Snakes in South Carolina
South Carolina has 40 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 3,640 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the brown water snake, the southern watersnake and the eastern racer. Six of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in South Carolina
Rattlesnakes are a small part of the snake record here: three species with 3% of records between them. The most recorded is the timber rattlesnake (64), ahead of the pygmy rattlesnake (20).
Observation records of the timber rattlesnake in South Carolina run mostly May through November, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Lexington County and Jasper County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in South Carolina
Copperheads and cottonmouths: two species are listed for South Carolina, with 362 records (10% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern cottonmouth (183), ahead of the eastern copperhead (179).
Observation records of the northern cottonmouth in South Carolina run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Richland County. Observation records of the eastern copperhead in South Carolina run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Jasper County.
Coral snakes in South Carolina
One species of this group is listed for South Carolina: the eastern coral snake, with 26 records (0.7% of the state's snake records).
Water snakes and swamp snakes in South Carolina
Water snakes and swamp snakes dominate the snake record of South Carolina: ten species and 31% of all records. The most recorded is the brown water snake (266), ahead of the southern watersnake (225).
Most licensed records of the brown water snake in South Carolina come from Barnwell County, Aiken County and Saluda County. Observation records of the southern watersnake in South Carolina run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Berkeley County, Charleston County and Jasper County. Most licensed records of the crayfish snake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Georgetown County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in South Carolina
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: two species are listed for South Carolina, with 224 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the common garter snake (131), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (93).
Observation records of the common garter snake in South Carolina run mostly March through November, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Jasper County and Aiken County. Most licensed records of the eastern ribbonsnake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Jasper County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in South Carolina
Rat snakes and corn snakes: two species are listed for South Carolina, with 300 records (8% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern rat snake (163), ahead of the corn snake (137).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in South Carolina run mostly March through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Greenville County, Berkeley County and Charleston County. Most licensed records of the corn snake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Lexington County and Jasper County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in South Carolina
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: five species are listed for South Carolina, with 215 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern kingsnake (111), ahead of the scarlet kingsnake (42).
Observation records of the eastern kingsnake in South Carolina run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Jasper County. Most licensed records of the scarlet kingsnake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Jasper County and Berkeley County. Most licensed records of the prairie kingsnake in South Carolina come from Spartanburg County, Greenville County and Laurens County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in South Carolina
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes: two species are listed for South Carolina, with 253 records (7% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern racer (222), ahead of the coachwhip (31).
Observation records of the eastern racer in South Carolina run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Jasper County, Charleston County and Berkeley County. Most licensed records of the coachwhip in South Carolina come from Chesterfield County, Jasper County and Horry County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in South Carolina
One species of this group is listed for South Carolina: the pine snake, with 22 records (0.6% of the state's snake records).
Hognose snakes in South Carolina
Hognose snakes are a small part of the snake record here: two species with 3% of records between them. The most recorded is the eastern hog-nosed snake (89), ahead of the southern hognose snake (19).
Most licensed records of the eastern hog-nosed snake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Jasper County.
Green snakes in South Carolina
One species of this group is listed for South Carolina: the rough greensnake, with 135 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the rough greensnake in South Carolina run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Jasper County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in South Carolina
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: nine species are listed for South Carolina, with 687 records (19% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the ring-necked snake (179), ahead of the red-bellied snake (98).
Most licensed records of the ring-necked snake in South Carolina come from Charleston County, Berkeley County and Oconee County. Most licensed records of the red-bellied snake in South Carolina come from Berkeley County, Charleston County and Chesterfield County. Most licensed records of the eastern wormsnake in South Carolina come from Oconee County, Berkeley County and Pickens County.
Where in South Carolina are snakes recorded most?
Charleston County leads with 677 records (19%), followed by Berkeley County and Aiken County; the top five counties hold 52% of the total. 46 of South Carolina's 46 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charleston County | 677 | 18.6% |
| 2 | Berkeley County | 460 | 12.6% |
| 3 | Aiken County | 276 | 7.6% |
| 4 | Jasper County | 274 | 7.5% |
| 5 | Barnwell County | 193 | 5.3% |
| 6 | Richland County | 164 | 4.5% |
| 7 | Georgetown County | 150 | 4.1% |
| 8 | Lexington County | 140 | 3.8% |
| 9 | Greenville County | 115 | 3.2% |
| 10 | Oconee County | 105 | 2.9% |
| 11 | Chesterfield County | 94 | 2.6% |
| 12 | Horry County | 90 | 2.5% |
When do snakes come out in South Carolina?
Observation records of snakes in South Carolina run mostly March through October, peaking in April with 24% of them. Winter (December to February) holds 4% 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% | 10% | 24% | 17% | 12% | 7% | 8% | 8% | 8% | 3% | 2% |
Snakes: South Carolina compared with its neighbors
South Carolina ranks 11th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the two states bordering South Carolina, Georgia lists more snake species (South Carolina: 40 species; Georgia 44, North Carolina 39).
What snakes are in South Carolina? All 40 species
Ranked by licensed records in South Carolina. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown water snake Nerodia taxispilota | Colubridae | 266 | 7.3% |
| 2 | Southern watersnake Nerodia fasciata | Colubridae | 225 | 6.2% |
| 3 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 222 | 6.1% |
| 4 | Northern cottonmouth venomous Agkistrodon piscivorus | Viperidae | 183 | 5.0% |
| 5 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 179 | 4.9% |
| 6 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 179 | 4.9% |
| 7 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 163 | 4.5% |
| 8 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 137 | 3.8% |
| 9 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 135 | 3.7% |
| 10 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 131 | 3.6% |
| 11 | Crayfish snake Liodytes rigida | Colubridae | 128 | 3.5% |
| 12 | Eastern kingsnake Lampropeltis getula | Colubridae | 111 | 3.0% |
| 13 | Plain-bellied watersnake Nerodia erythrogaster | Colubridae | 110 | 3.0% |
| 14 | Mud snake Farancia abacura | Colubridae | 109 | 3.0% |
| 15 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 98 | 2.7% |
| 16 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 97 | 2.7% |
| 17 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 93 | 2.6% |
| 18 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 89 | 2.4% |
| 19 | Rainbow snake Farancia erytrogramma | Colubridae | 86 | 2.4% |
| 20 | Scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea | Colubridae | 86 | 2.4% |
| 21 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 82 | 2.3% |
| 22 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 79 | 2.2% |
| 23 | Black swamp snake Liodytes pygaea | Colubridae | 69 | 1.9% |
| 24 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 64 | 1.8% |
| 25 | Rough earthsnake Haldea striatula | Colubridae | 62 | 1.7% |
| 26 | Southeastern crown snake Tantilla coronata | Colubridae | 48 | 1.3% |
| 27 | Scarlet kingsnake Lampropeltis elapsoides | Colubridae | 42 | 1.2% |
| 28 | Prairie kingsnake Lampropeltis calligaster | Colubridae | 32 | 0.9% |
| 29 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | Colubridae | 31 | 0.9% |
| 30 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 31 | 0.9% |
| 31 | Eastern coral snake venomous Micrurus fulvius | Elapidae | 26 | 0.7% |
| 32 | Pine woods snake Rhadinaea flavilata | Colubridae | 26 | 0.7% |
| 33 | Pine snake Pituophis melanoleucus | Colubridae | 22 | 0.6% |
| 34 | Pygmy rattlesnake venomous Sistrurus miliarius | Viperidae | 20 | 0.5% |
| 35 | Southern hognose snake Heterodon simus | Colubridae | 19 | 0.5% |
| 36 | Florida green water snake Nerodia floridana | Colubridae | 17 | 0.5% |
| 37 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 15 | 0.4% |
| 38 | Mole kingsnake Lampropeltis rhombomaculata | Colubridae | 15 | 0.4% |
| 39 | Smooth earth snake Virginia valeriae | Colubridae | 12 | 0.3% |
| 40 | Eastern diamondback rattlesnake venomous Crotalus adamanteus | Viperidae | 7 | 0.2% |
Also recorded in South Carolina, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, one snake species is known from South Carolina by only three records of any license. It may be a genuine rarity at the edge of its range, or a stray, a released pet or an old misidentification, so treat it as unconfirmed.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.