Snakes in New York
New York has 17 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 5,992 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the common garter snake, the northern water snake and the eastern milksnake. Three of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in New York
Rattlesnakes: two species are listed for New York, with 226 records (4% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the timber rattlesnake (207), ahead of the eastern massasauga (19).
Observation records of the timber rattlesnake in New York run mostly April through September, peaking in July; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Orange County and Dutchess County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the eastern copperhead, with 238 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern copperhead in New York run mostly May through September, peaking in August; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Orange County and Rockland County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in New York
Water snakes and swamp snakes: two species are listed for New York, with 923 records (15% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (903), ahead of the queen snake (20).
Observation records of the northern water snake in New York run mostly April through August, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Tompkins County and Onondaga County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in New York
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes dominate the snake record of New York: three species and 42% of all records. The most recorded is the common garter snake (2,347), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (89).
Observation records of the common garter snake in New York run mostly April through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Tompkins County and Onondaga County. Most licensed records of the eastern ribbonsnake in New York come from Tompkins County, Livingston County and Monroe County. Most licensed records of the shorthead garter snake in New York come from Cattaraugus County, Chemung County and Chautauqua County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the eastern rat snake, with 151 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in New York run mostly April through October, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Rockland County and Orange County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the eastern milksnake, with 330 records (6% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern milksnake in New York run mostly May through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Tompkins County, Ulster County and Dutchess County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the eastern racer, with 171 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in New York run mostly April through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Ulster County, Dutchess County and Suffolk County.
Hognose snakes in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 25 records (0.4% of the state's snake records).
Green snakes in New York
One species of this group is listed for New York: the smooth green snake, with 131 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the smooth green snake in New York come from Tompkins County, Ulster County and Tioga County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in New York
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: four species are listed for New York, with 846 records (14% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the DeKay's brown snake (297), ahead of the ring-necked snake (276).
Observation records of the DeKay's brown snake in New York run mostly March through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Chemung County, Tompkins County and Erie County. Observation records of the ring-necked snake in New York run mostly April through September, peaking in August; most licensed records come from Tompkins County, Ulster County and Orange County. Observation records of the red-bellied snake in New York run mostly April through October, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Tompkins County, Chemung County and Cattaraugus County.
Where in New York are snakes recorded most?
Ulster County dominates: 30% of the state's licensed snake records come from it alone, and the top five counties hold 55%. 61 of New York's 62 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulster County | 1,788 | 29.8% |
| 2 | Tompkins County | 842 | 14.1% |
| 3 | Onondaga County | 276 | 4.6% |
| 4 | Broome County | 210 | 3.5% |
| 5 | Chemung County | 177 | 3.0% |
| 6 | Erie County | 149 | 2.5% |
| 7 | Dutchess County | 147 | 2.5% |
| 8 | Monroe County | 147 | 2.5% |
| 9 | Orange County | 139 | 2.3% |
| 10 | Suffolk County | 129 | 2.2% |
| 11 | Cattaraugus County | 129 | 2.2% |
| 12 | Tioga County | 105 | 1.8% |
When do snakes come out in New York?
Observation records of snakes in New York run mostly April through October, peaking in June with 20% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in New York are rarely recorded in winter. The sharpest rise comes from March to April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1% | 0% | 3% | 12% | 19% | 20% | 13% | 13% | 10% | 7% | 1% | 0% |
Snakes: New York compared with its neighbors
New York ranks 31st of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with Michigan; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the five states bordering New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey list more snake species (New York: 17 species; Pennsylvania 20, New Jersey 18, Connecticut 14, Massachusetts 13, Vermont 9).
What snakes are in New York? All 17 species
Ranked by licensed records in New York. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 2,347 | 39.2% |
| 2 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 903 | 15.1% |
| 3 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 330 | 5.5% |
| 4 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 297 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 276 | 4.6% |
| 6 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 270 | 4.5% |
| 7 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 238 | 4.0% |
| 8 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 207 | 3.5% |
| 9 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 171 | 2.9% |
| 10 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 151 | 2.5% |
| 11 | Smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis | Colubridae | 131 | 2.2% |
| 12 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 89 | 1.5% |
| 13 | Shorthead garter snake Thamnophis brachystoma | Colubridae | 89 | 1.5% |
| 14 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 25 | 0.4% |
| 15 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 20 | 0.3% |
| 16 | Eastern massasauga venomous Sistrurus catenatus | Viperidae | 19 | 0.3% |
| 17 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 3 | 0.1% |
Also recorded in New York, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, two snake species are known from New York 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.