Snakes in Wisconsin

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

Wisconsin has 21 snake species. Two of them are venomous: the timber rattlesnake and the massasauga. The other 19 species are harmless for humans and larger pets. Just click on any of the images or links to the detail pages of the snakes below to learn more about the snake.

If you have encountered a snake in Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin

The timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) and the eastern massasauga are the only two venomous snakes found in Wisconsin. Both species are rarely seen, as the massasauga is endangered in the state and the timber rattlesnake is of special concern. Both species of venomous snakes are found in the southeastern parts of Wisconsin.

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 Wisconsin

Of the 19 non-venomous snakes in Wisconsin, 5 species are of the genus garter snakes. These snakes usually have a dark body coloration with three brightly-colored longitudinal stripes along their back. The (eastern) ribbon snake and the western ribbon snake, which belong both to the garter snake genus, are considered endangered species in Wisconsin. The water-loving queen snake that feeds almost exclusively on young crayfish is also an endangered species in Wisconsin. The common garter snake, the fox snake and the smooth green snake are some of the most common snakes found in Wisconsin.

Carphophis Vermis - Western Worm Snake information and overview

Carphophis Vermis – Western Worm Snake

The worm snake, Carphophis amoenus, is a small nonvenomous snake species that can be found throughout the Eastern United States ...
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 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 Spiloides - Grey Rat Snake information and overview

Pantherophis Spiloides – Grey Rat Snake

Pantherophis spiloides, commonly called the grey rat snake or the pilot snake, central ratsnake, midland ratsnake or chicken snake is ...
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 ...
Regina Septemvittata - Queen Snake information

Regina Septemvittata – Queen Snake

The queen snake is a non-venomous snake that can be found in or around water and feeds almost exclusively on ...
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 butleri - Butler's Garter Snake information

Thamnophis Butleri – Butler’s Garter Snake

Butler's garter snake (Thamnophis butleri) is one of the smallest representatives of the genus garter snake (Thamnophis). This nonvenomous dark-brown ...
Thamnophis proximus - Western Ribbon Snake information (1)

Thamnophis Proximus – Western Ribbon Snake

The western ribbon snake, thamnophis proximus, is a nonvenomous colubrid snake found in the Central United States, Mexico and parts ...
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 Sauritus - Ribbon Snake information and overview

Thamnophis Sauritus – Ribbon Snake

The ribbon snake, Thamnophis sauritus, is a common non-venomous garter snake species found in the Eastern United States. The snake ...
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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