water habitats.
- Broad-banded Water Snake
This snake has keeled scales and is irregularly shaped.
It’s a lowland water snake of swamps, sloughs, and sluggish streams.
- Diamondback Water Snake
The body of this snake can be light brown, yellowish, or olive with keeled snakes.
Found in a variety of wetland habitats.
- Northern Water Snake
This snake is light brown or gray with dark brown or reddish brown bands on the body.
Most commonly seen are water snakes in reservoirs and fast-flowing streams.
- Coral Snake Mimics
The scarlet and milk snake resembles the venomous coral snake, but they are completely harmless.
- Scarlet Snake
This snake is harmless.
It has smooth scales.
It inhabits in pine, hardwood, or mixed pine hardwood.
- Milk Snake
This is also harmless and has smooth scales and has the same habitat as scarlet snakes.
Woodland Snakes
- Eastern and Western Worm Snake
This snake has shiny, smooth scales.
Eastern worm snakes have a uniform brown belly and one to two scale rows above are pink.
Western worm snakes have a purplish black or black above, belly and three scale rows above are pink
- Brown Snake
It has keeled scales and its color may vary from light to dark yellow-brown.
It prefers moist environments.
- Redbelly Snake
The body of this snake may be gray, brown, or red-brown.
It has keeled scales and is mostly found in moist forests.
- Rough Earth Snake
The body of this snake is uniform brown, brown-red or gray.
It prefers rocky, wooded hillsides and hardwood forests.
- Smooth Earth snake
This is a plain-colored snake and is found in moist forests.
It has smooth or weakly keeled scales
Mud Snakes
- Mud Snake
The body of this snake is blue black to black and has smooth glossy scales and inhabits places like gum swamps.
- Graham Crayfish Snake
A brown or yellow-brown snake with keeled scales, often seen in early spring rolling on low branches.
- Queen Snake
The body of this snake is light brown with keeled scales.
Snake Prevention
Here are a few things to keep in mind for snake prevention:
- Keep your grass mowed.
- Be weather aware.
- Keep your home sealed.
