Snakes in Tennessee
Tennessee has 32 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 2,627 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the ring-necked snake, the northern water snake and the common garter snake. Three of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Tennessee
One species of this group is listed for Tennessee: the timber rattlesnake, with 50 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the timber rattlesnake in Tennessee run mostly April through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Blount County, Sevier County and Marion County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in Tennessee
Copperheads and cottonmouths: two species are listed for Tennessee, with 277 records (11% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern copperhead (139), ahead of the northern cottonmouth (138).
Observation records of the eastern copperhead in Tennessee run mostly April through September, peaking in July; most licensed records come from Stewart County, Blount County and Davidson County. Observation records of the northern cottonmouth in Tennessee run through most of the year, peaking in March; most licensed records come from Cheatham County, Humphreys County and Dickson County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in Tennessee
Water snakes and swamp snakes: six species are listed for Tennessee, with 536 records (20% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (328), ahead of the diamondback water snake (67).
Observation records of the northern water snake in Tennessee run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Cheatham County, Montgomery County and Sevier County. Most licensed records of the diamondback water snake in Tennessee come from Lake County, Obion County and Shelby County. Observation records of the queen snake in Tennessee run mostly March through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Cheatham County, Sullivan County and Rutherford County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Tennessee
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: three species are listed for Tennessee, with 306 records (12% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the common garter snake (259), ahead of the western ribbon snake (24).
Observation records of the common garter snake in Tennessee run mostly February through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Monroe County, Sevier County and Shelby County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Tennessee
Rat snakes and corn snakes: three species are listed for Tennessee, with 255 records (10% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern rat snake (215), ahead of the corn snake (39).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in Tennessee run mostly March through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Knox County, Hamilton County and Cheatham County. Most licensed records of the corn snake in Tennessee come from McMinn County, Anderson County and Greene County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Tennessee
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: five species are listed for Tennessee, with 191 records (7% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern black kingsnake (118), ahead of the eastern milksnake (62).
Observation records of the eastern black kingsnake in Tennessee run mostly March through August, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Stewart County, Hamilton County and Shelby County. Observation records of the eastern milksnake in Tennessee run mostly March through August, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Stewart County, Monroe County and Sevier County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Tennessee
One species of this group is listed for Tennessee: the eastern racer, with 125 records (5% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Tennessee run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Putnam County, Cheatham County and Wilson County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in Tennessee
One species of this group is listed for Tennessee: the pine snake, with 3 records (0.1% of the state's snake records).
Hognose snakes in Tennessee
One species of this group is listed for Tennessee: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 26 records (1% of the state's snake records).
Green snakes in Tennessee
One species of this group is listed for Tennessee: the rough greensnake, with 84 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the rough greensnake in Tennessee run mostly April through November, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Montgomery County, Knox County and Shelby County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Tennessee
Small woodland and burrowing snakes dominate the snake record of Tennessee: eight species and 27% of all records. The most recorded is the ring-necked snake (347), ahead of the eastern wormsnake (136).
Observation records of the ring-necked snake in Tennessee run mostly February through October, peaking in March; most licensed records come from Cheatham County, Montgomery County and Blount County. Observation records of the eastern wormsnake in Tennessee run mostly April through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Wilson County, Monroe County and Sevier County. Observation records of the DeKay's brown snake in Tennessee run through most of the year, peaking in March; most licensed records come from Knox County, Cheatham County and Montgomery County.
Where in Tennessee are snakes recorded most?
Cheatham County leads with 335 records (13%), followed by Monroe County and Montgomery County; the top five counties hold 34% of the total. 87 of Tennessee's 95 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheatham County | 335 | 12.8% |
| 2 | Monroe County | 163 | 6.2% |
| 3 | Montgomery County | 148 | 5.6% |
| 4 | Knox County | 123 | 4.7% |
| 5 | Sevier County | 122 | 4.6% |
| 6 | Blount County | 121 | 4.6% |
| 7 | Stewart County | 113 | 4.3% |
| 8 | Shelby County | 111 | 4.2% |
| 9 | Davidson County | 102 | 3.9% |
| 10 | Lake County | 96 | 3.7% |
| 11 | Hamilton County | 81 | 3.1% |
| 12 | Wilson County | 63 | 2.4% |
When do snakes come out in Tennessee?
Observation records of snakes in Tennessee run mostly March through October, peaking in April with 18% of them. Winter (December to February) holds 4% of the records. The sharpest rise comes from February to March.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 2% | 13% | 18% | 15% | 12% | 10% | 8% | 9% | 7% | 4% | 1% |
Snakes: Tennessee compared with its neighbors
Tennessee ranks 17th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the eight states bordering Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri list more snake species (Tennessee: 32 species; Alabama 44, Georgia 44, North Carolina 39, Mississippi 38, Arkansas 36, Missouri 36, Virginia 30, Kentucky 24).
What snakes are in Tennessee? All 32 species
Ranked by licensed records in Tennessee. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 347 | 13.2% |
| 2 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 328 | 12.5% |
| 3 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 259 | 9.9% |
| 4 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 215 | 8.2% |
| 5 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 139 | 5.3% |
| 6 | Northern cottonmouth venomous Agkistrodon piscivorus | Viperidae | 138 | 5.3% |
| 7 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 136 | 5.2% |
| 8 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 125 | 4.8% |
| 9 | Eastern black kingsnake Lampropeltis nigra | Colubridae | 118 | 4.5% |
| 10 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 116 | 4.4% |
| 11 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 84 | 3.2% |
| 12 | Diamondback water snake Nerodia rhombifer | Colubridae | 67 | 2.6% |
| 13 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 63 | 2.4% |
| 14 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 62 | 2.4% |
| 15 | Plain-bellied watersnake Nerodia erythrogaster | Colubridae | 61 | 2.3% |
| 16 | Smooth earth snake Virginia valeriae | Colubridae | 58 | 2.2% |
| 17 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 50 | 1.9% |
| 18 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 39 | 1.5% |
| 19 | Southeastern crown snake Tantilla coronata | Colubridae | 28 | 1.1% |
| 20 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 26 | 1.0% |
| 21 | Western ribbon snake Thamnophis proximus | Colubridae | 24 | 0.9% |
| 22 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 23 | 0.9% |
| 23 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 22 | 0.8% |
| 24 | Southern watersnake Nerodia fasciata | Colubridae | 11 | 0.4% |
| 25 | Prairie kingsnake Lampropeltis calligaster | Colubridae | 9 | 0.3% |
| 26 | Mud snake Farancia abacura | Colubridae | 6 | 0.2% |
| 27 | Scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea | Colubridae | 5 | 0.2% |
| 28 | Pine snake Pituophis melanoleucus | Colubridae | 3 | 0.1% |
| 29 | Rough earthsnake Haldea striatula | Colubridae | 3 | 0.1% |
| 30 | Gray rat snake Pantherophis spiloides | Colubridae | 1 | 0.0% |
| 31 | Mole kingsnake Lampropeltis rhombomaculata | Colubridae | 1 | 0.0% |
| 32 | Speckled kingsnake Lampropeltis holbrooki | Colubridae | 1 | 0.0% |
Also recorded in Tennessee, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, five snake species are known from Tennessee 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. Venomous among them: pygmy rattlesnake.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.