Louisiana has 7 venomous snakes named by official sources: Eastern Copperhead, Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, Harlequin Coralsnake, Northern Cottonmouth, Pygmy Rattlesnake, Timber Rattlesnake and Texas Coralsnake. Each one is labelled venomous by Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
The 7 venomous snakes of Louisiana
Recognize them from a distance; a photo cannot confirm that a snake is safe. Identifying animals safely.
Found in the Florida Parishes east of the upper Amite River and lower Tangipahoa River. There have been no confirmed records from Louisiana since the 1980s … Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
What the sources say
Range: Found in the Florida Parishes east of the upper Amite River and lower Tangipahoa River. There have been no confirmed records from Louisiana since the 1980s. Inhabit dry, wooded areas, especially pinelands and mixed forests, but some may be found in open pastures.
Relatively common in many places. Populations are considered stable within the state.
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218 records by month.What the sources say
Range: Found throughout Louisiana. They frequent swamplands and pond, lake, and stream borders, especially those with dense canopies. They often remain coiled near water, or on log jams in water, rarely ascending shrubs or palmettos. They frequently travel between streams, even over low ridges, and can be found in almost any habitat.
Rarely encountered and ranked as S2 (imperiled) in Louisiana.
What the sources say
Range: Found in upland areas and pine flatwoods in the Florida Parishes and northern and central Louisiana, southwest to Calcasieu Parish. There are isolated populations in the west edge of the Atchafalaya Basin-Vermilion River area, the salt dome islands around Cote Blanch Bay, and live oak ridges from the New Orleans area southward and eastward. Found in wooded areas but tend to avoid swamps. Favor areas with a grass understory such as pinelands and dry coastlands but are also found in palmetto flatwoods.
Populations appear stable in some places but have vanished from other known areas. Ranked as S3/S4 (rare/apparently secure) in Louisiana.
What the sources say
Range: Inhabit wooded and forested areas, preferring hardwoods. Found in most of Louisiana except coastal marshes. They occur on the salt dome islands around Cote Blanche Bay and adjacent high ground from Morgan City to Patterson, but there are no records west of the Atchafalaya Basin, in Acadiana, or in the pinelands of southwestern Louisiana.
For 7 other snakes on Louisiana's list, no official source we use states whether it is venomous: Ball Python, Boa Constrictor, Brahminy Blindsnake, Burmese Python, Eastern Milksnake, Eastern Pinesnake and Reticulated Python. That does not make them harmless. Leave every snake alone.
TWRA: the racer lacks the coachwhip's reddish tint along the sides of the tail; an all-black coachwhip is distinctly lighter or reddish toward the rear. Oklahoma: the coachwhip is much larger.
Northern watersnake or Cottonmouth (water moccasin)?
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Cottonmouths are heavier-bodied with a larger, chunky head, a pit between nostril and eye, darker color, and a light line from the eye to the corner of the mouth (Missouri). Cottonmouths have cat-like pupils; watersnakes have round pupils and no facial pit, and seen from above a cottonmouth's eyes are hidden while a watersnake's are visible (Florida Museum). Georgia DNR: banded watersnakes have bands widest on top; banded cottonmouths have bands widest on the sides (hourglass-shaped from above). Cottonmouths float on the water; watersnakes swim with the body just below the surface (Virginia DWR). Cautions from the same agencies: Virginia DWR says some other nonvenomous snakes, such as the eastern hog-nosed snake, also float, and that watersnakes often flatten the head when threatened so it looks diamond-shaped; CDFW says older northern watersnakes can look almost entirely dark brown or black.
Northern watersnake or Copperhead?
Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Florida Museum (midland watersnake): the watersnake's crossbands are darker, narrower and much more numerous than a copperhead's and turn into blotches halfway down the body. Watersnakes have round pupils and dark vertical lines near the mouth; copperheads have no such lines.
Copperheads have bold hourglass-shaped bands, and young copperheads under about 12 inches have bright yellow tail tips. Brown snakes have small spots, not hourglass bands.
Brown Snake (Dekay's Brownsnake) or Red-bellied Snake?
Nuisance alligators: contact an LDWF field office, or Operation Game Thief 800-442-2511 after hours and weekends. Sick/injured/stranded sea turtles or marine mammals: 844-SEA-TRTL (844-732-8785). Rabies: Louisiana Department of Health, Office of Public Health, 1-800-256-2748. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
“A Restricted Snake Permit is required for possession of any native and non-native venomous snake species in Louisiana.”
“Move from hibernation sites to summer foraging grounds in mid-spring and return to winter quarters in late summer and early fall; most often observed during these periods of travel.”
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