Snakes and spiders in Meade County, Kansas
Meade County, home of Meade, has 16 snake and 0 spider species on record, from 311 licensed snake and 1 spider records. Venomous species here: the prairie rattlesnake.
Are there venomous snakes or spiders in Meade County?
Yes. The prairie rattlesnake: 19 licensed records, 5% of all Kansas records of it.
What snakes are in Meade County?
In all, 16 snake species are on the Meade County list. The most recorded are the plains garter snake (30), the western ribbon snake (26) and the gopher snake (25).
| # | Species | Records | Share of Kansas records |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plains garter snake Thamnophis radix | 30 | 5% |
| 2 | Western ribbon snake Thamnophis proximus | 26 | 9% |
| 3 | Gopher snake Pituophis catenifer | 25 | 4% |
| 4 | Glossy snake Arizona elegans | 22 | 19% |
| 5 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | 21 | 1% |
| 6 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | 19 | 8% |
| 7 | Prairie rattlesnake venomous Crotalus viridis | 19 | 5% |
| 8 | Plains hog-nosed snake Heterodon nasicus | 16 | 8% |
| 9 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | 15 | 2% |
| 10 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | 14 | 2% |
| 11 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | 14 | 11% |
| 12 | Plains black-headed snake Tantilla nigriceps | 13 | 8% |
| 13 | Prairie kingsnake Lampropeltis calligaster | 13 | 5% |
| 14 | Texas blind snake Rena dulcis | 12 | 27% |
| 15 | Long-nosed snake Rhinocheilus lecontei | 11 | 16% |
| 16 | Speckled kingsnake Lampropeltis holbrooki | 6 | 2% |
When are snakes out in Meade County?
Observation records of snakes in Meade County run mostly June through October, peaking in September with 58% of them; across Kansas the peak is May.
What stands out in Meade County
Species for which Meade County holds a large share of all Kansas records: the Texas blind snake, 27% (12 of 44); the glossy snake, 19% (22 of 116); the long-nosed snake, 16% (11 of 67).
Common in Kansas, not on the Meade County list
Among the snakes most recorded across Kansas, these do not reach the county list: the northern water snake (1,214 statewide), the flathead snake (809 statewide), the eastern copperhead (615 statewide), the western massasauga (490 statewide), the lined snake (480 statewide) and the western rat snake (443 statewide). Few records here can mean the species is rare in the county, or that few people have looked.
Harmless lookalikes in Meade County
No copperheads reach the county list, but the eastern copperhead and the broad-banded copperhead are on the Kansas list: treat any snake like them as venomous until identified. Harmless species often taken for them here: the eastern hog-nosed snake. Rattlesnakes are on the county list, and so are harmless species often taken for them: the gopher snake, the plains hog-nosed snake and the eastern hog-nosed snake. No coral snakes reach the county list, and GBIF holds no coral snake record for Kansas under any license, so one reported here is most likely a harmless lookalike: the long-nosed snake.
Meade County among Kansas counties
By licensed snake records Meade County ranks 10th of 105 Kansas counties with any.
Other Kansas counties with their own page: Cowley County, Douglas County, Chase County, Ellis County, Russell County, Cherokee County, Riley County and Barber County.
The whole state: venomous species in Kansas, all snakes, all spiders.
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.