Snakes of Texas
Texas Parks and Wildlife counts more than 105 snake species and subspecies in the state. Fifteen of them are potentially dangerous to people. Here is every one, where it lives, and how to tell it from the ninety that are not.
Every Potentially Dangerous Snake in Texas
Three copperheads, one cottonmouth, ten rattlesnakes and one coral snake. Sizes and ranges below are TPWD’s own.
Copperheads
Chestnut or reddish-brown crossbands on a lighter body. TPWD puts them in rocky areas and wooded bottomlands, and near streams and rivers in spring.
Southern Copperhead
Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix
- Size
- 20–30 in
- Range
- Eastern third of the state
Cottonmouths
Dark brown, olive, or nearly solid black, with wide dark bands. Swamps and sluggish waterways, coastal marshes, rivers, ponds and streams.
Western Cottonmouth
Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma
- Size
- Averages 3.5 ft
- Range
- Eastern half of the state
Rattlesnakes — the small ones
The genus Sistrurus. Smaller, with a fine rattle that is easy to miss, and easy to mistake for a young snake of another species.
Western Massasauga
Sistrurus catenatus tergeminus
- Size
- About 2 ft
- Range
- Grasslands and marshes
Rattlesnakes — the large ones
The genus Crotalus. Between them these cover almost every acre of Texas.
Western Diamondback
- Size
- 3.5–4.5 ft, up to 7 ft
- Range
- Statewide except the deep east
TPWD calls it the most common and widespread venomous snake in Texas. If you are buying protection for Texas, this is the snake you are buying it for.
Species guideCoral snakes
Not a pit viper. A broad black ring, a narrow yellow ring and a broad red ring — with the red rings always bordered by the yellow ones.
Texas Coral Snake
Micrurus fulvius tener
- Size
- Usually under 2.5 ft
- Range
- Southeastern half — woodlands, canyons, coastal plains
Counts vary with how subspecies are treated — TPWD gives “over 105 species and subspecies” on one page and 113 on another. The figure of 15 potentially dangerous species is consistent across both.
What Texas DSHS Says to Do
This is the state health department’s guidance, not ours. Snakebite is a medical emergency; nothing on this page replaces calling for help.
Do
- Call 911, or the Texas Poison Center Network on 1-800-222-1222.
- Move away from the snake. Photograph it only if that is safe.
- Keep the person calm and still, and take off rings, watches and anything tight.
- Get to hospital. Call ahead so antivenom is ready.
Do not
- Do not cut the wound or try to suck out venom.
- Do not apply a tourniquet.
- Do not pack it in ice.
- Do not use electric shock, and do not give antivenom in the field.
~7,000
venomous snakebites a year in the US (TPWD)
1–2
deaths a year in Texas (TPWD)
~half
of venomous bites are dry — no venom injected (TPWD)
Full first-aid detail is on our snake bite first aid page. For the rest of the country, see US venomous snakes.
Texas Snake FAQ
How many snakes are there in Texas?
Texas Parks and Wildlife counts over 105 species and subspecies, and gives 113 on another of its pages depending on how subspecies are treated. Both agree that 15 of them are potentially dangerous to people — three copperheads, one cottonmouth, ten rattlesnakes and the Texas coral snake.
Does Texas have the most venomous snakes in the US?
No, though it is repeated constantly. Arizona has more venomous species — around 21, including 13 rattlesnakes, against 14 to 15 for Texas. What Texas has is size: those 15 species are spread over eco-regions from the East Texas Piney Woods to the Trans-Pecos desert, so a great many people live and work alongside one of them.
Which venomous snake will I actually run into?
The Western Diamondback. TPWD calls it the most common and widespread venomous snake in the state, and it turns up everywhere except the deep east. At 3.5 to 4.5 feet, occasionally to 7, it is also the largest of them.
Are there venomous snakes in East Texas?
Yes, but a different set. The eastern third is copperhead and cottonmouth country, plus the Timber Rattlesnake and the Western Pygmy Rattlesnake in the Pineywoods. The Western Diamondback thins out there — it is the rest of the state's problem.
Is the red-and-yellow rhyme reliable?
For the Texas coral snake, the pattern TPWD describes is a broad black ring, a narrow yellow ring and a broad red ring, with red always bordered by yellow. The rhyme encodes that, but it only holds for coral snakes in the US and it fails outside the country. Do not stake a decision on a rhyme — if you cannot identify a snake, leave it alone.
What should I wear in Texas snake country?
TPWD's own advice includes wearing protective footwear and snake-proof clothing in areas where snakes are suspected. Lower-leg cover is where most defensive strikes on a walking adult land, which is what gaiters and snake boots are built for.
How dangerous is a bite, really?
About 7,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes across the US each year, and TPWD puts Texas deaths at one to two in an average year. Roughly half of venomous bites are dry, meaning no venom is injected. That is not a reason to be casual — it is a reason to get to hospital rather than panic.
Where this came from
Species names, sizes, ranges and bite figures on this page are taken from two state agencies. Where their numbers differ from each other, we say so rather than picking the one that reads better.