Snakes in Nebraska
Nebraska has 31 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 2,358 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the plains garter snake, the common garter snake and the ring-necked snake. Four of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Nebraska
Rattlesnakes: three species are listed for Nebraska, with 247 records (10% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the prairie rattlesnake (176), ahead of the western massasauga (57).
Observation records of the prairie rattlesnake in Nebraska run mostly May through September, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Cherry County, Dundy County and Scotts Bluff County. Observation records of the western massasauga in Nebraska run mostly April through September, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Jefferson County, Pawnee County and Lancaster County.
Copperheads and cottonmouths in Nebraska
One species of this group is listed for Nebraska: the eastern copperhead, with 53 records (2% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the eastern copperhead in Nebraska come from Gage County, Pawnee County and Richardson County.
Water snakes and swamp snakes in Nebraska
Water snakes and swamp snakes: two species are listed for Nebraska, with 92 records (4% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the northern water snake (82), ahead of the Graham's crayfish snake (10).
Most licensed records of the northern water snake in Nebraska come from Gage County, Cass County and Lancaster County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Nebraska
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes dominate the snake record of Nebraska: four species and 33% of all records. The most recorded is the plains garter snake (431), ahead of the common garter snake (326).
Observation records of the plains garter snake in Nebraska run mostly April through October, peaking in June; most licensed records come from Sioux County, Garden County and Sheridan County. Observation records of the common garter snake in Nebraska run mostly April through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Keith County, Gage County and Cherry County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Nebraska
Rat snakes and corn snakes: five species are listed for Nebraska, with 124 records (5% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the western rat snake (60), ahead of the Great Plains rat snake (25).
Observation records of the western rat snake in Nebraska run mostly May through October, peaking in October; most licensed records come from Gage County, Cass County and Pawnee County.
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Nebraska
Kingsnakes and milksnakes: four species are listed for Nebraska, with 93 records (4% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern milksnake (49), ahead of the speckled kingsnake (19).
Most licensed records of the eastern milksnake in Nebraska come from Thayer County, Cherry County and Cass County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Nebraska
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes: two species are listed for Nebraska, with 215 records (9% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern racer (172), ahead of the coachwhip (43).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Nebraska run mostly April through October, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Cherry County, Gage County and Dundy County. Observation records of the coachwhip in Nebraska run mostly June through September, peaking in September; most licensed records come from Dundy County, Chase County and Hitchcock County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in Nebraska
One species of this group is listed for Nebraska: the gopher snake, with 204 records (9% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the gopher snake in Nebraska run mostly May through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Dundy County, Dawes County and Kimball County.
Hognose snakes in Nebraska
Hognose snakes: two species are listed for Nebraska, with 131 records (6% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the plains hog-nosed snake (109), ahead of the eastern hog-nosed snake (22).
Most licensed records of the plains hog-nosed snake in Nebraska come from Cherry County, Lincoln County and Sheridan County.
Green snakes in Nebraska
One species of this group is listed for Nebraska: the smooth green snake, with 21 records (0.9% of the state's snake records).
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Nebraska
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: six species are listed for Nebraska, with 349 records (15% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the ring-necked snake (242), ahead of the lined snake (57).
Observation records of the ring-necked snake in Nebraska run mostly April through October, peaking in April; most licensed records come from Gage County, Cass County and Sarpy County. Most licensed records of the lined snake in Nebraska come from Jefferson County, Lancaster County and Pawnee County.
Where in Nebraska are snakes recorded most?
Gage County leads with 310 records (13%), followed by Dundy County and Cherry County; the top five counties hold 34% of the total. 88 of Nebraska's 93 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gage County | 310 | 13.1% |
| 2 | Dundy County | 132 | 5.6% |
| 3 | Cherry County | 127 | 5.4% |
| 4 | Keith County | 120 | 5.1% |
| 5 | Sioux County | 116 | 4.9% |
| 6 | Lancaster County | 98 | 4.2% |
| 7 | Pawnee County | 89 | 3.8% |
| 8 | Cass County | 88 | 3.7% |
| 9 | Garden County | 79 | 3.4% |
| 10 | Jefferson County | 78 | 3.3% |
| 11 | Sarpy County | 59 | 2.5% |
| 12 | Lincoln County | 56 | 2.4% |
When do snakes come out in Nebraska?
Observation records of snakes in Nebraska run mostly April through October, peaking in September with 22% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in Nebraska 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% | 2% | 13% | 17% | 15% | 7% | 6% | 22% | 16% | 1% | 0% |
Snakes: Nebraska compared with its neighbors
Nebraska ranks 18th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the six states bordering Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri list more snake species (Nebraska: 31 species; Kansas 44, Missouri 36, Colorado 26, Iowa 22, South Dakota 16, Wyoming 11).
What snakes are in Nebraska? All 31 species
Ranked by licensed records in Nebraska. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Plains garter snake Thamnophis radix | Colubridae | 431 | 18.3% |
| 2 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 326 | 13.8% |
| 3 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 242 | 10.3% |
| 4 | Gopher snake Pituophis catenifer | Colubridae | 204 | 8.7% |
| 5 | Prairie rattlesnake venomous Crotalus viridis | Viperidae | 176 | 7.5% |
| 6 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 172 | 7.3% |
| 7 | Plains hog-nosed snake Heterodon nasicus | Colubridae | 109 | 4.6% |
| 8 | Northern water snake Nerodia sipedon | Colubridae | 82 | 3.5% |
| 9 | Western rat snake Pantherophis obsoletus | Colubridae | 60 | 2.5% |
| 10 | Lined snake Tropidoclonion lineatum | Colubridae | 57 | 2.4% |
| 11 | Western massasauga venomous Sistrurus tergeminus | Viperidae | 57 | 2.4% |
| 12 | Eastern copperhead venomous Agkistrodon contortrix | Viperidae | 53 | 2.2% |
| 13 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 49 | 2.1% |
| 14 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | Colubridae | 43 | 1.8% |
| 15 | DeKay's brown snake Storeria dekayi | Colubridae | 27 | 1.1% |
| 16 | Great Plains rat snake Pantherophis emoryi | Colubridae | 25 | 1.1% |
| 17 | Eastern hog-nosed snake Heterodon platirhinos | Colubridae | 22 | 0.9% |
| 18 | Smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis | Colubridae | 21 | 0.9% |
| 19 | Speckled kingsnake Lampropeltis holbrooki | Colubridae | 19 | 0.8% |
| 20 | Western terrestrial garter snake Thamnophis elegans | Colubridae | 18 | 0.8% |
| 21 | Eastern fox snake Pantherophis vulpinus | Colubridae | 15 | 0.6% |
| 22 | Prairie kingsnake Lampropeltis calligaster | Colubridae | 14 | 0.6% |
| 23 | Timber rattlesnake venomous Crotalus horridus | Viperidae | 14 | 0.6% |
| 24 | Corn snake Pantherophis guttatus | Colubridae | 13 | 0.6% |
| 25 | Central plains milksnake Lampropeltis gentilis | Colubridae | 11 | 0.5% |
| 26 | Western foxsnake Pantherophis ramspotti | Colubridae | 11 | 0.5% |
| 27 | Western worm snake Carphophis vermis | Colubridae | 11 | 0.5% |
| 28 | Graham's crayfish snake Regina grahamii | Colubridae | 10 | 0.4% |
| 29 | Plains black-headed snake Tantilla nigriceps | Colubridae | 8 | 0.3% |
| 30 | Western ribbon snake Thamnophis proximus | Colubridae | 7 | 0.3% |
| 31 | Red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata | Colubridae | 4 | 0.2% |
Also recorded in Nebraska, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, two snake species are known from Nebraska 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.