Snakes in Kentucky
Kentucky has 24 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 1,276 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the common garter snake, the ring-necked snake and the eastern rat snake. Three of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Kentucky
One species of this group is listed for Kentucky: the timber rattlesnake, with 46 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the timber rattlesnake in Kentucky come from Bullitt County, McCreary County and Lyon County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in Kentucky
Copperheads and cottonmouths: two species are listed for Kentucky, with 141 records (11% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern copperhead (102), ahead of the northern cottonmouth (39).
Observation records of the eastern copperhead in Kentucky run mostly April through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Madison County, Trigg County and Lyon County. Most licensed records of the northern cottonmouth in Kentucky come from Hickman County, Lyon County and Marshall County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in Kentucky
Water snakes and swamp snakes: five species are listed for Kentucky, with 176 records (14% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (102), ahead of the queen snake (44).
Observation records of the northern water snake in Kentucky run mostly March through August, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Madison County, Kenton County and Campbell County. Most licensed records of the queen snake in Kentucky come from Boone County, Jessamine County and Kenton County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Kentucky
One species of this group is listed for Kentucky: the common garter snake, with 203 records (16% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the common garter snake in Kentucky run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Madison County, Fayette County and Kenton County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Kentucky
Rat snakes and corn snakes: three species are listed for Kentucky, with 114 records (9% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern rat snake (104), ahead of the corn snake (6).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in Kentucky run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Madison County, Fayette County and Pulaski County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Kentucky
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: three species are listed for Kentucky, with 125 records (10% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern black kingsnake (63), ahead of the eastern milksnake (56).
Observation records of the eastern black kingsnake in Kentucky run mostly April through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Trigg County, Madison County and Lyon County. Observation records of the eastern milksnake in Kentucky run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Fayette County, Madison County and Hickman County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Kentucky
One species of this group is listed for Kentucky: the eastern racer, with 81 records (6% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Kentucky run mostly April through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Fayette County, Madison County and Trigg County.
Hognose snakes in Kentucky
One species of this group is listed for Kentucky: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 10 records (0.8% of the state's snake records).
Green snakes in Kentucky
One species of this group is listed for Kentucky: the rough greensnake, with 45 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the rough greensnake in Kentucky run mostly April through September, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Madison County, Edmonson County and Fayette County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Kentucky
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: six species are listed for Kentucky, with 299 records (23% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the ring-necked snake (137), ahead of the eastern wormsnake (73).
Observation records of the ring-necked snake in Kentucky run mostly April through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Harlan County, Bell County and Trigg County. Observation records of the eastern wormsnake in Kentucky run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Jessamine County, Madison County and Carter County. Observation records of the DeKay's brown snake in Kentucky run mostly March through November, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Madison County, Trigg County and Pulaski County.
Where in Kentucky are snakes recorded most?
Madison County leads with 217 records (17%), followed by Fayette County and Trigg County; the top five counties hold 39% of the total. 100 of Kentucky's 120 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madison County | 217 | 17.0% |
| 2 | Fayette County | 101 | 7.9% |
| 3 | Trigg County | 86 | 6.7% |
| 4 | Lyon County | 49 | 3.8% |
| 5 | Bell County | 43 | 3.4% |
| 6 | Harlan County | 41 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Kenton County | 40 | 3.1% |
| 8 | Powell County | 37 | 2.9% |
| 9 | Pulaski County | 35 | 2.7% |
| 10 | Hickman County | 35 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Carter County | 27 | 2.1% |
| 12 | Boone County | 27 | 2.1% |
When do snakes come out in Kentucky?
Observation records of snakes in Kentucky run mostly March through September, peaking in April with 25% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in Kentucky are rarely recorded in winter. The sharpest rise comes from March to April.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0% | 5% | 25% | 24% | 13% | 7% | 8% | 10% | 5% | 2% | 0% |
Snakes: Kentucky compared with its neighbors
Kentucky ranks 25th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the seven states bordering Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana and Ohio list more snake species (Kentucky: 24 species; Missouri 36, Illinois 33, Tennessee 32, Virginia 30, Indiana 27, Ohio 25, West Virginia 18).
What snakes are in Kentucky? All 24 species
Ranked by licensed records in Kentucky. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 203 | 15.9% |
| 2 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 137 | 10.7% |
| 3 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 104 | 8.2% |
| 4 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 102 | 8.0% |
| 5 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 102 | 8.0% |
| 6 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 81 | 6.3% |
| 7 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 73 | 5.7% |
| 8 | Eastern black kingsnake Lampropeltis nigra | Colubridae | 63 | 4.9% |
| 9 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 56 | 4.4% |
| 10 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 46 | 3.6% |
| 11 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 45 | 3.5% |
| 12 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 44 | 3.4% |
| 13 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 42 | 3.3% |
| 14 | Northern cottonmouth venomous Agkistrodon piscivorus | Viperidae | 39 | 3.1% |
| 15 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 27 | 2.1% |
| 16 | Plain-bellied watersnake Nerodia erythrogaster | Colubridae | 21 | 1.6% |
| 17 | Smooth earth snake Virginia valeriae | Colubridae | 18 | 1.4% |
| 18 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 10 | 0.8% |
| 19 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 6 | 0.5% |
| 20 | Prairie kingsnake Lampropeltis calligaster | Colubridae | 6 | 0.5% |
| 21 | Kirtland's snake Clonophis kirtlandii | Colubridae | 5 | 0.4% |
| 22 | Diamondback water snake Nerodia rhombifer | Colubridae | 4 | 0.3% |
| 23 | Gray rat snake Pantherophis spiloides | Colubridae | 4 | 0.3% |
| 24 | Southeastern crown snake Tantilla coronata | Colubridae | 2 | 0.2% |
Also recorded in Kentucky, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, six snake species are known from Kentucky 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.