Snakes in Minnesota

On this page, you can find an overview of snakes in Minnesota. The list is separated into non-venomous and venomous snakes in Minnesota. This should give you a quick overview if you are dealing with a venomous snake or not.

18 different snake species can be found in Minnesota. Two of them are venomous species and the other 16 are non-venomous snake that are not harmful for humans.

Just click on any of the images or links to learn more about the snake.

If you have encountered a snake in Minnesota that is not yet on our list or that you cannot identify yourself, we’ll be happy to identify it for you. Simply take a picture of it and upload your picture, a quick description and the U.S. state where it was found here on our snake identification page

List of venomous snakes in Minnesota

The two venomous snake species that can be found in Minnesota are the timber rattlesnake and the massasauga. The timber rattlesnake can only be found in the Southeastern parts of Minnesota and is listed as a threatened species in Minnesota. The venomous massasauga is also very rare and occurs in the Southeastern parts of the state. Even though there are some reports of sightings, there hasn’t been a confirmed sighting of a massasagua snake in Minnesota since 1960. Non-venomous snakes that mimick the appearance of rattlesnakes or the massasauga are often mistaken for venomous snakes.

Crotalus Horridus Timber Rattlesnake information - light coloration body

Crotalus Horridus – Timber Rattlesnake

The timber rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus, is a venomous snake native to the Eastern part of North America. It is usually ...
Sistrurus Catenatus - Massasauga Snake information and overview range and venom info

Sistrurus Catenatus – Massasauga Snake

The massasauga snake, Sistrurus catenatus, is a venomous snake that can be found in several U.S. states in a wide ...

List of non-venomous snakes in Minnesota

There are 16 non-venomous snake species in Minnesota. The most common non-venomous and harmless snakes in Minnesota are racer snakes, garter snakes, fox snakes and water snakes.

Eastern racer Coluber constrictor in the United States overview

Coluber Constrictor – Racer

Coluber constrictor, commonly called the eastern racer is a nonvenomous snake species. The species contains eleven subspecies that can be ...
Diadophis Punctatus - Ring-Necked Snake grey brown with yellow belly and yellow ring around its neck

Diadophis Punctatus – Ring-Necked Snake

The ring-necked snake, Diadophis punctatus, is a harmless small snake that can be found throughout most of the United States ...
Heterodon Nasicus - Western Hognose Snake information

Heterodon Nasicus – Western Hognose Snake

The western hognose snake, Heterodon nascius, is a harmless snake that can be found throughout the Central United States as ...
Heterodon Platirhinos - Eastern Hognose Snake grey and black

Heterodon Platirhinos – Eastern Hognose Snake

The eastern hognose snake is a harmless medium-sized snake found in the Central and Eastern United States. The snake has ...
Lampropeltis Triangulum - Milk Snake information and overview

Lampropeltis Triangulum – Milk Snake

The milk snake is a nonvenomous snake that can be found in the Eastern and Central United States, in Canada ...
Nerodia sipedon Common water snake information

Nerodia Sipedon – Common Watersnake

The common watersnake is a nonvenomous snake that is often seen throughout the Eastern United States as well as Southeastern ...
Opheodrys Vernalis - Smooth Green Snake information

Opheodrys Vernalis – Smooth Green Snake

The smooth green snake is a relatively small nonvenomous snake found throughout the Northeastern and Central United States. Its body ...
Pantherophis Obsoletus - Western Rat Snake information

Pantherophis Obsoletus – Western Rat Snake

Pantherophis obsoletus, commonly called the western rat snake or the black rat snake is a large nonvenomous snake species. It ...
Pantherophis Ramspotti - Western Fox Snake information

Pantherophis Ramspotti – Western Fox Snake

Pantherophis ramspotti, the western fox snake is a nonvenomous snake species found in the Central United States, west of the ...
Pantherophis Vulpinus - Eastern Fox Snake information

Pantherophis Vulpinus – Eastern Fox Snake

Pantherophis vulpinus, the eastern fox snake is a nonvenomous snake species found in the Central United States, east of the ...
Pituophis Catenifer - Pacific Gopher Snake information bullsnake, western gopher snake

Pituophis Catenifer – Pacific Gopher Snake

The Pacific gopher snake, Pituophis catenifer, is a nonvenomous snake found in the Western United States, Canada and Mexico. It ...
Storeria Dekayi - Brown Snake De Kay's Snake North America description and overview

Storeria Dekayi – Brown Snake

Storeris dekayi, commonly called the (American) brown snake or Dekay's snake is a small non-venomous snake that can be found ...
A red-brown redbelly snake found in Missouri

Storeria Occipitomaculata – Redbelly Snake

Storeria occipitomaculata, the redbelly snake is a small, dark brown , grey or black snake with a red, orange or ...
Thamnophis Radix - Plains Garter Snake in the united states information

Thamnophis Radix – Plains Garter Snake

The plains garter snake is a harmless snake species that is found throughout the Central United States and Canada. The ...
Thamnophis Sirtalis - Common Garter Snake information and subspecies overview

Thamnophis Sirtalis – Common Garter Snake

The common garter snake is the best-known and most widespread species among the garter snakes. It can be found throughout ...
Tropidoclonion Lineatum - Lined Snake information

Tropidoclonion Lineatum – Lined Snake

The lined snake is a small nonvenomous snake found in the Central United States. The mostly dark snake usually comes ...
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