Arizona Coral Snake
Micruroides euryxanthus
Black head and snout
What snake is this?
Choose what you saw. The list narrows to the snakes in our species guides that match, venomous ones first. It suggests possibilities only: a description cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe.
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Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix
Vertical (cat-like) pupils and a heat-sensing pit between eye and nostril
Coral snakes
Micrurus and Micruroides (family Elapidae): US coral snakes Micrurus fulvius, Micrurus tener, Micruroides euryxanthus
Black snout followed by a broad yellow band
Cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus
Heat-sensing pit between nostril and eye; no rattle
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus adamanteus
Light-bordered dark stripe running diagonally through each eye
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Massasauga rattlesnake
Sistrurus catenatus (eastern massasauga) and Sistrurus tergeminus (western massasauga, including the prairie and desert massasaugas)
A segmented rattle (a single button in newborns) and vertical, catlike pupils. In Michigan it is the only snake with both.
Mojave Rattlesnake
Crotalus scutulatus
Rattle at the end of the tail
Prairie Rattlesnake
Crotalus viridis
Rattle (or a button in newborns) at the tail tip
Pygmy rattlesnake
Sistrurus miliarius
Tiny rattle at the end of a slender tail; buzz sounds like an insect
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Ringneck snake
Diadophis punctatus
A yellow, cream or orange ring around the neck; it may be incomplete, and some Lower Florida Keys and western Arizona snakes lack it.
Sidewinder Rattlesnake
Crotalus cerastes
Enlarged, upturned, horn-like scales above the eyes
Texas coral snake
Micrurus tener
The only snake in Texas with touching red and yellow bands
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Timber Rattlesnake
Crotalus horridus
Black tail ending in a rattle
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Crotalus atrox
Rattle at the end of the tail
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Western Rattlesnake
Crotalus oreganus
Rattle on the tail; broad triangular head; facial pits
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Black Racer
Coluber constrictor
Smooth scales
Black rat snake
Pantherophis obsoletus (broad sense; formerly Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta)
Body shaped like a loaf of bread in cross section (flat belly meets the sides at an angle)
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Brown Snake (Dekay's Brownsnake)
Storeria dekayi
Dark top of head; a dark spot under each eye and on each side of the neck
Bullsnake
Pituophis catenifer sayi (bullsnake), a subspecies of the gophersnake Pituophis catenifer
Black line from the eye to the jaw and black bars along the upper lip
Burmese Python
Python bivittatus
Dark spearhead (arrow) shape on top of the head
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California kingsnake
Lampropeltis californiae
Smooth, glossy scales ('Lampropeltis' means 'shiny shield').
Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
Long, slowly tapering tail whose scales look like a braided whip
Corn snake
Pantherophis guttatus
Spear-shaped head marking from the neck to a point between the eyes is a reliable identification feature
Eastern Indigo Snake
Drymarchon couperi
Large, thick-bodied, glossy black snake with smooth scales and round pupils
Eastern Kingsnake
Lampropeltis getula
Smooth, shiny scales and an indistinct neck.
Garter snake
Thamnophis
Three light stripes running the full length of the body: one down the back, one along each side.
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Gopher snake (gophersnake)
Pituophis catenifer
No rattle: tail tapers to a point
Hognose Snake
Heterodon (hog-nosed snakes: H. platirhinos, H. simus, H. nasicus, H. kennerlyi)
Upturned snout and broad head
Milk Snake
Lampropeltis triangulum (eastern milksnake); some agencies now also list Lampropeltis gentilis (western milksnake), formerly part of L. triangulum
Eastern milksnake: black-and-white checkerboard belly (Ohio). Western milksnake in Louisiana: underside dull white with scattered black marks.
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Northern watersnake
Nerodia sipedon
Dark crossbands on the front part of the body break up into rows of blotches from the middle of the body to the tail.
Pine snake
Pituophis melanoleucus
Pointed snout covered by a large, triangular, cone-shaped scale, used for pushing into soft earth.
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Rat snake
Pantherophis (North American rat snakes)
Body shaped like a loaf of bread in cross section, an aid to climbing
Red-bellied snake
Storeria occipitomaculata
Plain, unmarked red or orange belly.
Ribbon snake
Thamnophis saurita (eastern ribbonsnake) and Thamnophis proximus (western ribbonsnake); some sources spell the first Thamnophis sauritus
Very slender body; long tail, about one-third of total length.
Rough green snake
Opheodrys aestivus
Keeled (ridged) scales in 17 rows, which feel rough; the smooth green snake has smooth scales.
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Rubber Boa
Charina bottae (northern rubber boa). California also recognizes the southern rubber boa, Charina umbratica (listed by CDFW as Charina bottae umbratica), which is treated here as a related species with its own status.
Thick body, small eyes, tiny scales, and a blunt tail that looks like the head
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Scarlet kingsnake
Lampropeltis elapsoides
Red and yellow rings are separated by black rings, so red and yellow do not touch.
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Worm Snake (wormsnakes)
Carphophis
Looks like an earthworm: round, glossy body with smooth scales
No snake in our guides matches all of these choices. Try fewer filters. If you are unsure what you saw, treat it as potentially dangerous and keep away.
How to use this tool safely
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