Snakes in West Virginia
West Virginia has 18 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 1,641 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the northern water snake, the common garter snake and the ring-necked snake. Two of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in West Virginia
One species of this group is listed for West Virginia: the timber rattlesnake, with 44 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the timber rattlesnake in West Virginia come from Pendleton County, Tucker County and Monroe County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in West Virginia
One species of this group is listed for West Virginia: the eastern copperhead, with 42 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern copperhead in West Virginia come from Berkeley County, Morgan County and Cabell County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in West Virginia
Water snakes and swamp snakes: two species are listed for West Virginia, with 399 records (24% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (288), ahead of the queen snake (111).
Observation records of the northern water snake in West Virginia run mostly May through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Randolph County, Pocahontas County and Preston County. Most licensed records of the queen snake in West Virginia come from Marshall County, Randolph County and Preston County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in West Virginia
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: two species are listed for West Virginia, with 290 records (18% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the common garter snake (269), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (21).
Observation records of the common garter snake in West Virginia run mostly May through October, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Randolph County, Tucker County and Pocahontas County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in West Virginia
One species of this group is listed for West Virginia: the eastern rat snake, with 56 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in West Virginia run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Monongalia County, Jefferson County and Hampshire County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in West Virginia
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: two species are listed for West Virginia, with 101 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern milksnake (90), ahead of the eastern black kingsnake (11).
Most licensed records of the eastern milksnake in West Virginia come from Randolph County, Preston County and Pocahontas County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in West Virginia
One species of this group is listed for West Virginia: the eastern racer, with 62 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern racer in West Virginia come from Randolph County, Pendleton County and Hampshire County.
Hognose snakes in West Virginia
One species of this group is listed for West Virginia: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 39 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern hog-nosed snake in West Virginia come from Mineral County, Morgan County and Hampshire County.
Green snakes in West Virginia
Green snakes: two species are listed for West Virginia, with 106 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the smooth green snake (82), ahead of the rough greensnake (24).
Most licensed records of the smooth green snake in West Virginia come from Preston County, Tucker County and Randolph County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in West Virginia
Small woodland and burrowing snakes dominate the snake record of West Virginia: five species and 25% of all records. The most recorded is the ring-necked snake (200), ahead of the eastern wormsnake (82).
Observation records of the ring-necked snake in West Virginia run mostly May through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Pendleton County, Pocahontas County and Randolph County. Most licensed records of the eastern wormsnake in West Virginia come from Pocahontas County, Greenbrier County and Kanawha County. Most licensed records of the DeKay's brown snake in West Virginia come from Randolph County, Preston County and Jefferson County.
Where in West Virginia are snakes recorded most?
Randolph County leads with 223 records (14%), followed by Preston County and Pocahontas County; the top five counties hold 43% of the total. 55 of West Virginia's 55 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Randolph County | 223 | 13.6% |
| 2 | Preston County | 134 | 8.2% |
| 3 | Pocahontas County | 125 | 7.6% |
| 4 | Tucker County | 112 | 6.8% |
| 5 | Pendleton County | 105 | 6.4% |
| 6 | Hampshire County | 56 | 3.4% |
| 7 | Greenbrier County | 51 | 3.1% |
| 8 | Monongalia County | 49 | 3.0% |
| 9 | Jefferson County | 45 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Mineral County | 45 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Webster County | 43 | 2.6% |
| 12 | Marshall County | 40 | 2.4% |
When do snakes come out in West Virginia?
Observation records of snakes in West Virginia run mostly May through September, peaking in May with 27% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in West Virginia 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% | 2% | 3% | 27% | 27% | 15% | 10% | 12% | 4% | 1% | 0% |
Snakes: West Virginia compared with its neighbors
West Virginia ranks 29th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with New Jersey; Texas leads with 86 species.
Every state bordering West Virginia lists more snake species (West Virginia: 18 species; Virginia 30, Ohio 25, Kentucky 24, Maryland 20, Pennsylvania 20).
What snakes are in West Virginia? All 18 species
Ranked by licensed records in West Virginia. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 288 | 17.6% |
| 2 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 269 | 16.4% |
| 3 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 200 | 12.2% |
| 4 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 111 | 6.8% |
| 5 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 90 | 5.5% |
| 6 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 82 | 5.0% |
| 7 | Smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis | Colubridae | 82 | 5.0% |
| 8 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 63 | 3.8% |
| 9 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 62 | 3.8% |
| 10 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 58 | 3.5% |
| 11 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 56 | 3.4% |
| 12 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 44 | 2.7% |
| 13 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 42 | 2.6% |
| 14 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 39 | 2.4% |
| 15 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 24 | 1.5% |
| 16 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 21 | 1.3% |
| 17 | Eastern black kingsnake Lampropeltis nigra | Colubridae | 11 | 0.7% |
| 18 | Smooth earth snake Virginia valeriae | Colubridae | 8 | 0.5% |
Also recorded in West Virginia, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, one snake species is known from West Virginia by only seven 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.