Snakes in Delaware
Delaware has 14 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 674 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the northern water snake, the common garter snake and the eastern racer. One of them is venomous.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in Delaware
One species of this group is listed for Delaware: the eastern copperhead, with 17 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Water snakes and swamp snakes in Delaware
Water snakes and swamp snakes dominate the snake record of Delaware: two species and 39% of all records. The most recorded is the northern water snake (262), ahead of the queen snake (2).
Observation records of the northern water snake in Delaware run mostly March through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Sussex County, Kent County and New Castle County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Delaware
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: two species are listed for Delaware, with 101 records (15% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the common garter snake (95), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (6).
Observation records of the common garter snake in Delaware run mostly March through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Sussex County, New Castle County and Kent County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Delaware
One species of this group is listed for Delaware: the eastern rat snake, with 77 records (11% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in Delaware run mostly March through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Sussex County, Kent County and New Castle County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Delaware
Kingsnakes and milksnakes are a small part of the snake record here: two species with 3% of records between them. The most recorded is the eastern milksnake (13), ahead of the eastern kingsnake (5).
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Delaware
One species of this group is listed for Delaware: the eastern racer, with 79 records (12% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Delaware run mostly March through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Sussex County, Kent County and New Castle County.
Hognose snakes in Delaware
One species of this group is listed for Delaware: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 13 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Green snakes in Delaware
One species of this group is listed for Delaware: the rough greensnake, with 9 records (1% of the state's snake records).
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Delaware
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: three species are listed for Delaware, with 78 records (12% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern wormsnake (30), ahead of the ring-necked snake (29).
Most licensed records of the eastern wormsnake in Delaware come from Sussex County, New Castle County and Kent County.
Where in Delaware are snakes recorded most?
Sussex County dominates: 62% of the state's licensed snake records come from it alone, and the top five counties hold 100%. 3 of Delaware's 3 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sussex County | 417 | 61.9% |
| 2 | New Castle County | 137 | 20.3% |
| 3 | Kent County | 120 | 17.8% |
When do snakes come out in Delaware?
Observation records of snakes in Delaware run mostly March through September, peaking in May with 24% of them. Winter (December to February) holds 3% of the records. The sharpest rise comes from March to April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 2% | 6% | 18% | 24% | 21% | 8% | 7% | 7% | 5% | 1% | 1% |
Snakes: Delaware compared with its neighbors
Delaware ranks 37th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with Connecticut; Texas leads with 86 species.
Every state bordering Delaware lists more snake species (Delaware: 14 species; Maryland 20, Pennsylvania 20, New Jersey 18).
What snakes are in Delaware? All 14 species
Ranked by licensed records in Delaware. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 262 | 38.9% |
| 2 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 95 | 14.1% |
| 3 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 79 | 11.7% |
| 4 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 77 | 11.4% |
| 5 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 30 | 4.5% |
| 6 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 29 | 4.3% |
| 7 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 19 | 2.8% |
| 8 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 17 | 2.5% |
| 9 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 13 | 1.9% |
| 10 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 13 | 1.9% |
| 11 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 9 | 1.3% |
| 12 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 6 | 0.9% |
| 13 | Eastern kingsnake Lampropeltis getula | Colubridae | 5 | 0.7% |
| 14 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 2 | 0.3% |
Also recorded in Delaware, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, two snake species are known from Delaware by only 3 to 9 records each. Some are genuine rarities at the edge of their range; others may be strays, released pets or old misidentifications, so treat them as unconfirmed.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.