Pine snake

Pituophis melanoleucus · also called Eastern pinesnake, Pinesnake, Northern pine snake and Florida pine snake · Last checked November 3, 2026.

A blotched snake, dark and mottled at the front and with distinct brown blotches on cream toward the tail, crawls across white sand. — Northern pine snake: black blotches, heavy near the head, clearer toward the tail. Photo: Scott Ward · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Non-venomous per Florida Museum of Natural History

The pine snake (eastern pinesnake) is a large, thick-bodied, non-venomous constrictor, most often 4 to 5.5 feet long, with dark blotches on a white, cream, yellowish, tan or gray body and a pointed snout. Black pine snakes are almost uniformly black or dark brown. Official sources say it is not venomous and not aggressive, but if cornered it hisses loudly, vibrates its tail and strikes, and it can give a painful bite if handled. It lives in dry, sandy pine habitats in scattered parts of the East and Southeast, from the New Jersey Pine Barrens to Florida and west to Alabama and Mississippi, and it spends most of its time underground. It is rare in much of its range and has legal protection in several states; the black pine snake subspecies is federally threatened. Florida Museum of Natural History

On this page

Is it dangerous?
How to identify it
Lookalikes
Where it lives
When it is active
Habitat and habits
Legal status and reporting
Questions
Sources

Is the pine snake dangerous?

Florida Museum: Eastern Pinesnakes are non-venomous and not dangerous to people or pets, but they readily bite to defend themselves; they are not aggressive and avoid direct contact with people and pets. Florida Museum of Natural History

“Non-venomous Eastern Pinesnakes are not dangerous to people or pets, but they will readily bite to defend themselves. These snakes are not aggressive and avoid direct contact with people and pets.”

Bites and stings: Yes, in defense. Florida Museum: readily bites to defend itself, with virtually all bites occurring when the snake is intentionally bothered. New Jersey: can inflict a painful, non-venomous bite if handled. Alabama: if picked up it may bite, though many individuals refrain.

If someone is bitten or stung, call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

How to identify a pine snake

A photo or description can narrow it down, but cannot confirm what an animal is or that it is safe. Look from a distance and do not handle wild animals.

Close view of a pine snake's pale, pointed head resting on sand, with black-blotched cream coils behind it. — Head view: pointed snout with a large snout scale; ridged body scales. Photo: Scott Ward · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

A coiled snake with cream scales and dark reddish-brown blotches rests its patterned head among its coils on pine needles. — Close view of a coiled pine snake with reddish-brown blotches on cream. Photo: Alpha Wolf · CC BY 4.0 · iNaturalist

Size: Most adults are 48 to 66 inches long. The Florida Museum gives a record of 90 inches; Alabama gives a maximum of 83 inches for the northern and 74 inches for the black subspecies. New Jersey gives 48 to 100 inches. Florida Museum of Natural History

Colors: white, cream, yellow, tan, gray, reddish brown, dark brown and black. Pattern: blotched; solid (black pine snake).

Key features

Pointed snout covered by a large, triangular, cone-shaped scale, used for pushing into soft earth. Florida Museum of Natural History
Strongly keeled (ridged) body scales and round pupils. Florida Museum of Natural History
Four prefrontal scales between and just in front of the eyes, where most similar snakes have two. University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Small head only slightly wider than the neck. Outdoor Alabama
Very loud hiss when threatened, described by Maryland DNR as like air escaping from a truck tire. DNR

Young

LDWF describes the Louisiana pinesnake as a separate species, dull yellow, pale tan or beige with 30 to 37 large brown or black blotches, and says it occurs only in eastern Texas and Louisiana west of the Mississippi River. USFWS lists it as federally threatened. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Non-venomous (Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries)

Pine snake or Foxsnake, locally called "pine snake" in the upper Midwest?

Pine snake

Foxsnake, locally called "pine snake" in the upper Midwest

No confirmed photo of Foxsnake, locally called "pine snake" in the upper Midwest

In Wisconsin the name "pine snake" is used for the foxsnake (Wisconsin DNR also names the gophersnake and gray ratsnake), and in Michigan's Upper Peninsula for the western fox snake (MSU Extension). Wisconsin DNR: foxsnakes vibrate their tails, sound like rattlesnakes and are often misidentified as them. Rattlesnakes have rattles; Wisconsin's non-venomous snakes have tails that come to a point. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation

Non-venomous, but rattlesnakes it is confused with are venomous

Where the pine snake lives

Official presence. 12 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

Observation records. Open-licence records on GBIF in 8 states. Records are sightings people shared, not confirmation that a population lives there.

1–9
10–99
100–999
1,000+

On our state guides

State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.

When it is active

Occasional surface activity from spring through fall, particularly May to October (SREL); surface activity usually in early morning or late afternoon (Alabama). University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory

US open-licence records peak in April to June.

47 US records by month (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY). Shows when people record it, not how many there are.

Habitat and habits

Habitat: Dry, sandy, well-drained soils for burrowing: open pine and pine-oak woods, longleaf pine, sandhills, scrub, pine barrens and old fields; also dry mountain ridges. Closed-canopy forest is avoided. Florida Museum of Natural History

Behavior: A burrower that spends most of its life underground and is seldom seen. When approached it usually flees. If cornered it may inflate its body, rear up, hiss loudly and strike while vibrating its tail, which buzzes in leaf litter, and it may release foul-smelling musk. It can climb trees.

Diet: Mostly pocket gophers and other small mammals; also ground-nesting birds and their eggs, reptile eggs and, especially in the young, lizards. It kills prey by constriction.

Young: Lays eggs, about 4 to 12 large eggs in summer, sometimes in communal nests in sandy soil. Hatching runs from late summer into fall. Tennessee says these are the largest eggs of any North American snake.

Legal status and reporting

Federal: The species as a whole is not federally listed, but the black pine snake subspecies (Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi) is listed as Threatened wherever found. The separate Louisiana pinesnake (Pituophis ruthveni) is also Threatened. US Fish and Wildlife Service

Protection: Alabama regulation makes it unlawful to take, capture, kill or possess pine snakes. Florida: Florida pine snake state Threatened. North Carolina: state Threatened; cannot be collected or taken without a special permit. New Jersey and Tennessee: state Threatened. Mississippi: black pine snake state Endangered. Maryland: Endangered Extirpated. Louisiana: Threatened; the Louisiana pinesnake cannot legally be possessed or harvested from the wild. Georgia: may not be held as a pet. Virginia: Wildlife Action Plan Tier I, not a legal status. Outdoor Alabama

Report: North Carolina: Wildlife Commission biologists ask for pine snake sightings to be submitted. Maryland: contact DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service immediately. N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission

Questions about the pine snake

Pine snake

A pine snake is a large, non-venomous constrictor of dry, sandy pine habitats in the East and Southeast, with dark blotches on a pale body (black pine snakes are nearly solid black). It is not aggressive, but when cornered it hisses loudly, vibrates its tail and strikes, and it can bite. If you are not sure what bit you, call 911 or Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Are there pine snakes in wisconsin?

No true pine snakes. Wisconsin DNR says true pinesnakes do not exist in the upper Midwest and that the name is often used for larger Wisconsin snakes such as the gophersnake (bullsnake), foxsnake and gray ratsnake.

Sources

Florida Snake ID Guide species account: Eastern Pinesnake. Florida Museum of Natural History (University of Florida). updated September 8, 2021; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (10)
“Non-venomous Eastern Pinesnakes are not dangerous to people or pets, but they will readily bite to defend themselves. These snakes are not aggressive and avoid direct contact with people and pets.”
“Non-venomous Eastern Pinesnakes are not dangerous to people or pets, but they will readily bite to defend themselves.”
“Most adult Eastern Pinesnakes are 48-66 inches (122-168 cm) in total length, with a record length recorded of 90 inches (229 cm).”
“The snout is somewhat pointed and covered by a large triangular, cone-shaped scale.”
“The scales on the body are strongly keeled (each scale has a prominent raised ridge). The pupils are round.”
“The juvenile color pattern is similar to adults but brighter and less obscured towards the head.”
“Eastern Pinesnakes require dry sandy soils for burrowing. They are found most often in open pine-turkey oak woodlands and abandoned fields, but they also inhabit scrub, sandhills, and longleaf pine forest.”
“Eastern Pinesnakes feed primarily on pocket gophers, which they pursue by forcing their way into their underground tunnels and burrows. However, other small mammals, lizards, and reptile eggs are also eaten.”
“…if they are cornered, these snakes often inflate and rear the forebody off the ground, hiss loudly, and strike at the attacker while rapidly vibrating the tip of the tail, which produces a buzzing sound in leaf litter.”
“Eastern Coachwhips have a dark brown or black head and neck that transition into a tan body and tail. They lack the enlarged triangular rostral scale, and they have smooth scales.”
Northern Pine Snake (NCWRC species page). N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“If you see a pine snake in the wild, Wildlife Commission biologists want to know.”
Snakes of New Jersey (brochure). NJDEP Division of Fish & Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program. PDF Last-Modified 2021-06-23; checked November 3, 2026.
Reptiles: Snakes (Tennessee Watchable Wildlife). Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. footer 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Females lay 4-12 large eggs in the nest during the summer. The young hatch in late summer or fall and can be over 12 inches in length.”
Black Pine Snake. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Two other black snakes occurring within distribution, the black racer and eastern indigo snake, have smooth body scales.”
Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (linked by SCDNR as its species information). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (2)
“They have four prefrontal scales, unlike most other colubrids, which have two.”
“Their occasional surface activity can be observed in the spring through the fall, particularly May to October.”
50 CFR 17.11 List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife, pinesnake rows. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (eCFR). eCFR version for 2026-10-01; checked November 3, 2026.
Northern Pine Snake. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (2)
“Head only slightly wider than neck”
“…easily distinguished from the latter by the enlarged rostral scute and the undivided anal scale (divided in gray rat snake)”
Eastern Pinesnake (DNR field guide species page). Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). archived copy, captured February 16, 2026; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (2)
“It makes a distinctive loud ‘hiss’ when threatened, likened to air escaping from a truck tire”
“Easily confused with a juvenile Eastern Ratsnake”
Nongame Reptiles Protected by Alabama Regulations. Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Outdoor Alabama). undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“It shall be unlawful to take, capture, kill, or attempt to take, capture or kill; possess”
Snake Species Field Guide: Louisiana Pinesnake. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. undated page; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“Species is dull yellow, pale tan, or beige with 30 to 37 large brown/black blotches on the back”
Avoiding and Treating Rattlesnake Bites in Wisconsin, PUB-ER-083. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation. PUB-ER-083 2023; checked November 3, 2026.
Quoted passages (1)
“…especially species such as the foxsnake (pine snake) and gophersnake (bullsnake) that mimic rattlesnakes by ‘rattling’ their tails”
Amphibian and Reptile Frequently Asked Questions #4 - Snakes, PUB-ER-670. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Endangered Resources (Kapfer 2011). 2011; checked November 3, 2026.
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.
State boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, cartographic boundary file cb_2024_us_state_20m.