States Wildlife
Menu

Are there copperheads in Florida?

Last checked November 3, 2026 against official sources.

On this page
  1. The answer
  2. More official answers
  3. Which ones
  4. Where in the US
  5. Lookalikes
  6. Sources

Yes, Panhandle only.

In Florida, copperheads occur only in the Panhandle.

Florida Museum of Natural History: “In Florida, copperheads occur only in the Panhandle, primarily in the western tip and along the Apalachicola River and its tributaries.” Source

How we answer questions

On Florida's official list

Eastern Copperhead
Photo: USFWSmidwest · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Eastern Copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix

Venomous per FWC

Danger to people
“Copperhead bites are extremely painful but rarely life-threatening for healthy adults and for most large or medium-sized pets.” Florida Museum of Natural History
Size
Adults usually about 2 to 3 feet (24-36 in); record about 53 inches.
How to recognize it
  • Vertical (cat-like) pupils and a heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril
  • Heavy-bodied; keeled scales
  • Head shape alone is not a reliable way to identify copperheads
Where in Florida
In Florida, copperheads occur only in the Panhandle, primarily in the western tip and along the Apalachicola River and its tributaries … Florida Museum of Natural History
What the sources say

Venom: “Only six of Florida's 44 snake species are venomous: the eastern coral snake, the southern copperhead, the cottonmouth, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, and the dusky pygmy rattlesnake.” (FWC)

Range: In Florida, copperheads occur only in the Panhandle, primarily in the western tip and along the Apalachicola River and its tributaries. The herpetology collection at the Florida Museum contains verified records from Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Jackson, Liberty, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties. The range may extend to other nearby areas, but there are no confirmed records from other Florida counties.

Habitat: The Eastern Copperhead's preferred habitats in Florida are upland pine and hardwood forests with abundant leaf litter and in forests adjacent to low, wet areas boarding swamps, stream beds, river bottoms, and damp ravines. Large logs and piles of debris and rocks are often used as shelters. This species is occasionally found in suburban neighborhoods where development encroaches into favorable habitats. (Florida Museum of Natural History)

Full Eastern Copperhead guide

All snakes in the state: Florida snakes.

Where the copperhead lives in the US

Texas: on the state's official listKentucky: on the state's official listGeorgia: on the state's official listMissouri: on the state's official listVirginia: on the state's official listTennessee: on the state's official listLouisiana: on the state's official listNew York: on the state's official listFlorida: on the state's official listIllinois: on the state's official listMaryland: on the state's official listIowa: on the state's official listOhio: on the state's official listNebraska: on the state's official listArkansas: on the state's official listNorth Carolina: on the state's official listOklahoma: on the state's official listWest Virginia: on the state's official listIndiana: on the state's official listMassachusetts: on the state's official listPennsylvania: on the state's official listSouth Carolina: on the state's official listConnecticut: on the state's official listDelaware: on the state's official listAlabama: on the state's official listKansas: on the state's official listNew Jersey: on an official source
Official presence. 27 states where a state list or official source names it. Gray means no official record in our data, not that it is absent.
  • Native or listed
  • Nonnative or not established
  • No official record in our data
Texas: 248 recordsKentucky: 83 recordsGeorgia: 81 recordsMissouri: 48 recordsVirginia: 152 recordsTennessee: 103 recordsLouisiana: 50 recordsNew York: 228 recordsFlorida: 7 recordsIllinois: 31 recordsMaryland: 52 recordsOhio: 12 recordsNebraska: 31 recordsArkansas: 89 recordsMississippi: 13 recordsNorth Carolina: 277 recordsOklahoma: 9 recordsWest Virginia: 9 recordsIndiana: 6 recordsMassachusetts: 1 recordPennsylvania: 22 recordsSouth Carolina: 56 recordsConnecticut: 7 recordsAlabama: 39 recordsKansas: 98 recordsNew Jersey: 7 records
Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 26 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.
  • 1–9
  • 10–99
  • 100–999
  • 1,000+

Copperhead: identification, range and danger

What else it could be

  • Cottonmouth (water moccasin)
    Photo: Geoff Gallice from Gainesville · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

    Cottonmouth (water moccasin)

    Also venomous. Juvenile cottonmouths have many dark spots and speckles inside their dark crossbands (copperhead bands have none or at most one). The Florida Museum says adult Florida cottonmouths are typically uniformly dark, but SCDNR says cottonmouth color ranges from dark brown and black to olive drab and yellow-tan, so a pale snake is not ruled out. The copperhead's eye is not obscured by the dark facial band typical of the cottonmouth. Cottonmouths are almost always associated with wetlands.

  • Northern water snake
    Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

    Northern water snake

    Its dark bands form a 'reverse hourglass': wider across the back and narrower on the sides (the copperhead's are narrow on the back, wide on the sides). Older water snakes can look solid dark.

  • Southern and midland watersnakes
    Photo: Scott Loarie · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

    Southern and midland watersnakes

    Florida Museum, for Florida: crossbands (in the Southern Watersnake, on juveniles) are darker, narrower and much more numerous than a copperhead's; pupils are round; dark vertical lines on the sides of the face near the mouth, which copperheads lack. Large adults are typically uniformly dark brown or black.

  • Eastern milk snake
    Photo: Tom Norton · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

    Eastern milk snake

    Milk snake blotches are outlined in black and widest across the middle of the back; belly is a black-and-white checkerboard (copperhead belly is mottled white to gray).

  • Corn snake
    Photo: Bea Leiderman · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

    Corn snake

    Longer and slender with smooth, shiny scales, an elongated head and square, black-outlined blotches; more red, orange and yellow.

When snakes are seen in Florida

5,634 records (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY).

Other questions about Florida

Sources

  1. Florida Snake ID Guide species account: Eastern Copperhead. Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida). updated September 23, 2022; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (3)
    “In Florida, copperheads occur only in the Panhandle, primarily in the western tip and along the Apalachicola River and its tributaries.”
    “Head shape is not a reliable way to identify copperheads.”
    “Copperhead bites are extremely painful but rarely life-threatening for healthy adults and for most large or medium-sized pets.”
  2. Checklist of Florida's Amphibians and Reptiles (Revised 2023). Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). Revised 2023; checked November 3, 2026.
  3. Living with Snakes. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). archived copy, captured June 16, 2026; checked November 3, 2026. Archived copy.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Only six of Florida's 44 snake species are venomous: the eastern coral snake, the southern copperhead, the cottonmouth, the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, the timber rattlesnake, and the dusky pygmy rattlesnake.”
  4. Florida Snake ID Guide species account: Harlequin Coralsnake. Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida). updated September 23, 2022; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Harlequin Coralsnakes are found throughout Florida and in every county.”
  5. Florida Snake ID Guide species account: Florida Cottonmouth. Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida). updated September 26, 2025; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “Cottonmouths are found throughout Florida and in every county.”
  6. Florida Snake ID Guide species account: Burmese Python. Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida). updated September 23, 2022; checked November 3, 2026.
    Quoted passages (1)
    “However, they are currently known to be established only in the southern Florida peninsula from Lake Okeechobee south to Key Largo and Florida Bay.”
  7. GBIF.org occurrence records, human observations licensed CC0 1.0 or CC BY 4.0 only, accessed November 3, 2026. The datasets behind these counts are listed on our Sources page.