Snakes in Nevada
Nevada has 27 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 4,034 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the gopher snake, the western terrestrial garter snake and the western rattlesnake. Six of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Nevada
Rattlesnakes: six species are listed for Nevada, with 993 records (25% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the western rattlesnake (461), ahead of the sidewinder (305).
Observation records of the western rattlesnake in Nevada run mostly May through October, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Washoe County, White Pine County and Nye County. Most licensed records of the sidewinder in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Lincoln County. Most licensed records of the Panamint rattlesnake in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Esmeralda County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Nevada
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: three species are listed for Nevada, with 607 records (15% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the western terrestrial garter snake (557), ahead of the common garter snake (36).
Most licensed records of the western terrestrial garter snake in Nevada come from Washoe County, Elko County and White Pine County. Most licensed records of the common garter snake in Nevada come from Washoe County, Douglas County and Lyon County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Nevada
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: two species are listed for Nevada, with 122 records (3% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the California kingsnake (110), ahead of the Sonoran mountain kingsnake (12).
Most licensed records of the California kingsnake in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Washoe County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Nevada
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes: four species are listed for Nevada, with 634 records (16% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the coachwhip (293), ahead of the striped whipsnake (145).
Most licensed records of the coachwhip in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Mineral County. Most licensed records of the striped whipsnake in Nevada come from Washoe County, Clark County and Nye County. Most licensed records of the western patch-nosed snake in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Washoe County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in Nevada
One species of this group is listed for Nevada: the gopher snake, with 673 records (17% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the gopher snake in Nevada run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Clark County, Washoe County and Nye County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Nevada
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: ten species are listed for Nevada, with 887 records (22% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the long-nosed snake (263), ahead of the spotted leaf-nosed snake (163).
Most licensed records of the long-nosed snake in Nevada come from Clark County, Nye County and Lincoln County. Most licensed records of the spotted leaf-nosed snake in Nevada come from Nye County and Clark County. Most licensed records of the western shovel-nosed snake in Nevada come from Nye County, Clark County and Esmeralda County.
Boas and pythons in Nevada
One species of this group is listed for Nevada: the northern rubber boa, with 41 records (1% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the northern rubber boa in Nevada come from Washoe County, Nye County and Lander County.
Where in Nevada are snakes recorded most?
Clark County dominates: 34% of the state's licensed snake records come from it alone, and the top five counties hold 81%. 17 of Nevada's 17 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clark County | 1,378 | 34.2% |
| 2 | Nye County | 744 | 18.4% |
| 3 | Washoe County | 637 | 15.8% |
| 4 | White Pine County | 264 | 6.5% |
| 5 | Elko County | 232 | 5.8% |
| 6 | Lincoln County | 134 | 3.3% |
| 7 | Humboldt County | 111 | 2.8% |
| 8 | Mineral County | 108 | 2.7% |
| 9 | Esmeralda County | 88 | 2.2% |
| 10 | Lander County | 78 | 1.9% |
| 11 | Churchill County | 65 | 1.6% |
| 12 | Douglas County | 53 | 1.3% |
When do snakes come out in Nevada?
Observation records of snakes in Nevada run mostly April through October, peaking in May with 29% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in Nevada are rarely recorded in winter. The sharpest rise comes from April to May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0% | 3% | 15% | 29% | 28% | 9% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 0% | 0% |
Snakes: Nevada compared with its neighbors
Nevada ranks 21st of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with Indiana; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the five states bordering Nevada, Arizona, California and Utah list more snake species (Nevada: 27 species; Arizona 60, California 46, Utah 28, Oregon 16, Idaho 11).
What snakes are in Nevada? All 27 species
Ranked by licensed records in Nevada. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gopher snake Pituophis catenifer | Colubridae | 673 | 16.7% |
| 2 | Western terrestrial garter snake Thamnophis elegans | Colubridae | 557 | 13.8% |
| 3 | Western rattlesnake venomous Crotalus oreganus | Viperidae | 461 | 11.4% |
| 4 | Sidewinder venomous Crotalus cerastes | Viperidae | 305 | 7.6% |
| 5 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | Colubridae | 293 | 7.3% |
| 6 | Long-nosed snake Rhinocheilus lecontei | Colubridae | 263 | 6.5% |
| 7 | Spotted leaf-nosed snake Phyllorhynchus decurtatus | Colubridae | 163 | 4.0% |
| 8 | Striped whipsnake Masticophis taeniatus | Colubridae | 145 | 3.6% |
| 9 | Western patch-nosed snake Salvadora hexalepis | Colubridae | 133 | 3.3% |
| 10 | California kingsnake Lampropeltis californiae | Colubridae | 110 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Western shovel-nosed snake Sonora occipitalis | Colubridae | 109 | 2.7% |
| 12 | Panamint rattlesnake venomous Crotalus stephensi | Viperidae | 108 | 2.7% |
| 13 | Glossy snake Arizona elegans | Colubridae | 107 | 2.7% |
| 14 | Desert nightsnake Hypsiglena chlorophaea | Colubridae | 102 | 2.5% |
| 15 | Western ground snake Sonora semiannulata | Colubridae | 83 | 2.1% |
| 16 | Mohave rattlesnake venomous Crotalus scutulatus | Viperidae | 67 | 1.7% |
| 17 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 63 | 1.6% |
| 18 | Northern rubber boa Charina bottae | Boidae | 41 | 1.0% |
| 19 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 36 | 0.9% |
| 20 | Southwestern speckled rattlesnake venomous Crotalus pyrrhus | Viperidae | 35 | 0.9% |
| 21 | Sonoran lyre snake Trimorphodon lambda | Colubridae | 21 | 0.5% |
| 22 | Western threadsnake Rena humilis | Leptotyphlopidae | 20 | 0.5% |
| 23 | Western diamondback rattlesnake venomous Crotalus atrox | Viperidae | 17 | 0.4% |
| 24 | Western aquatic garter snake Thamnophis couchii | Colubridae | 14 | 0.3% |
| 25 | Sonoran mountain kingsnake Lampropeltis pyromelana | Colubridae | 12 | 0.3% |
| 26 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 10 | 0.2% |
| 27 | Southwestern blackhead snake Tantilla hobartsmithi | Colubridae | 9 | 0.2% |
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.