Snakes in Maryland
Maryland has 20 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 3,612 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the northern water snake, the eastern rat snake and the common garter snake. Two of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Maryland
One species of this group is listed for Maryland: the timber rattlesnake, with 32 records (0.9% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the timber rattlesnake in Maryland come from Frederick County, Garrett County and Allegany County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in Maryland
One species of this group is listed for Maryland: the eastern copperhead, with 144 records (4% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern copperhead in Maryland run mostly April through September, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Baltimore County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in Maryland
Water snakes and swamp snakes: two species are listed for Maryland, with 647 records (18% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (589), ahead of the queen snake (58).
Observation records of the northern water snake in Maryland run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Garrett County. Most licensed records of the queen snake in Maryland come from Garrett County, Montgomery County and Prince George's County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Maryland
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes: two species are listed for Maryland, with 543 records (15% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the common garter snake (492), ahead of the eastern ribbonsnake (51).
Observation records of the common garter snake in Maryland run mostly March through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Montgomery County, Prince George's County and Baltimore County. Most licensed records of the eastern ribbonsnake in Maryland come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Maryland
Rat snakes and corn snakes: two species are listed for Maryland, with 575 records (16% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern rat snake (560), ahead of the corn snake (15).
Observation records of the eastern rat snake in Maryland run mostly April through October, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Maryland
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: three species are listed for Maryland, with 217 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern milksnake (110), ahead of the eastern kingsnake (70).
Observation records of the eastern milksnake in Maryland run mostly May through October, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Garrett County, Montgomery County and Baltimore County. Most licensed records of the eastern kingsnake in Maryland come from Prince George's County, Charles County and Worcester County. Most licensed records of the mole kingsnake in Maryland come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Maryland
One species of this group is listed for Maryland: the eastern racer, with 216 records (6% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Maryland run mostly March through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County and Montgomery County.
Hognose snakes in Maryland
One species of this group is listed for Maryland: the eastern hog-nosed snake, with 102 records (3% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern hog-nosed snake in Maryland come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Charles County.
Green snakes in Maryland
Green snakes: two species are listed for Maryland, with 177 records (5% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the rough greensnake (152), ahead of the smooth green snake (25).
Observation records of the rough greensnake in Maryland run mostly May through October, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Prince George's County, Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County.
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Maryland
Small woodland and burrowing snakes dominate the snake record of Maryland: five species and 26% of all records. The most recorded is the DeKay's brown snake (309), ahead of the ring-necked snake (257).
Observation records of the DeKay's brown snake in Maryland run mostly March through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Prince George's County, Baltimore County and Montgomery County. Observation records of the ring-necked snake in Maryland run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Montgomery County, Garrett County and Prince George's County. Observation records of the eastern wormsnake in Maryland run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Anne Arundel County, Montgomery County and Prince George's County.
Where in Maryland are snakes recorded most?
Prince George's County leads with 817 records (23%), followed by Montgomery County and Anne Arundel County; the top five counties hold 64% of the total. 23 of Maryland's 23 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prince George's County | 817 | 22.6% |
| 2 | Montgomery County | 635 | 17.6% |
| 3 | Anne Arundel County | 312 | 8.6% |
| 4 | Garrett County | 277 | 7.7% |
| 5 | Baltimore County | 259 | 7.2% |
| 6 | Frederick County | 229 | 6.3% |
| 7 | Howard County | 146 | 4.0% |
| 8 | Calvert County | 121 | 3.3% |
| 9 | Charles County | 110 | 3.0% |
| 10 | Worcester County | 98 | 2.7% |
| 11 | Cecil County | 94 | 2.6% |
| 12 | St. Mary's County | 76 | 2.1% |
When do snakes come out in Maryland?
Observation records of snakes in Maryland run mostly April through October, peaking in May with 23% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in Maryland 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% | 17% | 23% | 14% | 7% | 8% | 11% | 11% | 2% | 1% |
Snakes: Maryland compared with its neighbors
Maryland ranks 27th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed, level with Pennsylvania; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the four states bordering Maryland, Virginia lists more snake species; Pennsylvania lists as many (Maryland: 20 species; Virginia 30, Pennsylvania 20, West Virginia 18, Delaware 14).
What snakes are in Maryland? All 20 species
Ranked by licensed records in Maryland. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 589 | 16.3% |
| 2 | Eastern rat snake Pantherophis alleghaniensis | Colubridae | 560 | 15.5% |
| 3 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 492 | 13.6% |
| 4 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 309 | 8.6% |
| 5 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 257 | 7.1% |
| 6 | Eastern wormsnake Carphophis amoenus | Colubridae | 248 | 6.9% |
| 7 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 216 | 6.0% |
| 8 | Rough greensnake Opheodrys aestivus | Colubridae | 152 | 4.2% |
| 9 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 144 | 4.0% |
| 10 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 110 | 3.0% |
| 11 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 102 | 2.8% |
| 12 | Smooth earth snake Virginia valeriae | Colubridae | 86 | 2.4% |
| 13 | Eastern kingsnake Lampropeltis getula | Colubridae | 70 | 1.9% |
| 14 | Queen snake Regina septemvittata | Colubridae | 58 | 1.6% |
| 15 | Eastern ribbonsnake Thamnophis saurita | Colubridae | 51 | 1.4% |
| 16 | Mole kingsnake Lampropeltis rhombomaculata | Colubridae | 37 | 1.0% |
| 17 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 37 | 1.0% |
| 18 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 32 | 0.9% |
| 19 | Smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis | Colubridae | 25 | 0.7% |
| 20 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 15 | 0.4% |
Also recorded in Maryland, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, two snake species are known from Maryland 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.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.